The Art of Hearing Heartbeats

I... don't even want to write a review for this because it could have been so good
The idea is what made me pick this book up from the library. The execution of that idea was... meh/lacking.

I'm going to go cry in the corner now.

Found this book club bait to be cliched, with dialogue that could never come from a real human being's lips, and a bizarre message that, while true love may be forever, you don't have to fight for it and it's okay to marry someone else so you can have kids while you're separated. The whole thing can be summed up by the famous Little Prince quote: “It is only with the heart that one can see rightly. What is essential is invisible to the naked eye.” I read that book when I was a teenager and I've never forgotten that line; the same message has a lot less resonance now when I'm a much older, more cynical adult.

An absolutely beautiful book. Any review I could give would not do it justice. It was a captivating love story but more than that, I also felt like I was getting profound guidance and wisdom from a monk or other spiritual healer. I found myself frequently setting down the book to just reflect on passages that blew my mind. I will be thinking about this one for a long time.