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The Heartbreak Diet: A Story of Family, Fidelity, and Starting Over | 
 enlarge | Author: Thorina Rose
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Category: Book
List Price: $19.95
Buy New: $4.74
You Save: $15.21 (76%)
New (30) Used (14) from $4.74
Rating:  11 reviews
Sales Rank: 287885
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 176
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.1
Dimensions (in): 9.8 x 6.2 x 0.7
ISBN: 0811860574
Dewey Decimal Number: 741
EAN: 9780811860574
ASIN: 0811860574
Publication Date: April 2, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Condition: New Book, Excellent Condition, Ships Same or Next Day, Customer Satisfaction Guaranteed!
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
Thorina Rose's funny, beautifully illustrated memoir charts the unexpected dissolution of her marriage and the struggles and adventures of starting over. After marrying young, living in New York, and settling in San Francisco, Rose and her husband start a family. When he begins an affair with his "running partner," Rose must find a way to rebuild her life with her two young sons, navigating her own inner doubts, the chorus of advice from well-meaning friends, and coping mechanisms close at hand: retail therapy and pet adoption (not so useful); leaning on friends and travels with gay men (very useful). With humor and insight, The Heartbreak Diet is a moving and entertaining meditation on fidelity, family, and finding one's way.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 6 more reviews...
 An honest, funny, lovely little gem September 9, 2008
I think that Heartbreak Diet tells the story of the author's divorce (and subsequent rebirth into singledom) with refreshing honesty and humor. The story doesn't shy away from the eyebrow-raising details and the drawings are lovely. One minute your jaw drops at the audaciousness of the situations she faces, in the next you're laughing as her "greek chorus" of friends chime in with commentary and reality checks. Though divorce is a sad and messy business, the book's message is ultimately hopeful as the author seeks to accept her fate and find joy in her new life (and newly slim figure).
I don't know anyone that's gone through a divorce recently, but if I did, I'd send them this book.
 A woman's graphic novel September 1, 2008
Really, I thought graphic novels were just comic books with hard covers and a longer story--and were basically just for men. Or little boys who never grew up.
This is a woman's story of infidelity and divorce but told through pictures as well as words. What would have taken half-a-day to read as of novel is finished in an hour or two. And yet it is as emotional as if it the most polished prose had taken us through this journey.
I particularly liked the humor--the friends who come up with their various formulas for getting over a heart-breaking trauma. "I never liked him anyway" or "this is the time for you to grow". The yoga classes, the new boyfriend who cools off, the new dog who turns out to be a biter--they are all funny and all so sad.
The husband's face is never seen and all he does is grunt and since everything in this memoir is true, I assume he has no grounds for a lawsuit. This is a good "girlfriend" book. Nicely done.
Great Place to Start for Anyone Interested in Graphic Novels August 11, 2008
The Heartbreak Diet is the memoir of a woman who's husband begins an affair that eventually separates them. They also have two children together. It is told in the format of a graphic novel.
You'd think due to the subject matter this would be depressing. In fact, what sold me on reading this was the format. I love graphic novels but usually try to avoid this sort of subject matter, it just makes me sad. I'm very glad I decided to read it. Rose has a great sense of humor about her life. She goes back and tells the story of how she and her husband met and formed a family. She also takes us through her healing process and the fun times with her children. I loved this book. Throughout the book are "Words of Wise Women" with great illustrations of famous women.
The graphic novel format is relatively quick to get through but I love how she broke her story up into different sections, like by day of the week or coping mechanism. Her illustrations are beautiful as well. There is a great amount of detail in them. I have a very large respect for cartoonists. It looks like she draws with an ink brush of some sort. If you mess up you have to start over! That is very tedious!
I think this book would be great for anyone that is the least bit curious about graphic novels. There are no superheros, zombies, or talking animals. It's a story we can all identify with and would be a great introduction into the genre.
I will definitely be reading this over and over again. Rose mixes real life situations with a great humor for life.
 graphic novel autobiography August 1, 2008
A book about life, about changes and making the best of what comes our way even when we wish it wouldn't. The Heartbreak Diet is all about moving on. I really wanted to enjoy it, it is a graphic novel autobiography....doesn't that sound great!? I guess I was hoping for more, I think it ended before I felt like she got her pride back again, or before her husband got what he deserved, but I need to not give away any more than that. It is very hard to know what to say about someone's life, you can't criticize content.
Besides that, it is a good read, a super quick read....it only took one of my little boys' nap time to finish it, maybe an hour or so? I enjoyed it, and I thought the format of an autobiography in graphic novel form was really neat!
Wonderful graphic novel for non-graphic novel readers. July 26, 2008
Thorina is a loving mother of two boys living in San Francisco, California. Her husband, a photographer, has recently taken up running, a hobby Thorina supports until she finds out he's running straight into the arms of another woman! Heartbroken, Thorina tries everything she can think of to make the marriage work, but to no avail. Her husband leaves and Thorina must put the shattered pieces of her life back together.
At first this may seem like a story oft-told, but Thorina makes her story new by utilizing the graphic novel format. Her loose and free-flowing sketches illustrate her story without rigid panels, and the handwritten captions and dialogue give it the feel of a diary. Emotions are perfectly captured in black and white: tear-stained faces, a mother's love for her children, and the guilt of the "other woman." Interspersed with revenge fantasies and struggles in counseling are quotes and portraits from famous women as varied as Coco Chanel, Eleanor Roosevelt and Ella Fitzgerald.
Tagged as "a story of family, fidelity, and starting over" The Heartbreak Diet delivers on that promise with gentle humor and obvious affection. For Thorina Rose, this graphic novel may have been quite therapeutic as well as a work of love. Her story may not be unique, but it is empowering to hold the end result of her experiences in your hands and know that she made it through her bad time with her head held high. It's a highly effective graphic novel and would be an excellent introduction for someone unfamiliar or unused to the format.
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