Designs of My Life

The Heart Mender

The Heart Mender

by Andy Andrews

This book was nothing like anything I’ve ever read before. The format is very unique: almost like a fiction and a non-fiction rolled into one, but I’m not going to expound on that anymore, because I don’t want to ruin it for you. =)

The book begins in first person from the author’s point of view, which is a bit unorthodox for the type of book I was expecting to get. The author, at his home, finds a can buried in the sand. Inside are some buttons, a medal, a few pictures, and a few other similar odds and ends. He becomes enthralled with the origin of these artifacts and begins research. They were from the WWII era. And they belonged to a German. So how did they end up buried in the sand on an island off of Gulf Shores, Alabama? This is the answer that the author seeks out. He does research on the internet and talks to some people who have lived in the town for several years. 

This first person narrative pretty much leaves you hanging. The author never discovers anything concrete. You then begin reading about a young German naval officer. The story goes on to tell you how he came to be in the Gulf of Mexico, and later in southern Alabama. The theme of the book is forgiveness. Forgiveness in situations where you aren’t sure you possess the strength to forgive. Forgiveness when it means letting go of the anger that has come to define you. Forgiveness of the person who represents everything that you are angry about. And that’s all I’m going to tell you. You’ll just have to read to find out more. =)

I really enjoyed this book. It was a pretty quick and easy read. Towards the end, I couldn’t put it down because I was so interested in finding out how it ended and whether the author had actually discovered the story behind the artifacts of if he had just created a fictional story from them. Either way, it’s a great story. I would definitely recommend it to anyone.