amandajinut's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
mudboywa's review
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
listened to the audiobook version of this based on a podcast recommendation. if you enjoy nature, science, reflecting on human nature, and grappling with lost love, this is the journey for you. some awkward parts at the end of part 1 (out of 3), but I enjoyed the experience of listening to this book. there are audiologs of conversations with Williams' friends, therapist, her rebound, rivers, trees- it was an exceptional immersive experience. In the end her conclusions are nothing very new, but I still appreciate her story and to see the ways Williams' story relates to mine. Highly recommend.
clfknit's review against another edition
informative
reflective
slow-paced
4.0
I listen to the audiobook. It was really good. More like a podcast. I think the book would not have been easy to get through.
jgroden's review
4.0
Moving exploration of heartbreak and the research of resilience. Love the biophilia and nature sequences. She has a few off-handed remarks about IQ and personality being fixed traits, which I don’t agree with from my read of the literature.
erinsampson91's review
4.0
Florence does an amazing job of writing about divorce/heartbreak/grief (including death of a pet!) and analyzes the importance of social relationships for humans (and lab animals). Nothing in this book will necessarily surprise you, we know that feeling socially disconnected and lonely for extended amounts of time will have long-lasting effects on our health but Florence investigates how exactly your body and brain change with trauma and grief and what the recovery process looks like. Highly recommend, as everyone experiences grief or trauma at some point. I loved being along for the ride as Florence tries to find ways to heal and speed up the grief process.
astrochem's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
3.75
tui_la_dao's review
5.0
I'm very happy with the 2nd book published in 2022 that I accidentally picked on for the same year.
This book is essentially a memoir, where the author records her emotional journey after getting a divorce from her decades long marriage, but it is no boring memoir. The author is a scientist and the way she has sought for knowledge, understanding, and methods around the worst human experience and how to heal from it is also very eye-opening and bringing in a sense of relief. As the author got in contact with many researchers, scientists, ... to clarify important topics like the human attachments, human healths when we face things like heartbreaks, grief, losses, and how we can move on, I believe the memoir will serve a mass audience, since science is not biased. Lastly, the author write beautifully and her attitude, as well as her gorgeous adventures will bring your imagination far. I also especially like how each chapter is named and assigned nice quotes to it. After reading the book, you understand that the world is constantly changing but, it is also beautiful and you have enough courage to welcome and even expect all the uncertainties and changes. Since heartbreaks are a universal experience, pick up the book if you have been living on this Earth for quite some time and want to understand more about such a profound emotion, yet rarely been researched and talked about.
This book is essentially a memoir, where the author records her emotional journey after getting a divorce from her decades long marriage, but it is no boring memoir. The author is a scientist and the way she has sought for knowledge, understanding, and methods around the worst human experience and how to heal from it is also very eye-opening and bringing in a sense of relief. As the author got in contact with many researchers, scientists, ... to clarify important topics like the human attachments, human healths when we face things like heartbreaks, grief, losses, and how we can move on, I believe the memoir will serve a mass audience, since science is not biased. Lastly, the author write beautifully and her attitude, as well as her gorgeous adventures will bring your imagination far. I also especially like how each chapter is named and assigned nice quotes to it. After reading the book, you understand that the world is constantly changing but, it is also beautiful and you have enough courage to welcome and even expect all the uncertainties and changes. Since heartbreaks are a universal experience, pick up the book if you have been living on this Earth for quite some time and want to understand more about such a profound emotion, yet rarely been researched and talked about.