Instructions for Heartbreak

‘Warm, gorgeous, tender and hopeful . . . Simply brilliant’ – Daisy Buchanan, author of Insatiable

‘Funny, practical and moving’ – Daily Mail

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A beautiful, razor-sharp novel by Sarah Handyside, Instructions for Heartbreak is a life-affirming story about female friendship, self-love and how to survive a broken heart.

What if heartbreak came with a manual?

It starts with a late-night knock on the door. Dee, Liv and Rosa share a flat in south London, while Katie lives close by with her boyfriend. But, when Katie’s nine-year relationship ends – suddenly and brutally – she turns up on their doorstep with no idea what to do next, or how to do anything after spending so long with her life entwined with someone else’s.

Out comes the martini shaker (an old, well-washed gherkin jar) and, with an unused sketchbook, an idea. They’ll make Katie the handbook that she needs to process her heartbreak and start rebuilding her life. There are notes on tears, hangovers and roast chicken, scribblings about music, new bedding and pure, white-hot rage.

But Katie is not the only one nursing a broken heart. Rosa is a hopeless romantic, despite still reeling from her ex’s infidelity. Scarred by her ex’s parting words, Dee is committed to being commitment-free. And while Liv knows that breaking up with her girlfriend was what she wanted, she can’t help but wonder if she did the right thing.

Tested by big life changes, even the closest friendships can fray – could the heartbreak handbook they intended for Katie contain the words they all need to hear?

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‘An essential modern heartbreak handbook’ – Lucy Jane Wood, author of Rewitched

‘A stunning, emotionally resonant novel’ – Cosmopolitan

‘A heartfelt love letter to friendship that I couldn't put down’ – Josie Lloyd, author of Lifesaving for Beginners

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Readers are loving Instructions for Heartbreak:

‘I love a novel filled with amazing female friendships. I flew through this book . . . a MUST read’

‘A wonderfully nuanced, emotionally intelligent and insightful story of female friendships, relationships, growing up and finding your family’

‘There is nothing better than the power of female friendships and women coming together to help one another. This book delivers that message and more! I loved every minute’