The Story of a Heart: Two Families United by Loss, Love, and Lifesaving Medicine

Palliative care physician Clarke (Breathtaking) tells the story of two families inextricably linked through organ donation. When a car crash irreparably damages nine-year-old Keira Ball’s brain, her family begins the process of donating her organs. Concurrently, nine-year-old Max Johnson, whose heart was weakened by illness, is foundering as he waits for a new heart. Narrating her own account, Clarke interweaves the history of organ donation and heart-transplant surgery with Max’s and Keira’s alternating stories. With a gentle tempo and compassionate tone, Clarke crafts affecting images of each person in the story. The somewhat scientific description of medical procedures is occasionally technical but not so daunting as to prevent listeners from connecting with the text. However, Clarke’s pronunciation of some words, specifically the whistling sound of the letter “s,” detracts from the audio experience.