And more...

"I am really enjoying reading your book. FANTASTIC STUFF. I have laughed and cried!"

“Initially … I was concerned it would be full of medical jargon I didn't understand (it’s not). I was hooked after the first few pages.”

“If you, or a member of your family are about to go through this, believe me it’s well worth reading. It also showed me what my dad must have gone through 30 years ago,.. and of course, dad being dad, stiff upper lip and all that, we knew little about.”

“My dad had a valve replace some 25 years ago (pig). He wouldn't tell us why he needed it, nor that it would eventually fail. So from early on the book was relevant to me too”

“…it would be beneficial for someone facing the same ordeal … it also works as a great story.”

“Loved the anecdotes ... It happens in all wards and everyone will relate to it and smile.”

“I’ve been in hospital…and when you are feeling really down, [family] can seem so bloody irritating when in reality they are just plain worried about you. Great to highlight this, so other families will know what to expect.”

“I do believe it would be beneficial for someone facing the same ordeal but it also works as a great story. It outlines the issues you felt in the build up to the operation, the pressure and stress put on your family, and the need to recover properly and not rush nature.”

“It was my grandmother that I attribute the phrase ‘If you are going to do something, do it well’….This must have been difficult to write, and I felt I was on the journey with you from page to page. That my friend, is a job well done! Brilliant! Loved it.”

“Wow, privilege to read!”

“The missus can’t put it down”   (This one was from Veda, one of the key characters)

“Read it right through in a single reading” (From someone who typically reads up to one book a year)

“Ok, I knew it was "your story", quite literally, and it gave me great insight into what you had experienced ; I felt your fear, your loneliness, your frustrations, your highs and lows, and could emphasis in your depleting energy levels, lack of sleep, and emotional fragility that stemmed from it. I'm not too proud to admit that I shed a tear reading it.

As "a story" I was eager to find out what lay ahead in the journey. As "an education" I was keen to get a better understanding to the whole experience, and having read it I feel like I would have so much more empathy / be more effective.”

“Sometimes the phrasing creates the illusion that [Ben is] telling me of the experience in a conversation – the ascent of the hill particularly resonated!”

“My father died from a heart attack when I was just 11 and he was just 40. He had gone through open heart surgery twice and one of my lasting memories of him is somewhat bizarrely the huge zip scar on his chest that went from neck to waist line. Both my brother and I were kept at arms’ length from everything .. I believe he had complications and had to go back in and died in hospital a few weeks later. We weren't even allowed to visit. Why am I mentioning this? It helps to fill a little gap and strangely brings me closer to the memory of my father ...it helped at a different level.”

“Reading it was like being right inside [his] mind.”

“This will be immensely reassuring to anyone going through this experience.”

“Enthralling.’ I didn’t want to put it down. Everyone knows somebody who has had similar fears.”

"Excellent book if you about to undergo this type of procedure. It shows you the stages you will go pre and post operation in a frank personal account. Also it shows shows the stress, trials and tribulations the poor family have to go through as well while they support the patient. Showed me what my own father must have gone through while this procedure was very much in its infancy many years ago. Excellent and very informative"

"I loved reading this book , it just got it right , all the highs and lows that you experience when you have such a monumental event happen to you .
I especially identify with the theme that echoes right through the whole book ‘ please get my name right ‘ it’s such a basic thing but just so important !"

This was very informative and very moving in equal measure. I had not appreciated the extent and complexity of what Steve went through, nor how it might impact for quite some time upon him and his loved ones. I wish I had read this before someone close to me had a similar experience - I think the book equips one to help others and to think about one's own health in equal measure...both such important things!"

"I could not put this book down! It is a brilliantly-written account of what it is like to live through such a daunting prospect - both for the individual and those around him/her - but it is so much more than that too. It is written with such emotion and humour that even if you are not one of the millions of people affected by open heart surgery in one way or another each year, you can still relate to it.

Woven between the specific details of the buildup to and recovery from surgery are warming tales which transcend this particular experience; how the smallest act of kindness can mean the world to someone in their lowest ebb; how using a seemingly trivial piece of detail such as a preferred name can make someone feel cared for; how humour can prevail in the most serious of circumstances; and how big an impact support, camaraderie and companionship can have in helping us through anything.

It doesn't just teach about open heart surgery, it teaches about life. I cannot recommend this book highly enough."