Notes on Heartbreak: A Memoir

British Vogue dating columnist Lord debuts with a raw and riveting take on love, loss, and moving on. In her mid-20s, Lord was gobsmacked when Joe, her first love and boyfriend of five years, abruptly broke up with her after sharing a meal with her family. Afterward, she cycled through the stages of grief, trying to rebound with other guys before sleeping with Joe again, to the bafflement of her friends. As Lord details her jagged path to stability and newfound confidence, she weaves in vivid memories of her and Joe’s relationship, from its beginnings in the library of Newcastle University to their earliest sexual experiences together. Though the subject matter is familiar, Lord’s sharp observations (she laments that her mental catalog of Joe’s body consists only of “memories of my memories of his skin, his eyelids, his moles—far more a reflection of myself than of him”) and literary allusions (she quotes from Anne Carson’s poem “The Glass Essay” throughout, to powerful effect) ensure that this stands apart from similar accounts. The result is a smart, generous look at emotional devastation and recovery that will steal readers’ hearts. Agent: Allison Malecha, Trellis Literary. (Jan.)