Death & Grief
![Rob Delaney - [object Object] author](https://res.cloudinary.com/readsomnia/image/upload/authors/a_a_rob_delaney.jpg)
A Heart That Works
New York Times bestseller * The New Yorker Best Books of 2022 * Entertainment Weekly Best Books of 2022 * USA Today Best Books of 2022 * Time 100 Must-Read Books of 2022 * People Fall Must Read pick * 2022 BuzzFeed Fall Reading pic
A visceral and deeply personal memoir by the star of the Amazon Prime series Catastrophe, about love, loss, and fatherhood.
In 2016, Rob Delaney's one-year-old son, Henry, was diagnosed with a brain tumor. The family had moved from Los Angeles to London with their two young boys when Rob's wife was pregnant with Henry, their third. The move was an adventure and a challenge that would bind them even more tightly together as they navigated the novelty of London, the culture clashes, and the funhouse experience of Rob's fame-thanks to his role as co-creator and co-star of the hit series Catastrophe. Henry's illness was a cataclysm that changed everything about their lives. Amid the hospital routine, surgeries, and brutal treatments, they found a newfound community of nurses, aides, caregivers, and fellow parents contending with the unthinkable. Two years later, Henry died, and his family watched their world fall away to reveal the things that matter most.
A Heart That Works is Delaney's intimate, unflinching, and fiercely funny exploration of what happened – from the harrowing illness to the vivid, bodily impact of grief and the blind, furious rage that followed through to the forceful, unstoppable love that remains. In the madness of his grief, Delaney grapples with the fragile miracle of life, the mysteries of death, and the question of purpose for those left behind.
Delaney's memoir-profound, painful, full of emotion, and bracingly honest-offers solace to those who have faced devastation and shows us how grace may appear even in the darkest times.
Editorial Reviews
"An affecting portrait of a father's love for his son." -Time, 100 Must-Read Books of 2022
"As heartbreaking as the book may be, Delaney's pitch black humor buoys even the toughest moments…Delaney's book is ultimately about all-encompassing, heart-exploding love." -New York Times
"Brave, harrowing, inspiring . . . a wonder."-People
"Delaney is a phenomenal storyteller, and this memoir is tender, vulnerable, warm, and darkly funny. A Heart That Works is in the same league as The Year of Magical Thinking in its stark, clarified articulation of grief, and the delusion and disbelief that accompany the tragedy."-BuzzFeed
"A devastatingly candid account of a parent's grief that will have readers laughing and crying in equal measure….Few would attempt to bring humor and levity to such an unbearably sad story, but Delaney manages to do so with grace, sincerity, and warmth….Heart-wrenching and impressively self-aware."-Kirkus Reviews (starred)
"An intense, heartbreaking memoir about the illness and death of his toddler son. Will resonate deeply [with anyone] who's lost a loved one, especially a child."-Margaret Atwood on Twitter
"I could have read about Henry for a thousand pages. It is impossible not to share in Delaney's tenderness, his attention, his anger, his night-black humor, and impossible not to see his son through his eyes: loved, learning, smiling ecstatically. I will turn to this book again and again, to feel deeply and to learn about this world from Henry."-Patricia Lockwood, author of No One Is Talking About This and Priestdaddy
"This book is so rich with grief and love and pain and humor and an incandescent, purifying, flame-throwing wrath. Though Delaney can't bring Henry back, he can––and does––show enough of him to the world to make a reader see him a little bit, know him a little bit, and fully love him. What an unbelievable gift."-
"As heartbreaking as the book may be, Delaney's pitch black humor buoys even the toughest moments…Delaney's book is ultimately about all-encompassing, heart-exploding love." -New York Times
"Brave, harrowing, inspiring . . . a wonder."-People
"Delaney is a phenomenal storyteller, and this memoir is tender, vulnerable, warm, and darkly funny. A Heart That Works is in the same league as The Year of Magical Thinking in its stark, clarified articulation of grief, and the delusion and disbelief that accompany the tragedy."-BuzzFeed
"A devastatingly candid account of a parent's grief that will have readers laughing and crying in equal measure….Few would attempt to bring humor and levity to such an unbearably sad story, but Delaney manages to do so with grace, sincerity, and warmth….Heart-wrenching and impressively self-aware."-Kirkus Reviews (starred)
"An intense, heartbreaking memoir about the illness and death of his toddler son. Will resonate deeply [with anyone] who's lost a loved one, especially a child."-Margaret Atwood on Twitter
"I could have read about Henry for a thousand pages. It is impossible not to share in Delaney's tenderness, his attention, his anger, his night-black humor, and impossible not to see his son through his eyes: loved, learning, smiling ecstatically. I will turn to this book again and again, to feel deeply and to learn about this world from Henry."-Patricia Lockwood, author of No One Is Talking About This and Priestdaddy
"This book is so rich with grief and love and pain and humor and an incandescent, purifying, flame-throwing wrath. Though Delaney can't bring Henry back, he can––and does––show enough of him to the world to make a reader see him a little bit, know him a little bit, and fully love him. What an unbelievable gift."-
Readers Top Reviews
I bought the book and read it in an evening. My career was spent in a Childrens hospital and I could relate to so much of Rob’s story. His humanity, his humour, his great love for his boy, all this came through so beautifully. I felt a lot and I am grateful for that. Thank you for sharing Henry with us.
Dave in CT
I don't often climb into the tub, pull my knees tight around my chest, turn on the shower and let the hot water rain down upon my bare skin as I sob uncontrollably. Not often, but not NEVER. This morning became one of those days. I've had the pleasure of messing around on Twitter with Rob Delaney a few times, as his absurd, pungent humor is infectious. His honest, odd, silly, acidic, and ridiculous comedic takes are hard to look away from, and his self-deprecating style is delicious. He's been something of a behemoth on Twitter, at least in the comedic realm, for years, and I've relished any/all interactions with him. I know he's a recovering addict, that he loves ham, loves to read, enjoys Sludge metal, as do I, along with great books, and I also know that he tragically lost his young son to a brain tumor a few years back. What I didn't know is how inexplicably Rob is able to feel. How deeply human, loving, and kind he is. I also didn't know that he's lived what I'd categorize as the greatest love story of all time with his wife, Leah. They are the couple that others don't simply envy because they've lasted so long and are sweet to one another more than the next, but the couple people fear because of what they've endured and yet still feel/act this way. They're the couple that illuminates our relationships and forces us to reconcile what love really is and how honest and real our bonds may (or may not), be. They are Nick and Nora from The Thin Man, gingerly rolled in Montague and Capulet, spritzed with Henry and Clare from The Time Traveler's Wife. Little Henry lived his too-short life far happier, and more deeply cared for because of their formidable, resplendent bond. A Heart That Works is a book that destroys part of you while simultaneously revitalizing something you didn't know you possessed. I immediately developed an understanding of grief in ways I hadn't fully understood but thought I had. This book rips at you, slowly, before instantly eviscerating you, and then it holds you in the comfort of its truth and reassembles you, only to shatter you once again. Something more beautiful comes out in the collected, restitched pieces. Finishing this book made me cry like I haven't in years, and it was glorious, truly. I shed many tears when my father died on Christmas day ten years ago, but over time I've stifled them, grown more callous, hardened, and reserved. Why? One of the central messages of A Heart That Works is Rob reminding me (and everyone) how wonderful it is to feel. To have loved someone, experienced them, laughed with them, touched them, eventually to lose them, and immediately realize how much more significant they were than we even knew. This book is a gift. A "soul kiss" as my father used to say. It needs delicate hands and soft eyes, and will sting you over and over. You'll be better for the wounds. I ...
