About the Project

Daniel Handler explains the Why We Broke Up Project

Why We Broke Up is my new novel, in the form of a long letter from a girl named Min Green to a boy named Ed Slaterton. The letter comes with a box, and inside the box are all of the souvenirs from their love. Each of the items is the subject of a painting by Maira Kalman.

In order to write and illustrate this tale of heartbreak, Maira and I dug deep into our own romantic histories, remembering all of the times we’ve been dumped, particularly by [name redacted] and, in Maira’s case, [name redacted]. It was almost like getting our hearts broken all over again, several times, and it doesn’t seem fair that we would have to do this and you wouldn’t.

This website allows you to share your stories of heartbreak with us, just as we shared ours with you. Our hope is that the Why We Broke Up project will enable all of our heartbreak to reach critical mass, so that, unlike [name redacted], it will never bother us again.

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About Daniel

DANIEL HANDLER has written for grown-ups under his own name and for younger readers under the name Lemony Snicket. He was dumped at least three times in high school.

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About Maria

MAIRA KALMAN, acclaimed artist and designer, has created many books for both grown-ups and children. Her heart was broken in high school by a boy who looked like Bob Dylan and shortly thereafter by one who looked like Leonard Cohen.

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