Three And A Half Heartbeats By Amanda Prowse

[amazon_link id=”B00ZFSOFIA” target=”_blank” ][/amazon_link]’Three And A Half Heartbeats’ is the latest book by Amanda Prowse.

Grace and Tom Penderford are a normal loving married couple, with a comfortable home in Hertfordshire and a beautiful baby girl, Chloe. When Chloe is three years old she has to have her tonsils out. It’s a fairly straight forward operation. When they get her home she’s shivering, she hasn’t peed all day and she’s very quiet. Her parents call the hospital: the nurse suggests they bring her in, if they’re really worried, but her parents don’t want to be melodramatic: it’s probably just a cold. No point wasting hospital time. A few hours later Chloe collapses.

Once again, Amanda has written another book that literally pulls at your heartstrings and leaves the reader an emotional wreck and just like her previous books, Amanda has written about another serious subject and one thing that I was completely unaware of and that is the illness – Sepsis.

The story is seen through the eyes of career driven mother Grace, for years she has longed for a child and finally her wish was fulfilled when Chloe was born, an outspoken and sweet little girl. Grace became the sole breadwinner of the house with her demanding PR job and her husband Tom stayed at home caring for Chloe. The story leads up to the day that Chloe has an operation to remove her tonsils, a standard procedure that worries both parents but they are reassured that everything will be ok. But then Chloe becomes sick after the operation and tragically dies. The sudden death of their little girl pulls the couple apart and Grace goes away to clear her head after a particularly volatile fight. She goes to a remote place in Wales and there she befriends Huw, a man who like her has also suffered a loss. Together they form a mutual bond and are there for each moment during the low times.

I’ve only read three of Amanda’s books and each one has consumed me with each tale, emotional and factual stories with broken characters that made for gripping reading and ‘Three And A Half Heartbeats’ is certainly that.

This book is filled with grief and torment and is hard reading, not only at the scene where Chloe passes away but the scenes after it as Grace and Tom are at loggerheads, blaming each other and this is particularly hard to read. Grace is an interesting character, she is a strong woman, fuelled by her career and she is heartbroken after Chloe’s death. She regrets that she wasn’t there for her daughter more and I have to be honest, when she initially disappeared to have some space, I did find her actions quite selfish but then as time progressed, you could see her get stronger with each passing day.

Not only is the story an emotional rollercoaster, it is also a very informative tale and really pushes home the impact of Sepsis and how little is known about this illness. For me, I found it terrifying that I never heard of it before and just how many lives it claims each year.

A gripping and poignant story, ‘Three And A Half Heartbeats’ is a beautifully written and powerful story that will definitely have you reaching for the tissues and very kindly of Amanda, all proceeds of the book will go to the UK Sepsis Trust.

You can buy [amazon_link id=”B00ZFSOFIA” target=”_blank” ]Three And A Half Heartbeats from Amazon.[/amazon_link]