The Blessing of a Broken Heart

by Sherri Mandell

Book Overview

Koby Mandell was 13 years old when he and his friend Yosef were brutally stoned to death in a cave in the heart of the Judean desert. This is an absorbing painful yet beautiful account of life with... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 159264029X
• ISBN13: 9781592640294
• Release Date: January 2003
• Publisher: Toby Press
• Length: 233 Pages
• Weight: 1.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 5.5" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Getting through grief

Since I lost my oldest child six months ago, I felt I was too fragile and raw to read this book. While in Israel, however, I felt inspired and perhaps stronger, to delve into it. The feelings are so familiar and it is reassuring to know that the doubt and anger are not just mine. The only way to grieve is to communicate and share. This book provided me with some comfort that my reactions are normal and that I too will survive.

Sharing our Grief

My son died a few months ago and I have begun reading many books on grief. But Sherri Mandell's book "Blessings of a Broken Heart" is the best one I have read. It is easy to read yet very deep. Each chapter is short and essay-like and can be read independently. Sherri is very open about what her grief feels like, openly talking about subjects others may avoid. It seems as I read that she and I are sitting across the table from each other sharing our grief. At the same time, she gives a glimpse into the lives of those that are brave enough to return to Israel to live in these perilous times. And she also gives a glimpse into the Jewish way of mourning. This book is a journey through the first year of grief and you feel like you are walking it with her. I recommend this book to ANYONE that is grieving or has a loved-one that may be grieving. I have not read another book on grieving since - hers was the last one I needed.

Hauntingly beautiful

(*sigh*) What can a mere person say about the pain that is spilled out on the pages of this book? How about "Thank you, Sherri Mandell, for helping me understand even just a little bit what a parent goes through when they lose a child." ?This book heals more than hurts the reader. As a friend of a family who lost their child before his time, I grasped for a way to understand - to be the friend they needed in their time of sorrow. Reading this book has allowed me to be unafraid of their pain and to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with them. It helped me to realize how their healing will come in stages and how I can support them through the coming months.Thank you, Sherri, for sharing your unbearable pain and unimaginable blessings.

Moving Poetry

Sherri Mandell writes about the loss of her son in words of poetry. As she shares her deepest feelings, we cry and grow with her. She has an incredible and personable way of writing. The Blessing of a Broken Heart will touch everyone.

Heartbreaking and Uplifting

There are no words to describe what Mandell endured - losing her eldest son in a brutal terror attack two years ago - and yet she's managed to describe her experiences in a beautiful and haunting way. Her writing is lucid, self aware, and full of feeling, but never melodramatic; she clearly does not want pity. It seems that her aim is simply to share her world - its pain and everything that pain has brought into her life. There is no way to walk away from this book uninspired or unappreciative of every morsel of life and love available. A truly spiritual experience with great sensitivity and, inconceivably, heart rendering humor. The title says it best: This book is about the deepest level of the human experience.