Second Hand Heart

By: Catherine Ryan Hyde

Narrated by: Khristine Hvam, Anthony Bowden

By the best-selling author of Don't Let Me Go and Pay It Forward, Second Hand Heart is a devastating and unexpected story of love and loss--of learning to live for the first time and learning to live all over again. Vida is only 19, but she knows a lot about dying. Her weak heart has kept her on the edge of death her whole life. It hasn't been much of a life. Thanks to her overprotective mother, Vida's only friend is Esther, an elderly Holocaust survivor who lives upstairs. Vida's heart is finally about to give out unless she can get a donor heart in time. Richard is 36 and blissfully married until he gets the call that his beloved wife has died in a car accident. His world falls to pieces. When Richard is invited to the hospital to meet the young woman who received his wife's donor heart, he goes, even though he's entirely not ready for it. Vida takes one look at Richard and feels she's known and loved him all her life. Richard is horrified by her reaction and thinks Vida is just a sheltered and confused young woman. As Vida and Richard struggle to define themselves in circumstances neither ever thought they'd face, both begin to wonder if it's possible that cellular memory, the idea that memories can be stored in individual cells, might actually be real. Could Vida's heart retain some of the love Richard's wife felt? Can a heart remember, at least for a time, on its own?

©2011 Catherine Ryan Hyde (P)2015 Audible Inc.

not one of her best books....I love her stories

I love her writing, she writes books that the stories and characters stick with you. Unfortunately this story was disappointing, itnwill be forgotten quickly.

2nd hand heart

Thank you for this story Catherine Ryan hide.. Every time I think about listening to one of your books I smile. The story of Richard and Vida is it's sweet and Literally touches your heart. Thanks for taking us to the Grand Canyon again. I live in Arizona and I've only been once shame on me lol. As the mom of a special needs child I can feel the pain of letting go.

Not up to usual standard.

Generally find her books compelling. Not this one. Characters were not realistic and very flat.

Great as usual

I’m so glad I ignored the negative reviews. I think all of this author’s books are so original. This one had me captivated.

Loved the book

well worth the read. started slow, several twists, but very good. Like this author. Very good.

Disappointed

I was excited to read another of this author’s books but it took some time to get into the story. It got somewhat better, but not nearly as good as her other books. As far as the audio: The woman’s voice was good, but a man should not try to do a woman’s voice. Since there is two readers it would have been better to go by voice and not by chapter. I cringed on the chapters read by the man.

very nuanced and surprisingly accurate

the author either has personal experience with heart transplants and congenital heart disease or she did extensive research. There are a lot of nuances about this that you only really understand if you've lived it. my daughter (who is now 18) was born with the same heart defect as the main character and had 2 of the 3 surgeries needed before ultimately needing a transplant. while I'm nothing like the mother in this book, i felt for her and understood a lot of the issues she was dealing with. it's incredibly complex, the feelings and struggles that a mother in her shoes faces and while it's easy to jump to the conclusion that she must be an overbearing helicopter parent with control issues, it's not quite that simple. these kids are still very much kids even when they're 18 or 19. my daughter has had very different life experiences from most kids her age and it's going to take her a little longer to get to the point where she can care for herself as an adult... it's just the way this kind of life is. so i felt for the mom, while simultaneously rolling my eyes at her. there were some off- the- wall moments that Vida created that were kind of cringey to listen to, but kept me interested, nonetheless. my daughter was under 2 when she had her transplant and the donor wasn't much older, so we don't have personal experience with the cellular memory phenomenon. however, I can attest- knowing many kids who have had transplants or even 2nd transplants as older kids or young adults- that it's a well documented phenomenon. i can understand why this book didn't hit the mark for many, because it's a bit too nuanced for many to relate to, but it is very well written. i wasn't crazy about the female narrators voice, it was a bit annoying. but overall, this book resonated with me for very personal reasons and i applaud the author for writing about something incredibly complex, but real.

Too Depressing

I have listened to many of this authors books. I like them because overall there is less drama in them than most and because they are positive and uplifting. In my opinion people need stories that are mostly positive. We are all too familiar with the drama and struggle life poses. Ninety-five percent of this book was drama and struggle.

The story

Story 10 Vida on point 10 Richard too dry 5 .5 Enjoyable and yet refreshing.

Good, but not my fav

This book was good, but I had to double check to make sure it really was a Catherine Ryan Hyde book. I expect more from her books than what this book gave me. It had a good premise, but the story was a bit disappointing, even kind of weird at times. I Still love this author and will continue reading her books!!