A Heart Transplant Survivor Story
Memoir
Date Published: December 12, 2023
Publisher: Acorn Publishing
Darla Calvet is a thirty-nine-year-old working mom whose life turns upside down when she is diagnosed with congestive heart failure. Suddenly, fear threatens her dreams for the future as doctors’ appointments replace her daily routines and she realizes she may not live to see her daughters grow up. After dying twice while waiting for a new heart, Darla begins to understand her own resiliency—her heart may be weak, but her mind refuses to give up.
My Life in Stitches: A Heart Transplant Survivor Story is a candid, witty account of one woman's determination to transform a devastating prognosis into an inspiring fight for survival. Darla’s story offers insight into the complex world of medicine with a dose of humor about her challenges and victories as a heart transplant patient. In this sensitive, thorough, and informative debut, Calvet brings compassion and gentle wisdom to a difficult subject in hopes of demystifying the uncertainties that inevitably accompany long-term, life-threatening medical decisions.
Interview with Dr. Darla Calvet (My Life in Stitches)
What is your schedule like when you’re writing a book?
I let my muse guide me. If I get an idea, I want to sit down and write it immediately. Otherwise, I will write a couple of hours per day on my personal projects. I write professionally for a living too.
Did you ever consider writing under a pseudonym?
Yes, but I usually write from firsthand experience. If I decide to write fiction, I will probably use a pseudonym.
Have you ever gotten reader’s block?
Yes, we all do. Anyone who says they don’t is fibbing. It’s part of the creative process and you just accept it and work through it.
Does your family support your career as a writer?
Yes, but I have always been working at other jobs full-time while writing. Some of my occupational roles have required that I am a writer.
How many hours a day do you write?
Typically about 20.
If you could invite any three people for dinner, whom would you invite?
Mel Brooks, Rosalind Russell, and Stephen Spielberg. Mel Brooks for his creative genius and social commentary, Rosalind Russell for her daring acting and breaking the mold on female roles in Hollywood and Stephen Spielberg for his creative genius.
Would you share something about yourself that your readers don’t know (yet)?
I would like to be on a version of the TV Show Survivor with other transplant patients. We are true survivors. It would be interesting.
Do you try more to be original or to deliver to readers what they want?
Surviving a heart transplant and having someone else’s heart in your body is a highly unique experience, so I really did not have to think about this.
How do you celebrate when you finish your book?
By having a party at our home with all of the people who supported me throughout this process.
If you could be mentored by a famous author, who would it be?
No doubt, it would be David Sedaris. I love his memoir-based books and the humor he brings to ghastly situations.
About the Author
A heart transplant survivor, Dr. Darla Calvet won a gold medal for ballroom dance in the 2022 Transplant Games of America. Currently, she serves as the vice president of the board of directors for the Southern California Transplant Games of America team. She is also the CEO of Blue Tiger, Inc., a strategic planning consultancy. A doctor of education, Calvet holds degrees from Claremont Graduate University, San Diego State University, and the University of California, Berkeley. She lives in San Diego, California, with her husband Pat and their French bulldog Quinn, and she is the proud mom of two adult daughters, Claire and Annie.
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