Lisa Frederickson: “Heartbreak sucks”

The author of The Utterly Sublime Adventures Of Ava Roberts tells us all about the perils of love 

BY LISA FREDERICKSON

Yep, it’s official. Heartbreak sucks. It sucks big time!

Widely recognised as the most heinous emotion a human can experience (aside from grief) a broken heart is akin to acute physical pain according to medical studies and Facebook. #Mustbetrue. 

The fact is, this more searing of pains is one of life’s great levellers. Heartbreak affects us all: rich, poor, straight, queer – and all delineations in between. It respects neither age nor geography. Race nor religion. Getting dumped is universal and there’s a comfort in that. A shared acceptance that anyone who dares to love will at some point find themselves in the valley of the weeping vagina, blubbing into bestie’s sofa while consuming their body weight in chocolate hobnobs. It’s as sure as death and taxes. 

On that cheery note, let’s all toss in the towel and check ourselves into the nearest nunnery. Everyone looks good in black, after all. Jokes. Let’s not. Let’s fight back! Flick Cupid the bird. For while we might be powerless to stop passion going boobs up, unable to prevent the love of our life from dumping us on WhatsApp or eloping with their UberEats delivery driver – happened to a friend – what we can control is our reaction to that cruel blow. 

Strange to say but heartbreak, albeit excruciating can sometimes be the reset we need. A gift from the universe to reinvigorate, reinvent; a chance to rise forth like a slightly BBQ’d phoenix from the flames. 

So, take heart, spurned lady lovers. Cher was right – there really is Life After Love. Even if you’ve just had your heart blitzed in a Nutribullet, there is hope! Reframe that rejection. Embrace the redirection. Jump into your car, on your electric scooter or better still, hop on a plane and get yourself some perspective. Embark on an adventure… an Utterly Sublime Adventure!  Now there’s a good idea. So good that I wrote a book about it. Love, travel, plus a good few sexy bits. Just the tonic for heartbreak. Helped me through the hard times, and might just help you too. Or failing that, there’s always the chocolate hobnobs. Now where did I put that packet? Nom nom.

You can get your copy of Lisa’s book The Utterly Sublime Adventures Of Ava Roberts here. 

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