Breakup Bootcamp: The Science of Rewiring Your Heart

Romantic heartbreak plunges us into grief, pain, and dysregulation. We cannot stop the chemical reactions that happen with heartbreak, but we can use our understanding of emotional pain to help ourselves in the moment as well as make healthier choices for our hearts in the future. Chan (founder of Renew Breakup Bootcamp) channeled her own bumpy road of pain into a journey of growth, meaning, and service to others with her breakup retreats, which help women use science-backed information to heal from heartbreak. Now, Chan has placed the best of her retreats into a book for a wider audience. The cornerstone of healing is acknowledging emotions and supporting oneself while the attachment wanes. Once the acute pain recedes, the breakup is a call to awakening, reframing harsh messages we tell ourselves, determining key values, establishing healthy guardrails for future relationships, and creating scenarios in our lives where we are not losing ourselves in unhealthy patterns. Practical exercises, breaking down research into accessible explanations, and chapter endnotes for further reading make Chan’s work an enlightening one.