The Curious Heart of Ailsa Rae - by Stephanie Butland (Paperback)

About the Book

Ailsa Rae is learning how to live. She's only a few months past the heart transplant that saved her life. Life should be a joyful adventure. But her relationship with her mother is at breaking point, and she wants to find her father. But her new heart is a bold heart. She just needs to learn to listen to it.

Book Synopsis

For fans of Josie Silver's One Day in December, The Curious Heart of Ailsa Rae is a wholly original, charismatic, and uplifting novel that no reader will soon forget.

Ailsa Rae is learning how to live. She's only a few months past the heart transplant that--just in time--saved her life. Now, finally, she can be a normal twenty-eight-year-old. She can climb a mountain. Dance. Wait in line all day for tickets to Wimbledon.

But first, she has to put one foot in front of the other. So far, things are as bloody complicated as ever. Her relationship with her mother is at a breaking point and she wants to find her father. Then there's Lennox, whom Ailsa loved and lost. Will she ever find love again?

Her new heart is a bold heart. She just needs to learn to listen to it. From the hospital to her childhood home, on social media and IRL, Ailsa will embark on a journey about what it means to be, and feel, alive. How do we learn to be brave, to accept defeat, to dare to dream?

From Stephanie Butland, author of The Lost for Words Bookshop, The Curious Heart of Ailsa Rae will warm you from the inside out.

Review Quotes

"Beautifully written and filled with endearing charm, this uplifting novel follows Ailsa Rae as she recovers from a recent heart transplant the saves her life. Raw and powerful, she searches for courage to finally live the life she's always wanted."--Woman's World

"The Curious Heart of Ailsa Rae is an enchanting story of a girl whose entire life has been dictated by her medical condition. When she receives a second chance in the form of a new heart, she realizes that, for the first time, she has a future. And now she has to figure out what to do with it. Stephanie Butland has crafted a charming story of second chances, love, loss, and truly growing up in which Ailsa learns that you can't just blog and dance your way through life--although both certainly make it sweeter. A must read for anyone who has ever been faced with a new beginning and all the joy and heartache that entails. Five huge stars for the delightful Ailsa Rae!"--Kristy Woodson Harvey, national bestselling author of Dear Carolina and Slightly South of Simple

"A story of love, loss, learning, and lastly, living. Butland takes the reader on an emotional journey with Ailsa while she finally discovers who she is with her new heart and what type of person she wants to be."--Booklist

"Readers will learn about transplantation as they cheer on Ailsa as she starts a job and a relationship, chooses a career path, and deals with the complexities of family."--Library Journal

About the Author

STEPHANIE BUTLAND lives with her family near the sea in the North East of England. She writes in a studio at the bottom of her garden, and when she's not writing, she trains people to think more creatively. For fun, she reads, knits, sews, bakes, and spins. She is an occasional performance poet and the author of The Lost for Words Bookshop.