Book: The Art of Hearing Heartbeats
By: Jan-Philipp Sendker
Reviewed by: Caroline Reber, author of the novel Life Happens, Google Ireland account strategist and former Global Atlanta marketing manager
I don’t normally fall for romance books, but this love story spanning distance and decades had me hooked within a few pages.
The story starts out in New York City where Julia is determined to find out what happened to her father, a successful lawyer that suddenly disappeared from her and her mother’s life without so much as a note.
After years of no progress her investigation uncovers a love note written to a woman in Burma. She travels there and slowly begins to reveal the secrets of her father’s past. As much as it hurts, she forces herself to learn about a man she thought she knew. It leaves the reader with a feeling that you can never really judge someone until you have walked in their shoes.
The Art of Hearing Heartbeats is a wonderful story about hardship, love and determination. It offers an interesting portrayal of Burmese culture written in a way that makes you feel you were there. It’s a beautiful and different tale about a love so strong that no distance, time or challenge is too big to overcome. In today’s world where divorce rates are high it’s refreshing to imagine a love that never fades, even though hardships may intervene.
The book was first published in 2014 and became an international bestseller that sold over 1 million copies. The sequel, A Well Tempered Heart, came out this year and was on top of my Christmas list!
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Caroline Reber works as an account strategist for Google and is based in Dublin, Ireland. She is originally from Sweden and graduated from the Stockholm School of Economics in 2013.
After being diagnosed with cancer, she decided to fulfill her childhood dream of writing a novel. Through her writing, she hopes to inspire others to value their everyday lives and to keep a positive mind-set through even the hardest of times. Fifty percent of all profits generated from Life Happens will be donated to the Irish Cancer Society.
Buy Life Happens and The Art of Hearing Heartbeats here to support Global Atlanta, Ms. Reber and the Irish Cancer Society: