Palliative care doctor Rachel Clarke tells the unforgettable and inspiring true story of how one family’s grief transformed into a lifesaving gift. Clarke blends the history of medical innovations behind transplant surgery with the stories of nine-year-olds Keira Ball and Max Johnson in this powerful event about life, death and how we honour loved ones.
After a terrible car accident, Keira suffered catastrophic brain injuries. As the rest of her body began to shut down, her heart continued to beat, and in an act of extraordinary generosity, Keira’s parents and siblings immediately agreed that she would have wanted to be an organ donor.
Meanwhile Max Johnson had been in a hospital for nearly a year, valiantly fighting the virus that was causing his young heart to fail. When Max’s parents received the call they had been hoping for, they knew it came at a terrible cost to another family.
Clarke is author of three books including Dear Life, which was shortlisted for the Costa Biography Award and longlisted for the Baillie Gifford Prize.
