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Normal Broken

The Grief Companion for When It's Time to Heal but You're Not Sure You Want To

By Kelly Cervantes
Published by BenBella Books
Distributed by Simon & Schuster

About The Book
None of us make it through life without experiencing loss that leaves us feeling broken. That’s what makes grief so normal.

In Normal Broken, Kelly Cervantes isn’t trying to tell you what to do, how to feel, or the right way to heal. She’s also not flinging sunny thoughts, vibes, and prayers at you. After losing her daughter to epilepsy, she knows that grief is many things. It’s weird. It sucks. It’s all-encompassing. Something everyone will have to deal with. But never linear. Just as what we are grieving varies, so do our journeys to process it.

Normal Broken was born out of this desire to meet people where they are in their grief journeys, to lend a hand, or maybe to just sit in the dark with them. To acknowledge your brokenness and to feel broken together—never pressured to “move on” or “think positive.”

With chapters that can be read in any order, Normal Broken is divided into “moments” of grief that will allow you to choose what you need at any given time—such as:

  • When you’re not sure if you want to heal

  • When your greatest fear is socializing

  • When you’re facing anniversaries and other meaningful dates

  • When you’re ready to be okay

    Kelly also shares stories from her ongoing journey, along with advice she wishes someone had given her, and simple exercises to help you reflect on where you are. Normal Broken is designed to serve as a companion through your own grief journey, whether you are mourning the loss of a child, a friend, a family member, or anyone special in your life.

    • About The Author
    Kelly Cervantes

    Kelly Cervantes is an award-winning writer, speaker, and advocate best known for her blog Inchstones, where she shared the stress, love, and joy that came with parenting her medically complex daughter, Adelaide. Since Adelaide’s passing, Kelly has continued to write candidly about her arduous and, at times, contradictory grief journey.

    She has been published in the Chicago Tribune, the Chicago Sun-Times, and Cosmopolitan, as well as quoted in the New York Times, CNN, and People. She is on the board for the nonprofit CURE Epilepsy and also hosts their biweekly podcast, Seizing Life, where she interviews scientists, doctors, and individuals affected by epilepsy. Kelly currently resides in Maplewood, NJ, with her husband, four children (two physically, two spiritually), and their two dogs, Tabasco and Sriracha.

    Product Details
    • Publisher: BenBella Books (November 7, 2023)
    • Length: 224 pages
    • ISBN13: 9781637743836

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    Raves and Reviews

    """Normal Broken is the rare book about grief that tells the whole truth without empty platitudes and welcomes readers at any stage of grieving.""
    —Christie Tate, New York Times bestselling author of Group and BFF

    ""Kelly Cervantes gently leads us through our own unique grief journey with compassion, empathy, and heart. Feeling broken together is what binds us in this human experience, and Normal Broken shows us beautifully how to do that for each other and ourselves.""
    —Meredith Ethington, author of The Mother Load

    ""More than a poignantmemoir, Normal Broken is avalidating friend for anyone laden with grief.Whether we are in the acute, early days of loss or dreading yet another chronic milestone, this book offers support and solidarity without judgment or agenda.""
    —Stephanie Sarazin, author of Soulbroken

    ""Stunning. Heartbreaking. Beautiful. Thank you, Kelly, for helping us heal.""
    —Leslie Means, founder of Her View From Home and author of Wall Street Journal bestselling So God Made a Mother

    ""Normal Broken is so much more than a mother's journey toward healing. It's a survivor's guide for the scariest, twistiest valley of the human experience—loss. Unafraid of her own grief (or a delightfully dark joke), Cervantes writes with the Band-Aid off and shows us the process of healing. Part breathtaking, part heartbreaking, and 100 percent full of hope.""
    —Mary Katherine Backstrom, author of Crazy Joy and Holy Hot Mess

    ""Harrowingly transparent, Kelly Cervantes's soul-baring Normal Broken is a dear companion for those who are suffering, a glimmer of hope when all seems lost, and a poignantly delivered reminder that even when mired in the chaos of grief, we are not alone. It is essential reading for those who are struggling to endure the unimaginable.""
    —Daniel Lerner, coauthor of U Thrive"

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    Normal Broken

    The Grief Companion for When It's Time to Heal but You're Not Sure You Want To

    By Kelly Cervantes
    Published by BenBella Books
    Distributed by Simon & Schuster