Online Heartache

“Smarting from a recent breakup? You want more than anything to feel better, forgive, and move on . . . not. What you really want is to wallow in your misery, wreak shrewd revenge--and never let them see you sweat.”

These tough-talking words of wisdom are a blunt introduction to Breakupgirl.com, a Web site that offers advice to men and women who’ve suffered recent relationship rifts.

Launched in November 1997, the site is an outgrowth of “He Loved Me, He Loves Me Not” (Avon, 1996), a humorous guide to breaking up. Writer-comedian Lynn Harris and designer-illustrator Chris Kalb wrote the book and created the site, where superheroine, Breakup Girl, answers e-mailed questions in an advice column.

Other offerings include a serial comic strip, cheeky articles such as “The World History of the Break-Up,” a message board to trade woes, and a link to Ben & Jerry’s ice cream.

More than 60,000 visit the Web site a month--men and women.

“It’s not just a girl thing,” Harris explains. “What we are saying is that men are not from Mars and women are not from Venus. Breakups are hell--for everybody.”