Heartsounds: The Story of a Love and Loss

by Martha Weinman Lear

The national bestseller and undying testament of a wife’s love for her husband as he embarks on the fight of his life. On a story assignment in France for the New York Times Magazine, Martha Weinman Lear has just escaped tourist-infested Cannes for a quiet pension in the hills behind the Riviera when she gets the call from New York. Her husband has suffered a massive heart attack and is in the hospital. Harold Lear, a fifty-three-year-old urologist and leader in the field of human sexuality research, suddenly finds himself in the helpless role of the patient. Ripping into the Lears’ lives and marriage, Hal’s coronary disease sends them on a journey through New York City’s medical maze. With bittersweet poignancy, Lear chronicles her husband’s valiant efforts to combat his sickness as more heart attacks and devastating postsurgical complications befall him. A stunning work of medical drama and journalism, Heartsounds is above all the gripping story of a passionate, enduring love.

Genres: Medical, Memoir, Nonfiction, Biography, Biography Memoir

530 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 27, 1980

About the author

Martha Weinman Lear is the author of Where Did I Leave My Glasses? as well as the bestsellers The Child Worshipers and Heartsounds, which became a Peabody Award­-winning film. She is a former articles editor and staff writer for the New York Times Magazine and has written extensively for that and many other national publications, including AARP The Magazine, the New Yorker, the New York Times Book Review, GQ, House Beautiful, Redbook, Ladies' Home Journal, Woman's Day, McCall's, Family Circle, and Reader's Digest, often on medical, cultural, and sociological subjects. She lives in New York City with her husband, screenwriter Albert Ruben.

Reviews

[Angie · Rating 3 out of 5]

In order to read and finish this book, you have to be at the right time in your life to really concentrate on this story. I am not there and don't know that I will ever be there, so I could not finish it.

[Patricia Ibarra · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book written by the wife of Dr. Harold Lear, a 53 year-old urologist, who out of the blue suffers a massive heart attack. Her journey starts when she is in Cannes, working as a journalist, and she receives the dreadful news. She flies back immediately and will live with her husband every single step of this difficult process. From a position as a very successful urologist, overnight Dr. finds himself living as a patient. His condition is very serious and everybody knows he will die, but his desire to live give him three additional years of life. However, the journey was not easy by any means. It was a shocking book for me, because the author was able to convey with extreme accuracy what he felt all throughout this period. We never stop to think what heart patients live through. Here we feel as if the doctor were speaking directly to us, his pains, fears, anguish, suffering, hopes, and desires. As an additional bonus, we get the insights of Martha, the wife, who was present in this process. Her love, hopes, despair, discouragement, in short, the daily life of both. To make matters worse, Harold as a physician is aware of all the blunders made by his colleagues, feeling the despair that there is nothing he can do. It has been a long time since a book caused such a harrowing impact on me. It faces us with our vulnerability and hope we never find ourselves in such a position.

[Eleanor · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful book that I read to tatters at least 30 years ago. It was the first medical memoir I had read. It made me a better nurse, and (I hope), human. Doctors and nurses like to think that they are exempt from the pitfalls of being ill and/or being a patient, so when a physician becomes a "frequent flyer", they tend to have lots to say about healthcare and the existential crisis that illness brings. His story is told by his wife, a journalist. It's a beautiful story of their love, but also a sharp commentary on modern medical care. To be honest, not much has changed in the intervening decades, despite medical advances. The core of the story still rings true; if you've been a patient or had a loved one be a patient, there is much to glean from this book.

[Diane Secchiaroli · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredible story about one man’s journey from healthy to death from a heart attack and how it affected his wife and children. It is also an incredible love story. Can’t wait to read the sequel about his wife’s heart attack many years later.

[Norma Jean · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this non-fictional/auto-biographical work, a couple who seemingly have it all—prosperity, the life they want to live and undying love for one another—all of a sudden find themselves with a massive change of life and plans. The writer of the story is the wife of a successful urologist/se
xologist. She is successful in her own right with a glowing career with the New York Times Magazine. Martha Weinman Lear has gone to Cannes, France as a journalist when she gets a call from New York letting her know her husband, Hal, 53, is in the hospital after suffering a massive heart attack.

Life grinds to a halt for the couple as Hal finds himself an invalid with Martha as his caretaker. The book chronicles his journey to combat the disease with several more heart attacks to follow and the mis-steps of his colleagues as things go awry. It is a poignant, moving story of honoring the vows “til death us do part.”

This is a well-written book showing both sides of the coin as we travel with the Lears through the time that is left for them as a couple.

NOTE: There is a movie of the book on Tubi (through Amazon Prime) with James Garner and Mary Tyler Moore as the Lears. It was nominated 6 times for Academy Awards.

[The DO]

Although a little over 40 years old, this memoir remains a classic. It also represents one of the early works in what we could today call narrative medicine.

We spend most of our professional lives as young or young-ish medical practitioners. Many of us will be practitioners for many years before we or our loved ones become patients. And so, we are often disconnected from what our own patients and their families are going through. We sympathize, we empathize, often without really understanding. We don’t know just how they feel because we’ve never had to feel that way ourselves.

Read our entire review and see more book club selections on The DO!

[Janie · Rating 5 out of 5]

REQUIRED READING.
I don’t write well so I hesitate to write reviews. This book should be required reading for every nursing student. It puts you in the shoes of a patient in his heart failure journey through his medical care and his experiences. He was a doctor so he had seen these experiences through others. His wife does a remarkable job portraying it. I read this book 35 years ago so I don’t remember many details. I just remember thinking all nurses should read it.

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really good book. Very true to life writing style! This book is told by both the husband and the wife. This is NOT graphic. I just forgot to write the review after finishing it. Fortunately, I am in a book club with ladies who want book reports so, I can still rate the book.

[Kris · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a wonderful story about love and loss!

[Molly McGeehin · Rating 3 out of 5]

NF - fascinating premise but I wasn’t crazy about the writing style

[Sheldon Fine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very tough book and an eye opener to non doctors

[Denise · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have to say that I really enjoyed reading this book, though it was heartbreaking to read it was also heart warming. Following the ups and downs of being a patient and a doctor in the healthcare system was heartbreaking and frightening, because if it can happen to someone that knew the system, it could certainly happen to any of us. Although this book was written in the 70's I don't doubt that the experiences of Dr. Lear are still being experienced in current times. However, this was also a love story of how one couple navigated in that system and in their personal relationship. The author wrote quite candidly and honestly about her and her husband's feelings as they experienced the roller coaster of emotions that came with the ups and downs of his illness. The tenacity that this couple displayed over such a long period of time was admirable. I enjoyed this author's style of writing and look forward to reading Echos of Heart Sounds, the story of her own experience in and out of the cardiac ward so many years after her husband's brave journey.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this years ago and remember it vividly, which is saying quite a lot since I read well over a hundred books a year. Ms Lear writes about learning about her husband's heart attack while she was on assignment in France, and follows the couple from the beginning of their ordeal through heart by-pass surgery and beyond. To this day I remember specific scenes that have stayed with me over what must be close to 30 years since the book was originally published in 1980. When I saw it was available for Kindle today for $1.99 I immediately bought it. It's the story of the partnership between two people and how they deal with the "in sickness" part of the marriage vows and the depth of love that makes this possible. It was a best seller for a reason, and I highly recommend it.

[Cindy · Rating 3 out of 5]

True story of a surgeon who develops serious heart disease. He doesn't much care for the medical treatment he receives from some doctors and nurses and often wonders if he's been guilty of the same toward his own patients. Written by his wife, so there was also lots about her feelings as she goes through this terrible experience with him. Written in the 70's, so it was a little dated and I warn you that there was some pretty rough language. Interesting to see this perspective of things, though.

[Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book to be very engaging and well written. Dr. Lear became a patient as he fought against heart disease. His wife, a professional writer, chronicles their journey. A touching love story about real people.

[Judy]

Grief that this family suffered so much through the process, but they were able to articulate some truths that need to shared. And, most importantly, they were able to make their needs known and make choices that reflected what was important to them.

[Ruth · Rating 1 out of 5]

Okay, I must admit. I did not read the entire book. Got about 1/2 way through and cound not take it any more. It was very repetitive. I read bits and pieces of the last 1/2. Was very boring.

[Carol · Rating 3 out of 5]

The medicines and procedures in the book are out-dated, since the book was written in the late 1970's. The medical care sounds about right. Frustrating, I have some knowledge of the problems.

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

A truly beautiful true love story of a woman and her doctor husband who has a heart attack. I was so moved by their story. As she said, the more you love the more you have to lose.

[Rock Conner · Rating 3 out of 5]

The medications & procedures are now dated, but the emotional journey described is relevant.

[Jule · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful, insightful book. I was sorry to hear that this lovely has passed away.

[Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved reading this book. such a sad but expected ending. really explains how to remember that patients are people, not symptoms or diagnoses.

[Lucille · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great sharing, eye opening!