MEMOIR OF A FRACTURED HEART

280pp., paperback, Jacana Media, Johannesburg, 2026

ISBN: 9781431435968

In his memoir, journalist Ray Hartle discusses his experience of receiving a donor heart in 2016 at the Cape Town hospital named after Dr. Chris Barnard, who performed the first human heart transplant in 1967.

He traces the roots of his heart failure, examining the blend of genetics, viral infections, lifestyle factors, and acute medical events, and explores the emotional weight of knowing someone else had to die for him to live. He also offers a critique of organ transplant ethics and the inequalities of South Africa's public versus private healthcare systems.

Ray Hartle is a freelance journalist based in East London. He also has nearly two decades of experience in corporate communication, working across the motor industry, parastatal organizations, education, and government sectors.