♦ ‘My Glory Was I Had Such Friends’ Is A Love Letter to the Power of Friendship [REVIEW]

Amy Silverstein and friends at her book launch party for My Glory Was I Had Such Friends.
(Photo via CBS Sunday Morning, YouTube)

Amy Silverstein knows a thing or two about hearts. She is on her third one! But her second heart transplant almost didn’t happen. She’d almost given up on life when she got sick again, some 26 years after her first transplant. What she hadn’t counted on, however, was the immense power of friendship. 

Harper Wave

In her second book, My Glory Was I Had Such Friends, Amy not only reveals what it is like to have two transplants, but she celebrates the amazing women who dropped everything to show up when she needed them most.

When doctors told Amy that her best chance at survival meant relocating from her New York home to a hospital bed at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, she was uncertain if she could go through with the grueling quest for a new heart once more.

Yet when nine of her dearest friends heard what she was going to go through, they simply said, “I’m there.” They flew from one end of the country to the other to be there for their friend and her husband, Scott. They took shifts so she was never alone. And they did everything they could to elevate her spirits during Amy’s darkest days, from decorating her room and fixing her hair to having candid heart-to-heart conversations, the likes of which they had never had before. In short, their empathy and love buoyed her when she could only focus on living one day at a time, hoping a new donor heart would arrive before her current heart finally gave out.

Of course, Amy’s husband Scott, whom she calls her best friend, was always there too, holding her hand, loving her with every fiber of his being, hoping she would make it through one more operation.  But this book isn’t about her love affair with her husband. This is about friends who put their lives on hold to rally around one of their own, a woman who is very much like them: a mom and wife with a career and dreams yet to be realized.

Amy Silverstein with her husband (and best friend) Scott minutes before her second heart transplant. (Photo courtesy Amy Silverstein, Facebook)

Silverstein’s memoir is brutally honest, heartfelt, and filled with gratitude. In a world which oftentimes seems cold and disconnected, she reminds us that love between friends is still important, that being there for the people we care about can sometimes mean the difference between life and death, and that making a true connection with others is one of the few things we can truly rely upon.

This is a memoir that will have readers asking themselves: Do I forge the kind of meaningful, lasting relationships these women share? Am I truly empathetic toward others? And would I make similar sacrifices for a friend? These are all powerful, insightful questions to ask, and that’s why My Glory Was I Had Such Friends is such a powerful read. Whether we’ve been through these kinds of trials yet or not, readers can identify with Silverstein’s story, a book that is as compelling as it is relatable and thought provoking. This is a story to be shared between friends. Who knows, it might just open up a dialogue that strengthens the relationships in your own life.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Amy Silverstein
(Photo by Deborah Feingold)

Amy Silverstein is the author of Sick Girl, which won a Books for a Better Life Award, was a finalist for the Borders Original Voices Award, and was the first book ever to be serialized by U.S. News & World Report.

She earned her juris doctor at New York University School of Law, has served on the board of the United Network of Organ Sharing (UNOS), and is an active speaker and writer on women’s health issues and patient advocacy. Her work has appeared in SELF, Prevention, and Glamour magazines.

Amy lives with her husband Scott in New York. Visit her home on the Web at AmySilverstein.com and like her on Facebook.

MY GLORY WAS I HAD SUCH FRIENDS
By Amy Silverstein
352 pgs. Harper Wave. $26.99

Purchase My Glory Was I Had Such Friends at one of these fine online retailers: HarperCollins, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble.

My Glory Was I Had Such Friends is brought to you in association with TLC Book Tours.

My Glory Was I Had Such Friends Giveaway

Congratulations to M.J. Mitchell who just won a copy of Amy Silverstein’s memoir, My Glory Was I Had Such Friends. Although this giveaway has ended, stay tuned for more opportunities to win other great prizes.