Heartbreak
HEARTBREAK: A PERSONAL AND SCIENTIFIC JOURNEY
Florence Williams
W. W. Norton. February 1, 2022, $30
ISBN-10: 1324003480, ISBN-13: 978-1324003489
Williams reports:
As a science writer, I’ve long been interested in somewhat unseen connections between the world around us and human health. I often write in the first person and find some science to test on myself. So when I experienced a big personal earthquake in my life, the end of a long marriage, it felt natural to look to science to help explain why it hurt and why my body started breaking down. Then it also felt natural (if somewhat awkward) to tell that story of the emotion-body connection in the first person. I figured out a way to run a bunch of tests on myself, including for transcription factors linked to loneliness.
Fortunately, my long-time publisher, W.W. Norton, wasn’t ready to divorce me even if my husband was! I worked again with the same agent, Molly Friedrich, and the same editor, Jill Bialosky. I realize this is a rare and wonderful experience, and I’m grateful for it. Norton told me they would make Heartbreak their lead title for the season. This paid off with excerpts, coverage, and many media interviews, including Fresh Air with Terry Gross.
Florence Williams, photo by Casie Zalud
The tricky part about writing it was weaving together two threads: the very personal (My dating life! My suffering!) and the scientific. Both had to inform the other. If either thread included extraneous scenes that didn’t serve the other, I cut them. I wanted both threads to be rigorous and good, and the tone (not too bitter, not too trite, likeable but not naïve, etc.) was critical.
The other notable thing I tried was making an “enhanced” audiobook with Pushkin Industries. As someone with experience in audio and podcasting, I had taped all my interviews and even conversations with friends, therapists, and myself (an audio journal). So we had 200 audio files to draw from in crafting an original and immersive sound experience, including beautifully engineered original composition for the audiobook. It’s an expensive and time-consuming way to go, but Pushkin took the risk and I’m so proud of the final product.
Contact info: -
- Florence Williams, https://www.florencewilliams.com/, @flowill, Instagram: @Florence999
- Book: https://wwnorton.com/books/9781324003489
- Audiobook: https://www.pushkin.fm/audiobook/heartbreak/
- Publicist: Erin Lovett, elovett@wwnorton.com
- Agent: Molly Friedrich, mfriedrich@friedrichagency.com
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