“[With] humor and radiant courage . . . Silverstein delivers a searing insight into the battle to stay alive.”—Ted Koppel
“Spectacular.”—Mehmet Oz, MD, cardiothoracic surgeon and coauthor of You: The Owner’s Manual
At just twenty-four, Amy Silverstein was your typical type-A law student: smart, driven, and highly competitive. With a budding romance and a heavy academic schedule, Silverstein did not have time for illness—even one that caused her to black out and suffer temporary blindness. When her family doctor suggested her symptoms were due to stress and diet, she was happy to think calm thoughts and eat fistfuls of salt. At such a young age, how could she have guessed that her heart was about to give out? With a grace and force reminiscent of Lucy Grealy’s Autobiography of a Face or Susanna Kaysen’s Girl, Interrupted , Silverstein chronicles her harrowing medical journey from first misdiagnosis to astonishing and ongoing recovery, all amidst a romantic bedside courtship with her husband, Scott, and her uncompromising drive to become a mother. Silverstein presents a patient’s perspective that is fierce, provocative, and sometimes controversial, allowing readers to live her nightmare from the inside—an unforgettable experience that is both painfully disturbing and utterly compelling.