Read about how I survived a heart transplant 24 years ago by talking with and listening to my heart.
This book is now available online at blackrosewriting.com, charisbooksandmore.com, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books A Million and can also be ordered through your favorite independent book seller.
What people are saying about this book:
“Lerita Coleman Brown gave me both a unique biographical thriller and valuable psychological and spiritual insights in this book. The “thriller” is not knowing what will happen next as she took me step by step through her experience of receiving a heart transplant, and its impact on her life. The insights come from her honest and sometimes humorous dialogues with both her old and her new heart, leading to her advocacy for the reader to pause daily and listen to the deep wisdom and love that our hearts can show us. That listening helps to free us from the dominance of our ego-centered emotions, such as anger, resentment, depression, anxiety, jealousy and fear. The reflection questions along the way gave me an opportunity to examine my own psychological and spiritual experience. I think many readers will find this book both a delight and a helpful guide to truer and fuller personal living.”
Rev. Tilden Edwards, PhD, Founder and Senior Fellow, Shalem Institute for Spiritual Formation, author of numerous books.
“In When the Heart Speaks, Listen, Lerita Coleman Brown has given us a rare gift indeed for she has allowed us to join her on a spiritual journey that is both fraught with danger and, ultimately, thoroughly transformative. Both figuratively and literally, Brown had to let go of her old heart and find a way to accept and to live with a new one. This intimate and innovative memoir about what constitutes true holistic healing will leave one moved, enlightened and profoundly inspired.”
Jan Willis, Ph.D., Professor Emerita of Religious Studies, Wesleyan University and author of Dreaming Me: Black, Baptist and Buddhist
Lerita is courageous–literally. Her willingness to share these conversations with her hearts–both of them–left me awestruck. I read this book through tears as my own heart vibrated at the lessons I need to learn in my own life. There is Truth in this book. Be prepared. You will be transformed.
Rev. Dr. Stuart Higginbotham, Rector, Grace Episcopal Church and co-editor of the upcoming book, Contemplation and Community.
“Down through the ages, philosophers, mystics and psychologists have proposed any number of conceptualizations of the elaborate interconnections between the human mind, body and spirit. For Dr. Lerita Coleman Brown, however, these dynamic interconnections are beyond theoretical; they are vibrantly real. Dr. Brown has facilitated regular conversations between her own mind, body and soul throughout her 24-year experience as an organ transplant survivor. The result has taken her beyond mere survival to the construction of a beautifully spiritual and meaningful life. In When the Heart Speaks, Listen she shares her remarkable and unique experience with all of us. What a wonderful gift!”
Arthur C. Jones, Ph.D., Clinical psychologist, professor, author of “Wade in the Water: The Wisdom of the Spirituals and Founder of the Spirituals Project.
“Captivating!! In speaking from the heart, Lerita Coleman Brown provides readers with a gift: the roadmap for how to open your heart. She shares her inspiring story of triumph over adversity and all odds, to source true meaning, divine purpose, love, and heartfelt connection.”
Beth Darnall, Ph.D., Clinical Professor, Stanford University School of Medicine, author ofThe Opioid-Free Pain Relief Kit, Less Pain, Fewer Pills, and Psychological Treatment for Chronic Pain.
