When I finished the last page of this marvelous exploration of life and its difficulties, I was taken by Adina Talve-Goodman’s liveliness. These seven interlocking essays were published posthumously, but they are full of life and joy and a sense of wonder about the world at large. She tackles big subjects—living with a failing heart, living with a new heart, being young and in love and knowing that death was right there—with a sensitivity and openness which is truly remarkable. Some of the essays are more polished than others, but they are all well worthing reading. ( )

Adina Talve-Goodman (1986-2018) was born with several congenital malformations, the most significant being a critical congenital heart defect, as her heart had only one ventricle (pumping chamber) instead of two, and blood could not flow from her heart to her lungs, a condition known as pulmonary atresia. As this is a lethal malformation she underwent surgical corrections at one and six days of age, which saved her life but could not permanently correct her deformed heart. She went into heart failure at the age of 12, went on the transplant list at 17, and underwent a heart transplant at 19, which allowed her to live a nearly normal life. She did have to take several immunosuppressant medications to keep her body’s immune system from rejecting her new heart, but tragically she developed a type of lymphoma, a cancer of the white blood cells, a known complication of long-term use of immunosuppressive agents that ultimately claimed her life shortly after her 31st birthday.

Adina Talve-Goodman was also the daughter of rabbis, who was born in St. Louis, attended Washington University in her home town, and was a noted local actress, a talented writer and a supporter of up and coming ones, and a beautiful and ebullient young woman who lived a rich and meaningful life, laughed often, loved fiercely, and enriched and touched the lives of practically everyone she encountered, whether family members, friends, classmates or strangers. Her favorite author was James Baldwin, and a quote from his novel "Tell Me How Long the Train’s Been Gone" served as one that she treasured and embodied:

"For the very first time, the very first time, I realized the fabulous extent of my luck: I could, I could, if I kept the faith, transform my sorrow into life and joy. I might live in pain and sorrow forever, but, if I kept the faith, I could do for others what I felt had not been done for me, and if I could do that, if I could give, I could live."

"Your Hearts, Your Scars" is a collection of seven personal essays that Adina wrote towards the end of her life. She describes her life as a chronically ill young woman, her practically overnight transformation to a nearly normal person after her transplant, and the complex emotions she experienced knowing that her life depended on the premature death of the young person whose heart she carried within her. She describes the arduous process of getting a precious transplanted organ and how close to death one has to come to obtain one, how her illness and physical scars affect how she views her body and how others, particularly her lovers, treat her, and how the gift of life she received impacted her feelings of responsibility to the donor, as well as to others in need of help. Through her words this reader learned more about the daily life of a chronically ill child and young person, and how much many people like her embrace and value life even more than those who are not afflicted with chronic illness.

Your Hearts, Your Scars is, like the author, full of laughter and love, and her joie de vivre jumps off the page and made me appreciate all that I have been given. It gave me a sense of who she was, and how much her tragic death must have impacted those around her. It was a very touching and unforgettable book, and one that I could not recommend any more highly.

Thank you to Bellevue Literary Press and the LibraryThing Early Reviewers program for providing me with an uncorrected proof of this book in exchange for an honest review of it. ( )

A lovely short read; very poignant because you know that after all the author went through as a child with serious heart and other medical problems, she died of cancer at age 31. Adina Talve-Goodman manages to share
various facets of her life with great insight and a humorous attitude, never taking herself too seriously.

You'd think a book about a girl living with heart failure and waiting for a donor heart would be sad, heartbreaking even, but Adina Talve-Goodman had the writing chops to make it otherwise. In fact she can be, at times, pretty damn funny in describing her life, transplant, scars and all. Like in the first essay, where she describes a first time sexual encounter with a college boyfriend, afraid he would be turned off by the transplant scar, but when she explained what it was, he only said, "You have great boobs." There are other awkward encounters too, with another heart transplant recipient in a bar, neither quite knowing what to talk about.

Talve-Goodman was born with a defective heart, which severely limited what she could do as a child. At nineteen she received a new heart, which opened up whole new worlds for her, even with the daily regimen of anti-rejection drugs. She finished college and worked in the publishing world in NYC, editing a literary magazine. She wanted to write, and attended the Iowa Writers Workshop, which gave us the essays here, in YOUR HEARTS, YOUR SCARS. They are a testament to her writing skills, even the unfinished ones, edited and with commentary by her sister and the author, Hannah Tinti. Sadly, Adina Talve-Goodman died at thirty-one, a victim of cancer.

This book will move you, no question, and it is indeed heartbreaking, mostly because you already know this talented young author is gone. But it will also make you laugh. That's how damn good this young woman was. You will wish there were more. I did. My very highest recommendation.

- Tim Bazzett, author of the memoir, BOOKLOVER ( )

(4) A collection of essays collated and edited by the authors friends and family after her unexpected death at age 31. She was getting her MFA in writing and was an editor at a literary magazine in NY when she developed lymphoma from years of immunosuppressants after a heart transplant at age 19. She was born with hypo plastic L heart and had Fontan procedures that ultimately failed causing her to live with heart failure as a middle schooler. These are essays mostly written just prior to her death when she had been relatively healthy post transplant. She writes poignantly about the distance between being chronically ill and well - a concept that fascinates me as a physician and a cancer survivor.

Her writing is elliptical though quite lovely. The best essays had the most contextual and personal details such as about her and her boyfriend or experiences at the camp for kids with transplants, or the annoying hospital volunteer with the Dalmation, the photo of the heart in a cooler. I can't help but wonder whether her family buried her childhood heart with her or whether they still keep it - I think she would have had a lot to say about that decision either way.

Whenever she tried to bring in too much liberal academic theory re: "intersectionality," "the othering of sick bodies," etc. the writing felt forced. That more political direction was not as successful or heartfelt in my opinion. I think if she had had more time she could have woven together more personal writing with a larger societal message that didn't feel forced or preachy. I wish there were more as this is quickly read ~ 100 pages that does feel a bit unfinsished. In the end, it is really too slight of a collection to rank much higher. So much potential and she seemed a fascinating wonderful person. Very appreciative to have been an LT early reviewer.
Recommended for those who have enjoyed Kate Bowler ('Everything Happens for a Reason',) Paul Kalanithi's 'When Breath Becomes Air', and Suleika Jaouad's 'Between Two Kingdoms.' ( )