Sarah is at an absolute standstill. Her husband Fabian just died of a brain tumor, and she lost their unborn child. She takes a leave of absence and, despite inner resistance, signs up for a grief group. There she meets Johannes, who is almost thirty years her senior. While the group is on hiatus, Sarah decides to travel with him to La Gomera. On a hike, she gets lost in the high forest. Johannes discovers her, and during an argument Sarah gets injured. In the mountains, both find access to their pain.

Voices about Patricia Paweletz and Herzbruch:

I didn't so much read a story as attend an emotional state, in all its many facets.

– Anne Kersting, dramaturge

Not an easy topic, not an easy book, but an important, intense book that takes on a topic that everyone must or should face. Saying goodbye is something we all face.

I went through the book in one day, I couldn't stop reading. It is going in my box of most important books of the year.

- Birgitt Frey, Freykultur

... Patricia Paweletz describes this process credibly in a rather clear, sometimes sarcastic style, which takes the heaviness out of the subject. The interweaving of flashbacks, letters from the deceased and, above all, leitmotifs such as the shoes, which repeatedly play a 'supporting' role for the narrator in different life situations, is also successful. Thus the novel text gains additional density. "Herzbruch" is not a guidebook for coping with grief, but an illuminating and at times touching tracing of a painful path, presented with convincing literary means.

- Martina Kirchhof, LovelyBooks, Link

Further information

Author: Patricia Paweletz

Martina Kirchhof - LovelyBooks