Shortlisted for the Women’s Prize and the Baillie Gifford Prize
An unforgettable and inspiring true story of how one family’s grief transformed into a lifesaving gift—written by a bestselling author and palliative care doctor.
The first of our organs to form and the last to die, the heart is both a simple pump and the symbol of what makes us human; as long as it continues to beat, there is hope. In The Story of a Heart, Dr. Rachel Clarke blends the history of medical innovations behind transplant surgery with the story of two children—one of whom desperately needs a new heart.
One summer day, nine-year-old Keira Ball was in a terrible car accident and suffered catastrophic brain injuries. As the rest of her body began to shut down, her heart continued to beat. In an act of extraordinary generosity, Keira’s parents and siblings immediately agreed that she would have wanted to be an organ donor. Meanwhile nine-year-old Max Johnson had been in a hospital for nearly a year, valiantly fighting the virus that was causing his young heart to fail. When Max’s parents received the call they had been hoping for, they knew it came at a terrible cost to another family—in what Clarke calls “the brutal arithmetic of transplant surgery.”
The act of Keira’s heart resuming its rhythm inside Max’s body was a medical miracle. But this was only part of the story. While waiting on the transplant list, Max had become the hopeful face of a campaign to change the UK’s laws around organ donation. Following his successful surgery, Keira’s mother saw the little boy beaming on the front page of the newspaper and knew it was the same boy whose parents had recently sent her an anonymous letter overflowing with gratitude for her daughter’s heart. The two mothers began to exchange messages and eventually decided to meet.
In this “profoundly moving…[and] beautiful, humane book” (Rob Delaney) Clarke relates the urgent journey of Keira’s heart and explores the history of the remarkable surgery that made it possible, stretching back over a century and involving the knowledge and dedication of surgeons, nurses and technicians, immunologists and paramedics. A powerful tale of two families linked by one heart, The Story of a Heart is a testament to compassion for the dying, the many ways we honor our loved ones, and the tenacity of love.
“Blends the history of medical innovations behind transplant surgery with the moving true story of two children, one whom desperately needs a new heart.” —The New York Times
“An emotionally compelling account of the traumatic and miraculous ramifications of an organ transplant…Telling this true story with dramatic pace, medical precision and characteristic warmth, The Story of a Heart is Rachel Clarke’s finest book yet.” —Financial Times
“Clarke braids a rigorous scientific and cultural history of transplant medicine with the story of two children...The narrative about Keira and Max's families, and the team of professionals caring for them all, is very touching. Clarke never strips Keira of her humanity; the story of her heart, and her life, continues to help others in this informative, important book.” —BookPage
“Thoughtful and sensitive, this book not only illuminates a little-discussed topic but also reveals that just as medical science has wrought miracles, it has also raised ‘profound questions about what it means to be alive.’ A poignantly celebratory tale.” —Kirkus Reviews
