Jill Wolfson’s latest novel, Cold Hands, Warm Heart, tells the story of how organ donation affects the donor’s family,the recipients, and the many others involved in this amazing, but too-little-utilized life giving gift.
Wolfson creates a compelling and touching story by focusing on the experiences and families of 2 teenage girls: Dani, who was born with a malfunctioning heart and has spent her entire life in and out of hospital, facing surgery after surgery, just wishing for a normal life; and Amanda, a competitive gymnast whose life is unexpectedly cut short and whose family chooses to donate her organs after she is declared brain-dead. Amanda’s story and Dani’s are interwoven in alternating chapters throughout the book as we get to know both of these girls and those around them. Wolfson’s narrator for Amanda’s story is a removed, third person observer who allows us into the operating room where her organs are harvested; who watches her parent grieve their loss; and focuses on her brother, Tyler, as he finally gets to know his sister through her journals and, ultimately, through the connections he develops with the recipients of Amanda’s organs. Dani tells her story in the first person which allows the reader to form an intimate connection with this smart, funny girl. As she comes to terms with her new life, Dani has to face her own fears about what lies ahead in a future she only ever dared to dream she’d have.
Wolfson tenderly illustrates everyday people grappling with the grief, anger, fear that comes at end of life and also the hope, courage, and strength of a renewed chance at life. Characters throughout ask themselves if they have “the courage to love something death can touch. That death has already touched” and hopefully by the end of the book, readers will also take the opportunity to explore the answers to this, and other issues, so accesibly presented here.
Want more information? Visit the Arizona Organ Donor Registry.
- Posted by Cori