The Marblehead Counseling Center and Saltwater Bookstore will host Marblehead native and author, actor, and comedian Rob Delaney alongside award-winning journalist and WBZ News Anchor Lisa Hughes on Aug. 10 at the Performing Arts Center at Veterans Memorial Middle School.
This conversation will dive into Delaney’s experience with unimaginable loss, grief, and resilience as they discuss his best-selling book, “A Heart That Works.”
Delaney grew up in Marblehead and is widely known as the co-creator and co-star of the critically acclaimed Amazon Prime comedy “Catastrophe,” which broadcasts in more than 130 countries around the world and earned him Primetime Emmy and BAFTA nominations, as well as a BAFTA TV Craft Award for Best Comedy Writing.
Delaney was also the breakout fan favorite Peter W. in “Deadpool 2” and featured in “Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning,” “Love at First Sight,” and “The Black Mirror.”
In 2018, Delaney’s 2-year-old son, Henry, died of a brain tumor. “A Heart That Works,” as described by Amazon, is Delaney’s intimate, unflinching, and at times fiercely funny exploration of Henry’s beautiful, bright life and the devastation of his loss. From the harrowing illness to the vivid, bodily impact of grief and the blind, furious rage that followed through to the forceful, unstoppable love that remains.
Delaney’s memoir offers solace to those who have faced devastation and shows us how grace may appear even in the darkest times.
“A Heart That Works” has been recognized as a New York Times bestseller, and listed on the New Yorker Best Books of 2022, Entertainment Weekly Best Books of 2022, USA Today Best Books of 2022, Time 100 Must-Read Books of 2022, Mother Jones Books We Needed in 2022, People Fall Must Read, 2022 BuzzFeed Fall Reading Pick, New York Post Best Books of 2022 and New York Times Editors’ Choice lists.
“The Marblehead Counseling Center is absolutely honored to welcome Rob back to Marblehead to share his experience with success, fame, trauma, unimaginable loss, grief, and grace,” says Ruth Ferguson, president of the Marblehead Counseling Center Board of Directors. “As the MCC offers services to those grappling with grief and other challenges, we appreciate someone like Rob sharing his perspective and unique experience to our community.”
In an informal and unscripted format; Hughes will join Delaney in conversation about his life experiences, the tragic loss of his son, Henry; the challenges of writing a memoir about something so personal; and how people are capable of great resilience in the face of great struggle.
Doors open at 5 p.m. and Rob’s two best-selling books, “A Heart That Works” and “Rob Delaney: Mother. Wife. Sister. Human. Warrior. Falcon. Yardstick. Turban. Cabbage” will be available for sale by presenting sponsor Saltwater Bookstore. Partial proceeds from book sales will go to children’s hospice charities, including the Rainbow Trust.
For tickets and additional information, visit www.marbleheadcounseling.org/heartsandhumor
For more information about the Marblehead Counseling Center, visit www.marbleheadcounseling.org.
