It's Called a Breakup Because It's Broken: The Smart Girl's Break-Up Buddy (Paperback)

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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

If He's Just Not That into You told a woman how to spot a man who's not really interested in a relationship with her—and how to deal with it proactively—this follow-up is for those, male and female, who've been blindsided by a breakup after thinking Everything Is Fine. Speaking less this time from a guy's perspective and more as someone who has been dumped and survived, Behrendt tackles the often inevitable symptoms of a broken attachment: the obsessive thinking (and calling and e-mailing), the crying, the debilitating depression (and its effects on one's job performance), the crazy acting-out, the food and spending issues, the friend burnout. This time, Behrendt is aided by his wife, who offers her own breakup stories, with the two together serving as a constant reminder that one can love again. The book is padded with not-so-funny vignettes, and anecdotal letters from readers are answered in a rather wearying Dear Abby style. There's little new or insightful, but Behrendt's frankness—never too harsh—is as winning as ever, and the title is catchy. Everything is more or less in place for this burgeoning franchise.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist

Behrendt, coauthor of the wildly popular dating guide He's Just Not That into You (2004), teams up with his wife to offer a how-to guide for coping when a relationship goes south. Both Greg and his wife, Amiira, went through extremely traumatic, drawn-out breakups before finding happiness with each other, and they share the stories of what they did wrong (and what they eventually did right) as they go through the basics of how to survive a breakup: stop calling him or waiting for him to call, don't sit at home moping, avoid wearing sweats (unless exercising), and find a friend to help you through it. They also include letters seeking advice and Greg's responses to them, breakup horror stories, and "psycho confessionals," real tales of women who went too far in reacting to a breakup. The authors take a lighthearted and positive tone throughout their boisterous guide; expect demand from the many readers who made He's Just Not That into You a hit. Kristine Huntley
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Broadway (September 5, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0767921968
• ISBN-13: 978-0767921961
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (160 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #4,937 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another good one from Greg B., July 26, 2009

By	D. Blakely - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

What I like about this author is his honesty. And this book, as well as 'He's Just Not that Into You' is honest. And in this book, he tells a girl how to get over a breakup. And that's not so easy to do, is it? However, there are some really good points he makes and some really good ideas. It's not easy and we should all feel the pain, but at some point, it IS time to move on. And this book really, really helps a girl to do that. And for that, it gets five stars. I also liked, for moving on purposes, Man Magnet: How to Be the Best Woman You Can Be in Order to Get the Best Man-A Guide To Dating (Revised Edition).

16 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars GREAT BOOK FOR GETTING OVER BREAKING UP, December 20, 2005

By	Lisa K. Ericsson (Monrovia, CA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: It's Called a Breakup Because It's Broken: The Smart Girl's Break-Up Buddy (Hardcover)

Before I review this book...I would like to get a major pet peeve off my chest. I read some of the reviews before I started writing this and came across a review where the person had not read the whole book yet wrote a review. I would like to say that a review is where you read the WHOLE BOOK and then criticize it all you like...not read it halfway through and feel that writing a review is credible. It is not. The point of a review is to offer up your point of view which is not possible if you haven't read the whole book.

Now that I have said that...I thought this book was terrifc. Whether you dislike Greg using the word Superfox or not...the book was insightful, funny, compassionate and didn't offer the same platitudes or psycho-babble that one encounters in other books of this genre.

Greg and Amiira did not write this book from some lofty ivory tower. They have been in the trenches like a lot uf us. Greg drank and chased after his ex until he finally saw the light at the end of a very long tunnel and got into AA.

Amiira was married and while not as destructive as Greg...her pain, misery [and sleepless nights] are nearly as poignant as Greg's.

I have read this book three times and found something new to hold on to each time I read it.

Some of the elements I particularly liked in this book start with the questions to Greg and his answers...sometimes tart ["how about pretending not to be completey crazy" he says to one woman in the throes of...well..acting completely crazy] were always enlightening.

I also enjoyed "The Best Worst News", and "What I Did Wrong" where Greg and Amiira share...what they did wrong.

"Psycho Confessionals" was actually great fun to read because while a lot of us have gone off the deep end when we are going through a break up...not all of us have gone to the extent some of these women have. I have offered up a silent prayer of thanks that while I thought I might go nuts...I never showed up at his door acting like it.

One very smart idea that Greg and Amiira came up with was after giving advice on what you should do in the recovery proces... and while you are in the midst of moaning to yourself that you can't possibly do that...they offer up "How The Hell Am I Supposed To Do That" because they understand exactly how hard it is.

My story ends a little differently because my boyfriend and I actually got back together. But here is where the book is a treasure for another reason. Instead of spending my time when I am not with my boyfriend...obsessing about my boyfriend [something I have done in every past relationship] I am using all the breakup rules they have as if we had really broken up and have re-connected with old friends...started exercising again and am completely re-organizing my life...all off which had fallen completely by the wayside as my concentration was centered around him.

If my boyfriend and I had not gotten back together...I would have been able to handle it without going completely to pieces [after I initially went completely to pieces] and the fact that we have gotten back together...I am now handling the relationship and my life differently...thanks to this book.

In my opinion...this is the definitive book on breaking up and I would like to thank both Greg and Amiira for helping me tremendously both during during the break up and how I have handled myself since.

So to my surprise...this book actually works on more then one level.

42 of 54 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wake up girl!, September 11, 2006

By	Megan Harper - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I read this book in the midst of a train wreck break-up that dragged on and on for around four months. I am an intelligent woman with a few years of experience under my belt and a healthy dose of cynicism about the opposite sex but as Amiira says in the book "He was my kryptonite." I went against every instinct and every bit of logic just to hang onto this jackass a little longer so he could continue to string me along and jerk me around as he saw fit. After I moved out of his house, he was still in and out of my bed, doing the famed drunk dial on a nightly basis and generally sending mixed signals. "I love you" "I want something different". I quit my job, moved 50 miles away and still, I couldn't shake him.
Then I read this book. From cover to cover- all in one night. The next day I emailed him and told him I was 100% done with his nonsense and have not been in contact with him since (it's been 8 months). I'm not going to lie and say that this book is going to suddenly cure you of the pain of heart break, or that you suddenly won't feel a thing for him....but it WILL snap you out of the dysfunctional dance of delusion you're stuck in. Greg is harsh and he tells you like it is. Why shouldn't you call him? "BECAUSE HE DOESN'T WANT TO TALK TO YOU. EVEN IF YOU THINK HE DOES, YOU'RE PROBABLY WRONG. IF HE WANTED TO TALK TO YOU, TO CHECK ON YOU, TO RECONCILE WITH YOU, HE WOULD." (Ouch!) But darn it, I needed to hear that, and what good friend is gonna put it to you that way? The guy is speaking from personal experience. (Not only from the dumper but also the dumpee- he made a darn fool of himself for a girl once too.) You'll cringe as you see yourself in some of the "Psycho Confessionals" but thankfully most are so over the top, you'll feel sane by comparison. His wife Amiira also chimes in with her experience (I found I related to her nightmare first marriage in many ways) Definitely reccommended for anyone who's felt the rejection, humiliation or confusion of any brand of break up. Before you can move on, you have to truly understand that this thing is O-V-E-R. This book is the objective slap in the face to make you see how silly you've acted over this dude. I only regret I hadn't read it sooner....it would've saved me four months of unneccessary drama.