How Do You Mend a Broken Heart?

According to Howard Bronson and Mike Riley, it is not by listening to soft rock Bee-Gees songs.  Instead the authors suggest an active approach that should work quickly if you can follow their method.  Bronson and Riley are authors of How to Heal A Broken Heart in 30 Days: A Day-by-Day Guide to Saying Goodbye and Getting On with Your Life. The authors describe their method as more holistic than approaches that focus primarily on the emotions involved in break-ups.  They see their approach as a do-it-yourself program.  Bronson and Riley are not doctors or counselors.  They describe themselves as journalists and authors who have spent the majority of their career covering topics like health care and psychology.
The book has 30 chapters that cover the 30-day period of recovery.  Bronson offers a "primer that provides a series of meditations and reflections on your process of grieving and growth." (page 8) Riley then gives action points and tips to help focus on the topic of each individual chapter.  The authors do have their own experiences as men and fathers who endured divorce.
So, how does the book work?  I did read it and tried my best to follow their program.  Did I forget about my 20-year marriage within a month.  Hell No!  However, I did find this book extremely helpful in getting past the denial stage.  My God I was stuck in a deep sense of mourning and wanting to try to convince my ex-wife that I had made a mistake and that we needed to get together for the sake of our daughter and even our grown sons.  I had convinced myself that I could somehow win her back and that I would not have a failed marriage.  This book viscerally showed me that this a fool's errand.  It was like an old friend who shoots straight and tells you it is OVER and time to MOVE ON.  This process begins with the contract they provide in the first chapter. It requires the reader to commit to working on healing and moving on for the next month. It doesn't entirely close the possibility of reconciliation, but it insists that you begin the process of recovery now, regardless of the outcome of the relationship you are getting over.  They feel the only way to heal your heart is to see this break-up as a fresh start.  With the perspective of someone two years removed from my own "contract", I see much wisdom in this approach.  No Prince Hamlet dithering about "to be or not to be."  Instead, I had to get off my ass figuratively and literally and get on with the process of living the rest of my life.
To accomplish this, there is a plan of action that truly can be described as a "holistic" approach to health.  Everything from breathing to diet to sleep and exercise are considered as part of this plan of action.
The authors use their own personal and professional experience to provide an outstanding book full of resources all connected to your healing and emotional well-being.  They also have candid assessments of therapy, marriage counseling, mutual support groups, and a variety of other approaches.
I cannot vouch for the success of their 30-day program, however I do strongly endorse their practical and candid approach that forces the reader to pull themselves out of self-pity.  It is a book that I can return to, especially to the tips and action plans.  An original approach that has much to offer for those who do not want to exclusively use counseling or group therapy approaches.
Czar