{"product_id":"the-heart-folds-early-a-memoir-paperback","title":"The Heart Folds Early: A Memoir - Paperback","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/reportcopyrightinfringement.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eReport copyright infringement\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eJill Christman\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eThis book is about what it means to make a choice. As mothers, how do we carry life and death in our bodies and survive with our hearts intact?\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Heart Folds Early\u003c\/i\u003e is a story of transformation through tragedy, and an examination of the way in which great loss can make us simultaneously fearful and intrepid. Emerging from a childhood that included both devastating sexual abuse and the sustaining joy of being deeply (if imperfectly) loved, Jill Christman's sights were set on building and protecting her own happy family--until her fiancé was killed in a car accident.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChristman folds the mournful recklessness of the young widow she was against the backdrop of her later marriage and new motherhood, including the choice to end a half-term pregnancy when a routine ultrasound revealed her baby boy had just half a heart. Courageous, clear-eyed, tender, and unexpectedly funny, Christman's book reflects on her life and asks: What happens when we're afraid the worst thing will happen and then, sometimes, it does? What does it mean to make and live with a heartrending choice? How do we carry life and death in our bodies and survive with our hearts intact?\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eJill Christman\u003c\/b\u003e is the author of \u003ci\u003eIf This Were Fiction: A Love Story in Essays\u003c\/i\u003e (Nebraska, 2022), \u003ci\u003eDarkroom: A Family Exposure\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eBorrowed Babies: Apprenticing for Motherhood\u003c\/i\u003e. She is a professor in the Creative Writing Program at Ball State University, where she serves as editor of \u003ci\u003eRiver Teeth: A Journal of Nonfiction Narrative\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eBeautiful Things\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 296\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.67 x 8.5 x 5.5 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e March 01, 2026\u003c\/div\u003e\n            ","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52007170670893,"sku":"9781496246790","price":28.28,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0938\/3185\/6429\/files\/37Gi503Qjw9781496246790.webp?v=1776811632","url":"https:\/\/ishookbooks.com\/products\/the-heart-folds-early-a-memoir-paperback","provider":"iShook Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}