Sphere signs ‘roadmap for lost grievers’ by Mackintosh

Sphere has signed I Promise it Won’t Always Hurt Like This: 17 Assurances on Grief, a "beautiful" work of non-fiction by novelist Clare Mackintosh. 

Emily Barrett, publishing director at Sphere, acquired world rights from Sheila Crowley at Curtis Brown. It will publish in February 2023. 

When Mackintosh lost her five-week-old son 17 years ago, she searched for help in books but found that all of them wanted to tell her what she should be feeling and when she should be feeling it.

“This is the book she needed then,” the publisher’s synopsis says. Inspired by a Twitter thread Mackintosh wrote on the anniversary of her son’s death in 2020, the book includes 17 short assurances for people going through grief. The assurances are full of compassion, said the publisher. 

Barrett said: “There have been several successful books on the subject of grief in the past few years but this book is truly one of a kind. It’s written with the needs of the person grieving in mind by someone who’s been on the frontline herself and understands how overwhelming, exhausting and earth-shattering grief can be. 

“It’s been an emotional experience working with Clare on something that is so personal to her but I feel very lucky to have watched her put her writing talents to such good use. This is a beautiful book and I am positive it’s going to help a great many people. All of us at Sphere and Little, Brown are incredibly proud to be helping Clare bring this important book to market in early 2023.”

Mackintosh, author of Hostage (Sphere) and the upcoming The Last Party (Sphere), added: “I have always written about grief through the filter of fiction, with a layer of protection between my own experiences and the reader. It has been challenging, and at times uncomfortable, to explore my personal journey through grief but I feel strongly that recovery begins with a conversation. The collective outpouring of grief caused by the pandemic, and by current global events, will endure for generations—we have never needed to talk about loss more than we do now.”