Author and filmmaker Chris Palmer takes readers on an intimate and enlightening journey into what it’s really like to have open-heart surgery. His daughter Christina Palmer, M.D., shares her own medical insight into the family experience. Together, they have written a first-person guide that will help anyone going through a similar situation, including how to avoid their mistakes.

While facing open-heart surgery is scary, preparation can help you and your family members cope with the pain, anxiety, and frustration involved. With that goal in mind, the authors share valuable insight into how to be as ready as you can be for the day of surgery as well as the recovery. They also address the myth that a healthy diet and exercise can eliminate the need for cardiac surgery. In Palmer’s case, that was not the case: Despite years of healthy living, he still had to go through this invasive operation.

Full of hope and inspiration, Open Heart gives readers the guidance they need to feel as prepared as possible. Peppered with the author’s own cartoons and photos, it also provides much-needed comic relief for an inevitably stressful situation.