{"product_id":"the-heart-folds-early-a-memoir-9781496246790","title":"The Heart Folds Early: A Memoir","description":"\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\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Jill Christman\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e University of Nebraska Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 03\/01\/2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 296\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.77lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.50h x 5.50w x 0.67d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781496246790\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\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\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"booksdeli.com","offers":[{"title":"Jill Christman \/ Paperback \/ English","offer_id":47858841157789,"sku":"9781496246790","price":46.2,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0619\/5648\/9373\/files\/img_cbf44616-18cb-4c77-9a5c-d59c9c2dfd22.jpg?v=1776861663","url":"https:\/\/booksdeli.com\/products\/the-heart-folds-early-a-memoir-9781496246790","provider":"booksdeli.com","version":"1.0","type":"link"}