Born in 1966 with a rare congenital heart defect known as the tetralogy of Fallot, Gabe entered the world at a unique moment in the history of heart disease. He received a life-saving surgery at five years old; but surviving with his condition meant riding wave after wave of innovation to keep his heart beating. Here he beautifully writes both a memoir of a life on the edge of mortality and a history of the remarkable people who have made such a life possible.
Interweaving his personal narrative with historical material, Gabe pays homage to the people who spent their lives discovering ways to save people like himself. From the visionary anatomists of the seventeenth century—including Nicolas Steno who proved that the heart was made of muscle rather than the stuff of souls—to the stories of the doctors (all women) who invented pediatric cardiology in the mid-1950s, he leaves no stone unturned as he struggles to understand the complexities of the human heart. And, perhaps most importantly, what it is that makes us human.
Tayari Jones, author of An American Marriage, raves, “Surgery is a miracle. It's easy to forget how radical it is for a doctor to cut into our bodies, make repairs, and close us up again. Life, too, is miraculous, and this is also easy to forget as we go about our daily lives. The Open Heart Club is a tribute to both. This is the story of one man's life and Life itself. Meticulously researched and written with beauty and wonder, this is a story that will make you marvel at every beat of your own open heart."