The Story of a Heart

Rachel Clarke tells the selfless story of the extended and extraordinary life of this heart, and how it changed organ donation for ever. This unconventional narrative biography fizzes with respectful, indefatigable and eloquent respect for life. Unforgettable * The Times, Books of the Year *
Profoundly moving and at the same time wildly inspiring. A beautiful, humane book… Even hearing a sliver of this story would make you hunger to learn every possible detail, and rare is the writer who could pull it together so beautifully * Rob Delaney *
The Story of a Heart is the best narrative non-fiction I’ve read in years. Rachel Clarke has written a profound piece of investigative journalism and wrapped it up in poetry. A story of death - and life, and how one incredible family gifted a miracle to another * Christie Watson *
An extraordinary story, beautifully told * Adam Kay *
Rachel Clarke [is] a physician who is also an uncommonly good writer… The Story of a Heart is never mawkish. It is instead a clear-eyed act of investigative journalism; Clarke knows her subject and does the legwork too * Prospect *
What a book … The perfect book * Chris Evans on Virgin Radio *
Telling this true story with dramatic pace, medical precision and characteristic warmth, The Story of a Heart is Rachel Clarke’s finest book yet * Financial Times *
Clarke, the author of the superb Dear Life and the coruscating Covid expose Breathtaking, is the right person to tell the extraordinary story of how one family’s grief was transformed into a lifesaving act of generosity. The Story of a Heart is tender and inspiring and displays all Clarke’s usual compassion for the dead and why they deserve to be honoured * Independent *
Remarkable * Cosmopolitan *
The Story of a Heart is beautifully written and utterly vital * iPaper *
This is a gripping story of two remarkable families, a remarkable heart and a remarkable organ donor system, faultlessly told * BGJP *
This is THE MOST BEAUTIFUL and riveting book: written with such humanity, empathy and knowledge, such tact and drama and eloquence. Vital reading, lifelong revelation * Laura Cumming *
Clarke could not have rendered this story more tenderly… this is humane writing * The Times *
As tense and nerve-racking as any thriller * Mail on Sunday *
A moving account * Daily Mirror *
The Story of a Heart makes for a compelling read, peppered with Clarke’s often startlingly poetic descriptions and frequent detours into the fascinating history of transplantation * Radio Times *
Clarke brilliantly interweaves the tragic story that links the two children with that of the medical staff who looked after Keira in her final hours and those who helped her heart to give Max new life. It is obviously an incredibly emotional piece, but Clarke’s ability to balance the children’s stories with the medical ones offers some hope in a dark place * Sunday Times *
The extraordinary journey of a young girl’s heart to a young boy’s body is told in an accessible, humane way… There are moments, within this intricate tapestry, where Clarke’s evocative, empathetic writing makes you catch your breath * Guardian, Book of the Day *
This emotional story explores how one bereaved family helped save the life of another child and looks at the medical advances over the years that made it all possible… 5 stars * Sun *
Rachel Clarke takes us deep into the drama, tragedy and triumph behind the modern miracle of a heart transplant. This is a unique and profoundly moving story of life and death * Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction 2024 *
The subject matter is overwhelmingly emotional, yet Clarke approaches it with the clear-eyed rigour of an investigative journalist - tracking every step, every person, every scientific miracle involved in a heart transplant * Prospect, Books of the Year *
This moving book reminds us about the power of human empathy as well as the importance of the NHS – Antony Beevor * Spectator, Books of the Year *

Dr Rachel Clarke is an NHS palliative care doctor and the author of four Sunday Times bestselling non-fiction books. Her most recent book, The Story of a Heart (2024), won the Women’s Prize for Non-Fiction.

Breathtaking (2021) documents her and her colleagues’ experiences during the Covid-19 pandemic and was adapted into an acclaimed television series broadcast on ITV in 2024. Dear Life (2020), which depicts her work in an NHS hospice, was shortlisted for the 2020 Costa Biography Award and long-listed for the 2020 Baillie Gifford Prize.

Before pursuing a career in medicine, Rachel was a broadcast journalist, producing and directing current affairs documentaries on topics such as Al Qaeda, the Iraq War, and the civil war in the Democratic Republic of Congo. She continues to write regularly for publications including the Guardian, Sunday Times, New Statesman, and Lancet, and makes frequent appearances on television and radio.

Inspired by a visit to Ukraine in late 2022, Rachel founded Hospice Ukraine, a UK-registered charity that supports the work of local palliative care teams in Ukraine.

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