8 Books About the Heartbreak of Everyday

September 25 2023
Share 8 Books About the Heartbreak of Everyday

Life is not without its pain and disappointment. In fact, if you really look closely, there is bound to be something each day with the capacity to break your heart. Exhausting, yes, but it’s that often ephemeral, emotional response that makes us human, letting us know we’re alive and present. There’s beauty in it and it’s the reason there exists a subset of novels that seek to capture that existential feeling—and a reading population eager to devour them.

So, without further ado, I’m proud to present a collection of books about the heartbreak of everyday life. Maybe don’t read these back-to-back….

The Half Moon
by Mary Beth Keane

Any couple in a marriage can understand how each day can be emotionally taxing. That’s what makes THE HALF MOON so poignant. Malcolm Gephardt is 45, recently divorced from his now ex-wife Jess, and on the brink of a midlife crisis. He tends bar at the Half Moon, an establishment he bought without Jess's approval. For a successful lawyer like herself, this financial decision by Malcolm was the final straw. And after years of failed fertility treatments, she’s in need of a change. Malcolm remains confident that she’ll come back to him until he realizes she’s now seeing another lawyer—one with three kids. His world is rocked and he begins to spiral. What’s worse, a week of blizzards has just hit the suburbs leaving everyone stranded, including the couple who must now face their decisions and, just maybe, the prospect of a second chance. A detailed look at how people change and the distinct pains of marriage, THE HALF MOON understands the everyday heartbreak of being in a relationship.

Amazon logo Audible logo Barnes & Noble logo Books a Million logo Google Play logo iBooks logo iTunes logo Kobo logo Kindle logo Bookshop logo Libro.fm logo
The Half Moon
Mary Beth Keane

From the bestselling author of Ask Again, Yes, a masterful novel about a couple in a small town who must navigate the complexities of marriage, family, and longing.

Malcolm Gephardt, handsome and gregarious longtime bartender at the Half Moon, has always dreamed of owning a bar. When his boss finally retires, Malcolm stretches to buy the place. He sees unquantifiable magic and potential in the Half Moon and hopes to transform it into a bigger success, but struggles to stay afloat.

His smart and confident wife, Jess, has devoted herself to her law career. After years of trying for a baby, she is facing the idea that motherhood may not be in the cards for her. Like Malcolm, she feels her youth beginning to slip away and wonders how to reshape her future.

Award-winning author Mary Beth Keane’s new novel takes place over the course of one week when Malcolm learns shocking news about Jess, a patron of the bar goes missing, and a blizzard hits the town of Gillam, trapping everyone in place. With a deft eye and generous spirit, Keane explores the disappointments and unexpected consolations of midlife, the many forms forgiveness can take, the complicated intimacy of small-town living, and what it means to be a family.

Amazon logo Audible logo Barnes & Noble logo Books a Million logo Google Play logo iBooks logo iTunes logo Kobo logo Kindle logo Bookshop logo Libro.fm logo

MENTIONED IN:

12 Book Club Picks with Handy Reading Group Guides

By Book Club Favorites | October 17, 2023

8 Books About the Heartbreak of Everyday

By Chris Gaudio | September 25, 2023

Indie Booksellers Recommend: 15 Exciting Summer Reads Out Now

By Off the Shelf Staff | July 12, 2023

5 Painfully Honest Novels You’ll Feel in Your Soul

By Chris Gaudio | May 25, 2023

Our 25 Most Anticipated Books of Summer 2023

By Off the Shelf Staff | May 2, 2023

Mary Beth Keane Recommends: 9 Exquisite Books Told with Heart and Nuance

By Off the Shelf Staff | March 6, 2023

Close
The Blue Window
by Suzanne Berne

If the emotional swings of marriage are relatable, well, the pain associated with immediate family is sure to hit home. Family dynamics are at the forefront of THE BLUE WINDOW, which focuses on a recently separated therapist, Lorna, and her strained relationships with both her son, Adam, and mother, Marika. Adam is 19, has just returned from college, and is suffering from the aftermath of an unknown traumatic experience. It is upon his return that Lorna and Adam set off to join Marika at her home as she’s now in need of assistance. Marika is a Dutch survivor of the Nazi occupation who left her husband and Lorna years ago for unknown reasons and now, in her old age, lives alone. Here, isolated, the family must reckon with their secrets, their painful choices, and whether there is any type of path forward. A stark portrait of family dynamics, THE BLUE WINDOW is affecting and satisfying.

Amazon logo Audible logo Barnes & Noble logo Books a Million logo Google Play logo iBooks logo iTunes logo Kobo logo Kindle logo Bookshop logo Libro.fm logo
The Blue Window
Suzanne Berne

From the Orange Prize–winning author of A Crime in the Neighborhood comes a riveting novel about a therapist whose attempts to unlock the most difficult cases of her life—those of her son, and of her mother—reveal that the bigger the secret you’re concealing, the more it conceals you.

Secrets abound in Lorna’s family. Her mother Marika, who survived the Nazi occupation of Holland, abandoned the family when Lorna and her brother Wade were just seven and twelve years old. The reason she left, and her whereabouts afterward, were shrouded in mystery. As is a darker secret Marika has repressed for nearly seventy years.

Now that Lorna, a respected psychotherapist, has a child of her own, she’s determined to make Marika a part of their lives. But it’s been a struggle for nearly two decades. Lorna’s son Adam is creative, passionate, and uncomfortable in his own skin. Three weeks before the story opens, he abruptly returns home from college after an incident that he refuses to discuss. And he refuses to be called by his name. He refers to himself as “A” for “anti-matter” and insists that Lorna do the same.

The more Lorna tries to get Adam to talk, the more he withdraws. So, when she gets the call that Marika has had a fall and is incapacitated, she sees an opportunity to bond with Adam on the long drive north to Vermont, and to reconnect with her mother by nursing her back to health.

But how do you care for people you can’t understand, and who don’t want to be understood? As Lorna confronts this question, she must face secrets of her own, which she has tried to ignore by spending her life analyzing other people.

A deft and compelling exploration of family dynamics infused with suspense, Blue Window shows what happens to people who hide from themselves—and the act of imagination it takes to find them.

Amazon logo Audible logo Barnes & Noble logo Books a Million logo Google Play logo iBooks logo iTunes logo Kobo logo Kindle logo Bookshop logo Libro.fm logo

MENTIONED IN:

8 Books About the Heartbreak of Everyday

By Chris Gaudio | September 25, 2023

7 Novels Featuring Identity Crises to Save for a Restless Day

By Alice Martin | January 5, 2023

Close
Ordinary Hazards
by Anna Bruno

Anna Bruno’s debut novel, ORDINARY HAZARDS, is the epitome of everyday heartbreak as its powerful story occurs over the course of a single night. Emma Murphy, hedge fund manager and professor of communications, elects to revisit a local bar in Wilton, New York, where she met her ex-husband five years earlier. There, surrounded by locals, she drinks and reflects upon the failed relationship. In a series of flashbacks, readers witness the events that culminated in her devastating heartbreak. Among the patrons that evening at the Final Final dive bar is Martin, friend of her ex-husband. Their interactions provide a present-day timeline that is equally as revealing of Emma’s destructive path. Likewise, Emma is caught up in a text thread between her friend, Samantha, and business partner, Grace, who seem to be trying to get her to Sam’s house for a possible intervention. Told in rich detail, ORDINARY HAZARDS captures the life and pain of an alcoholic in a story that is unforgettable.

Amazon logo Audible logo Barnes & Noble logo Books a Million logo Google Play logo iBooks logo iTunes logo Kobo logo Kindle logo Bookshop logo Libro.fm logo
Ordinary Hazards
Anna Bruno

For fans of Celeste Ng and Mary Beth Keane comes an impeccably paced and transfixing debut novel that “vividly renders the messiness of a single human life in all its joy and heartbreak” (Claire Lombardo, New York Times bestselling author).

It’s 5 p.m. on a Wednesday when Emma settles into her hometown bar with a motley crew of locals, all unaware that a series of decisions over the course of a single night is about to change their lives forever. As the evening unfolds, key details about Emma’s history emerge, and the past comes bearing down on her like a freight train.

Why has Emma, a powerhouse in the business world, ended up here? What is she running away from? And what is she willing to give up to recapture the love she once cherished?

A “crisp, haunting, and intelligent” (Stephen Markley, author of Ohio) exploration of modern love, guilt, and the place we call home, Ordinary Hazards follows one woman’s epic journey back to a life worth living.

Amazon logo Audible logo Barnes & Noble logo Books a Million logo Google Play logo iBooks logo iTunes logo Kobo logo Kindle logo Bookshop logo Libro.fm logo

MENTIONED IN:

10 Epic Novels Unfolding Over a Single Day

By Alice Martin | December 15, 2023

8 Books About the Heartbreak of Everyday

By Chris Gaudio | September 25, 2023

August eBook Deals: 12 Ideal Reads for Your Summer Slowdown

By Off the Shelf Staff | August 3, 2022

10 Short, Thought-Provoking Reads for Book Club

By Alice Martin | December 16, 2021

10 Memorable New Paperback Releases Out This August

By Alice Martin | August 10, 2021

Close
Stories from the Tenants Downstairs
by Sidik Fofana

Welcome to a fictional housing complex in Harlem, where tenants’ lives crisscross and intersect every day and one person’s pain is felt by all those in their surroundings. STORIES FROM THE TENANTS DOWNSTAIRS follows the diverse African American residents at the Banneker Terrace complex. Equally frustrated by financial demands and the looming threat of gentrification, the tenants all find themselves at a bit of a crossroads. Told in first-person narratives from tenants themselves, readers meet a cast of characters, including Swan, a young man eager to hatch a scheme with his friend soon to be released from prison; Mimi, the mother of Swan’s child working two jobs to provide for her family; and, Dary, a friend of Mimi’s who is training her to do hair as part of her attempt to earn extra cash. With eight interconnected stories painting a picture of a marginalized group of people, Fofana’s book reveals the everyday heartbreak that is all too often just around the bend.

Amazon logo Audible logo Barnes & Noble logo Books a Million logo Google Play logo iBooks logo iTunes logo Kobo logo Kindle logo Bookshop logo Libro.fm logo
Stories from the Tenants Downstairs
Sidik Fofana

Finalist for the Gotham Book Prize, the Los Angeles Times Art Seidenbaum Award, and the Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence * Longlisted for the Story Prize

Named a BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR by NPR, Kirkus Reviews, Library Journal, Chicago Review of Books, LitHub, and Electric Lit

“A standout achievement…American speech is an underused commodity in contemporary fiction and it’s a joy to find such a vital example of it here.” —The Wall Street Journal

From a superb new literary talent, a rich, lyrical collection of stories about a tight-knit cast of characters grappling with their own personal challenges while the forces of gentrification threaten to upend life as they know it.

At Banneker Terrace, everybody knows everybody, or at least knows of them. Longtime tenants’ lives are entangled together in the ups and downs of the day-to-day, for better or for worse. The neighbors in the unit next door are friends or family, childhood rivals or enterprising business partners. In other words, Harlem is home. But the rent is due, and the clock of gentrification—never far from anyone’s mind—is ticking louder now than ever.

In eight interconnected stories, Sidik Fofana conjures a residential community under pressure. There is Swan, in apartment 6B, whose excitement about his friend’s release from prison jeopardizes the life he’s been trying to lead. Mimi, in apartment 14D, hustles to raise the child she had with Swan, waitressing at Roscoe’s and doing hair on the side. And Quanneisha B. Miles, in apartment 21J, is a former gymnast with a good education who wishes she could leave Banneker for good, but can’t seem to escape the building’s gravitational pull. We root for the tight-knit cast of characters as they weave in and out of one another’s narratives, working to escape their pasts and blaze new paths forward for themselves and the people they love. All the while we brace, as they do, for the challenges of a rapidly shifting future.

Stories from the Tenants Downstairs brilliantly captures the joy and pain of the human experience in this “singular accomplishment from a writer to watch” (Library Journal, starred review).

Amazon logo Audible logo Barnes & Noble logo Books a Million logo Google Play logo iBooks logo iTunes logo Kobo logo Kindle logo Bookshop logo Libro.fm logo

MENTIONED IN:

8 Books About the Heartbreak of Everyday

By Chris Gaudio | September 25, 2023

Close
A Quiet Life
by Ethan Joella

After suffering a loss, every hour can become heart-wrenching, especially as memories, regrets, and feelings of isolation begin to set in. That’s the main driver of Ethan Joella’s second novel, A QUIET LIFE, which takes place in the sleepy town of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, where three characters’ lives intersect in profound ways. There’s Chuck, a Vietnam veteran, who recently lost his wife, canceled their annual trip to Hilton Head, and spends his days reliving a fight they had years earlier. There’s Kirsten, the daughter of a murder victim who seeks to avoid her grief by spending her days volunteering at a local animal shelter. And, finally, Ella, a young mother despondent after the disappearance of her daughter and desperately awaiting a call that may never come. Readers follow each character as they take small steps toward some type of meaningful catharsis, doing so by unexpectedly connecting with the other characters. Beautiful, heartbreaking but still so comforting, A QUIET LIFE explores life after a terrible loss.

Amazon logo Audible logo Barnes & Noble logo Books a Million logo Google Play logo iBooks logo iTunes logo Kobo logo Kindle logo Bookshop logo Libro.fm logo
A Quiet Life
Ethan Joella

From the author of A Little Hopea Read with Jenna Bonus Pick—comes an enormously powerful and life-affirming novel about three individuals whose lives intersect in unforeseen ways.

Set in a close-knit Pennsylvania suburb in the grip of winter, A Quiet Life follows three people grappling with loss and finding a tender wisdom in their grief.

Chuck Ayers used to look forward to nothing so much as his annual trip to Hilton Head with his wife, Cat—that yearly taste of relaxation they’d become accustomed to in retirement, after a lifetime of working and raising two children. Now, just months after Cat’s death, Chuck finds that he can’t let go of her things—her favorite towel, the sketchbooks in her desk drawer—as he struggles to pack for a trip he can’t imagine taking without her.

Ella Burke delivers morning newspapers and works at a bridal shop to fill her days while she anxiously awaits news—any piece of information—about her missing daughter. Ella adjusts to life in a new apartment and answers every call on her phone, hoping her daughter will reach out one day.

After the sudden death of her father, Kirsten Bonato set aside her veterinary school aspirations, finding comfort in the steady routine of working at an animal shelter. But as time passes, old dreams and new romantic interests begin to surface—and Kirsten finds herself at another crossroads.

In this beautifully crafted and profoundly moving novel, three parallel narratives converge in poignant and unexpected ways, as each character bravely presses onward, trying to recover something they have lost. Emotionally riveting and infused with hope, A Quiet Life celebrates humanity in the midst of uncertainty.

Amazon logo Audible logo Barnes & Noble logo Books a Million logo Google Play logo iBooks logo iTunes logo Kobo logo Kindle logo Bookshop logo Libro.fm logo

MENTIONED IN:

The 10 Most Popular Books of November

By Off the Shelf Staff | November 30, 2023

10 Atmospheric Books to Escape into This Winter

By Zeniya Cooley | November 7, 2023

8 Books About the Heartbreak of Everyday

By Chris Gaudio | September 25, 2023

A Speculative Fiction Gem Imparting Valuable Wisdom on Life’s Purpose

By Ethan Joella | January 27, 2023

10 Insightful Novels That May Just Heal Your Soul

By Jana Li | December 1, 2022

Close
Silver Sparrow
by Tayari Jones

There’s nothing like knowing your father has another family to break your heart every single day. What’s worse for Dana and her mother, Gwen, is their knowledge that they are the “other” family—the secret family. SILVER SPARROW follows the story of James Witherspoon, owner of a car service business in Atlanta, and his two marriages. Officially, he is happily married to Laverne with whom he shares a daughter, Chaurisse. But Dana knows that, while James’s loyal stepbrother Raleigh is listed on her birth certificate, she is, indeed, James’s daughter. There’s not much more that she and her mother can do but quietly spy (often in envy) on James’s legitimate family until, by chance, Dana bumps into Chaurisse and she slowly begins to find ways to interact with this other family. Capturing 1980s Atlanta in vivid detail, SILVER SPARROW is a stirring, painful family drama that dives into the complicated lives of equally complicated characters.

Amazon logo Audible logo Barnes & Noble logo Books a Million logo Google Play logo iBooks logo
Silver Sparrow
Tayari Jones

Amazon logo Audible logo Barnes & Noble logo Books a Million logo Google Play logo iBooks logo

MENTIONED IN:

8 Books About the Heartbreak of Everyday

By Chris Gaudio | September 25, 2023

11 Books That Are Guaranteed Page-Turners

By Alice Martin | October 21, 2019

12 Totally Rad Reads That Will Stoke Your 80s Nostalgia

By Off the Shelf Staff | August 27, 2019

12 Perfectly Bodied Book-and-Wine Pairings

By Sarah Jane Abbott | May 23, 2019

Steeped to Perfection: 11 Divine Book and Tea Pairings

By Sarah Jane Abbott | January 7, 2019

Excited for the Hot New Books of Spring? Read These 12 Favorite Novels First!

By Taylor Noel | February 16, 2018

Close
Follow Your Heart
by Susanna Tamaro

Originally published in Italy, FOLLOW YOUR HEART won the Premio Donna Citta di Roma before being translated and becoming an international bestseller. The story begins in the fall of 1992 as Olga, an old Italian woman, starts to craft a letter to her adult granddaughter living in America. Understanding she is not long for this world, Olga’s letter—being written between mid-November and Christmas—becomes one of advice as she reflects upon her own life, her mistakes, and her joys. Topics include her pursuit of intellectual knowledge, her unhappy marriage (which she supplemented with satisfying affairs), and the loss of her own daughter. Beautifully written and often brutally honest, Susanna Tamaro’s novel is aptly titled as readers are ultimately encouraged to follow their heart…no matter how hard and hurtful that can sometimes be.

Amazon logo Audible logo Barnes & Noble logo Books a Million logo iBooks logo Bookshop logo
Follow Your Heart
Susanna Tamaro

This gem was a gift from a friend years ago when life was rough and it has always been dear to me. This bittersweet, heartwarming novel is a letter from an Italian grandmother urging her granddaughter in America not to make the same mistakes she did but to have courage and follow her heart.

Amazon logo Audible logo Barnes & Noble logo Books a Million logo iBooks logo Bookshop logo

MENTIONED IN:

8 Books About the Heartbreak of Everyday

By Chris Gaudio | September 25, 2023

Leave the Kids with Grandma: 7 Insightful Stories Featuring Grandparents We Love

By Holly Claytor | September 11, 2020

An Independent Bookseller Shares Her Favorite Books

By Annie Philbrick | March 30, 2017

Close
Silent Winds, Dry Seas
by Vinod Busjeet

Vishnu Gopal travels from America to his native land of Mauritius, a small island in the Indian Ocean, to see his dying father after nearly 30 years away. There, prompted by his mother’s recollection of her marriage to Vishnu’s father, he begins to recall his adolescence in the 50s and 60s. With family roots in nineteenth-century India, where his descendants were indentured servants, his childhood was always marred by a friction between the family and Mauritius colonial rulers. For their part, the family sought to encourage Vishnu to pursue intellectual studies—specifically his schoolteacher father. When he attempts to attend a study program in France, the family is “betrayed” by the political powers that be and Vishnu is ultimately driven to leave the island and finish his education free of political and religious tensions, not to mention the ongoing clan feuds within the island's multiracial population. With a sweeping narrative and mesmerizing scenes, SILENT WINDS, DRY SEAS explores the heartbreak of finding your identity in a confusing world of opposing motivations and the sacrifices made every day by a family seeking to better serve the next generation.

Amazon logo Audible logo Barnes & Noble logo Books a Million logo Google Play logo iBooks logo iTunes logo Kobo logo Kindle logo Bookshop logo Libro.fm logo
Silent Winds, Dry Seas
Vinod Busjeet

Amazon logo Audible logo Barnes & Noble logo Books a Million logo Google Play logo iBooks logo iTunes logo Kobo logo Kindle logo Bookshop logo Libro.fm logo

MENTIONED IN:

8 Books About the Heartbreak of Everyday

By Chris Gaudio | September 25, 2023

Close

Photo credit: iStock / Julia Klueva

You must be logged in to add books to your shelf.

Please log in or sign up now.