How one of my books led readers to become organ donors ... and helped my cousin meet the family who saved his life
Author Emma Heat he ring ton argues that chick lit is not just throw away romantic fiction, but can have profound effects and tell show her writing has had an unexpected reaction from readers who lost loved ones
The lady’s face twisted in disgust and then she burst out laughing as she said: “Ooh, so you just write commercial fiction? Eugh!” She sneered in my direction, leaving me shocked and flushed with embarrassment as I struggled to think of a response.
Lost for words, I left the company and took a moment to feel very sorry for myself. No, not sorry at all actually, I was absolutely raging at being humiliated in front of fellow writers and angry at myself at not having a quick enough response for this lady who seemed to think that because my books are labelled as ‘commercial’ and not ‘literary,’ I was somewhat beneath her talent.
This is not new in the writing world. Like any other industry, there is snobbery and it’s very easy to literally judge a book by its cover (heaven forbid if the cover has a hint of pink!) and dismiss women writers as ‘chick lit’ who make up frothy, fluffy stories that are throwaway, popular and yes, dare I say, ‘commercial’, just because it suits some to look down their noses and make judgment without having read a word.
Last year, my novel The Legacy of Lucy Harte hit the Amazon bestsellers chart in both the UK and USA, representing a sea change in my career to date. The book deals with the plight of Maggie, who at 17 years old was given a second chance at life due to organ donation, and her quest to show her gratitude to the little girl, Lucy Harte, whose heart beats inside her. Maggie received Lucy’s bucket list and carries it out in her memory and it in turn changes Maggie’s life for the better. It’s a real tear jerker and was a shift in genre from my previous romantic comedy novels, and I couldn’t believe it when I started to receive messages from readers in the USA, in New Zealand, in Germany, in Holland (where the book is translated) and much closer to home saying the book had changed their lives.
One reader, Laura, from Boston, told me the heartbreaking story of how her cousin was killed in a motorbike accident and when his wife decided to donate his organs Laura couldn’t help but feel jealous that some other family were getting a second chance due to her cousin’s death when he didn’t. For years she battled with her opinion on organ donation but when she read The Legacy of Lucy Harte, she cried tears of joy as she realised that her cousin had not died in vain. It really shifted her perspective and gave her great peace that she had longed for since she lost her cousin so suddenly.
I was blown away by Laura’s story and the fact that she took the time to look me up and let me know. Then the messages kept coming in ...
Christine from Florida said: “Thanks for the roller coaster of emotions. I’m now a donor thanks to you.”
Conni from Kentucky wrote: “This book has changed how I view life and I will never forget it. I’m an emotional mess but a better person for it.”
And Deborah from Texas told me how the life lessons offered were inspiring and unforgettable.
Here at home, readers contact- ed me on a daily basis to say they would be signing on the organ donor register and some shared their own stories of organ donation. I was so honoured when some travelled to meet me at my book launch in Sheehy’s bookshop in Cookstown, with one man who had just had a heart transplant making the journey having heard my interview on UTV Life.
In Galway, I had the pleasure of meeting the truly inspirational Martina Goggin whose only son Eamonn was killed in a road traffic accident in 2006. Martina, who now runs a support network for the families of organ donors called Strange Boats, said that during her darkest hours the fact that his organs allowed others to continue living was her only source of comfort.
The Legacy of Lucy Harte was inspired by a real life story and is dedicated to my cousin Ciaran Campbell who had a strong urge for many, many years to get in touch with his donor family in England. Having received a kidney as a child, Ciaran always felt he had the responsibility to say thank you to the mother of the little girl, Ashley, who he knew died when she was very young but, so far, he hadn’t managed to get any further than find out the family name and write to them to say hello. They allowed us to dedicate the book to Ashley, but Ciaran’s big dream was to meet them and say thank you in person, a goal that always seemed to be well out of reach.
This year saw the publication
It’s scary whenever you put your own creation into the hands of the public
of A Part of Me and You, a story which explored the relationship between two women who meet unexpectedly in the west of Ireland when Juliette and her daughter Rosie travel there with the hope of tracking down Rosie’s biological father. Then Juliette, who is terminally ill, leaves her teenage daughter forever. It is here she meets Shelley and together they change each other for the better. Once again, the messages started pouring in as readers took comfort from the life lessons shared as we meet one woman who is dying to live and another who is living to die.
One reader said: “It has made me reflect about life: live it to the fullest, love those who mean the world to you and grab every precious second.
I will be savouring more moments and realising just how lucky I am to have so much love in my life. Only thing that matters at the end of it all.”
Another said: “It filled me up with so much joy and positivity. I am in tears here of sadness and happiness rolled into one.”
From the USA, Diana, a retired teacher who had lost her daughter at 28 years old, wrote how the book gave her hope. “That is the most important part for me,” she said. “It is so hard to maintain hope after the unimaginable happens. Hope that I will somehow someday heal the hole in my heart. Thank you for writing this book.”
My next novel, A Miracle on Hope Street, is a Christmas story which tackles the subject of loneliness and it will be available as an e-book from September 28 and in paperback in November. Loneliness is now considered an epidemic and once again I aim to bring hope to readers who may recognise themselves in the characters I’ve created and, who knows, maybe it might help them overcome the sense of isolation that loneliness brings.
My writing will never win the Booker Prize or any other big fancy awards, but that’s not why I do it. I have the greatest respect to everyone, literary and commercial, who put pen to paper and who are brave enough to bare their soul and show it to the outside world knowing that it won’t be to everyone’s taste, no matter what label it comes under. The same goes for songwriters, visual artists or anyone who works in a creative environment be it as a hobby or a full-time job. It’s scary whenever you put your own creation into the hands of the public and it takes a while to grow a thick skin that allows you to take some of the more negative comments on the chin.
The best outcome of all in the past year, however, was when Ciaran sent a copy of The Legacy of Lucy Harte to his donor family, hoping they might like to see Ashley’s name in print in the dedication. The book unexpectedly then acted as a great catalyst for conversation and, to our joy and surprise, Ciaran later travelled to England to meet little Ashley’s family which was a lifelong dream come true. Earlier this year the family came across to visit Belfast and Tyrone which meant that I got to meet them, too. It was an emotional and surreal occasion and one that gave Ciaran and his own mother a real life happy ending, not to mention closure as he thanked the people who saved his life in person.
To me, a book should always move you in some way, should it be to make you think, to make you laugh, to make you angry, to make you cry, or to instil any type of emotion that comes your way. If it does that, then the writer has done his or her job.
The messages I have received and seeing Ciaran meet his donor family, to me, are better than any fancy prize for literature, and it goes to show that a book, no matter how it is labelled and no matter what colour is on the cover, just might have the power to change someone’s world forever.