I found this while searching for How Not to Fall Apart in Overdrive and the book sounded pretty intriguing so I picked it up. I’m not quite sure how to classify it – it’s not self-help and I’m not sure if it’s memoir because at least half the book consists of her interviews with others – but this was such a good and timely read.

The Art of Not Falling Apart is broken into three parts: Falling, where Christina loses her job, faces the prospect of eternal singlehood, has her health completely ripped to bits; Gathering, where she summons the resources she does have; and Fighting Back, where she pulls her life together. The book is loosely chronological, starting with her unfair dismissal from The Independent, but really jumps between different points in time according to the topic.

So many passages in this book spoke to me. It’s a little hard to find all of them, given that this is a physical library book and I didn’t have the luxury of marking pages (not that I mark my books, but ebooks are great for capturing pages you want to remember), but some of the lines I liked included:

“Anita Brookner knew what we all learn: that life is a balance between freedom and security. Security is – well, safe. Freedom is frightening but sometimes more fun.” 

“We don’t talk about death. No one prepares you for it, and no one tells you what to do when the person you loved suddenly isn’t there. No one even prepares you for the change in grammar. You love them – and then, in a mico-second, you can’t love them any more. You loved them.” 

“We all have friends who turn up in our lives at a pivotal moment, friends who shift something in the air around us, so that the landscape looks different.”

While I can’t say I relate to everything that Christina went through, I can relate to some of it (especially the bits about mental health). The fact that she interviewed friends, family, and acquaintances while writing the book made it more powerful as well – this book is more than a single story and it was easier to find one that resonated with me, that gave some comfort and encouragement while reading.

I read this book during a time of stress, where I felt so tired that my emotions were practically physical. Having this to read was a comfort because I realised that other people have walked similar paths, have also fallen, and have managed to get up.