{"product_id":"irritable-hearts-a-ptsd-love-story-by-mac-mcclelland","title":"Irritable Hearts A PTSD Love Story by Mac McClelland","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"Irritable Hearts striking candor will win McClelland the empathy she deserves.\" \u003c\/b\u003e- \u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe New York Times Book Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eA Buzzfeed Best Nonfiction Book of 2015\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"I had nightmares, flashbacks. I dissociated... Changes in self-perception and hallucinations-those are some of my other symptoms. \u003ci\u003eYou are poison\u003c\/i\u003e, I chanted silently to myself. \u003ci\u003eAnd your poison is contagious\u003c\/i\u003e.\"\u003cbr\u003eSo begins Mac McClelland's powerful, unforgettable memoir, \u003ci\u003eIrritable Hearts\u003c\/i\u003e. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhen thirty-year-old, award-winning human rights journalist Mac McClelland left Haiti after reporting on the devastating earthquake of 2010, she never imagined how the assignment would irrevocably affect her own life. Back home in California, McClelland cannot stop reliving vivid scenes of violence. She is plagued by waking terrors, violent fantasies, and crippling emotional breakdowns. She can't sleep or stop crying. Her life in shambles, it becomes clear that she is suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Her bewilderment about this sudden loss of control is magnified by the intensity of her feelings for Nico, a French soldier she met in Port-au-Prince and with whom she connected instantly and deeply.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWith inspiring fearlessness, McClelland tackles perhaps her most harrowing assignment to date: investigating the damage in her own mind and repairing her broken psyche. She begins to probe the depths of her illness, exploring our culture's history with PTSD, delving into the latest research by the country's top scientists and therapists, and spending time with veterans and their families. McClelland discovers she is far from alone: while we frequently associate PTSD with wartime combat, it is more often caused by other manner of trauma and can even be contagious-close proximity to those afflicted can trigger its symptoms. As she confronts the realities of her diagnosis, she opens up to the love that seems to have found her at an inopportune moment. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eIrritable Hearts\u003c\/i\u003e is a searing, personal medical mystery that unfolds at a breakneck pace. But it is also a romance. McClelland fights desperately to repair her heart so that she can give it to the kind, patient, and compassionate man with whom she wants to share a life. Vivid, suspenseful, tender, and intimate, \u003ci\u003eIrritable Hearts\u003c\/i\u003e is a remarkable exploration of vulnerability and resilience, control and acceptance. It is a riveting and hopeful story of survival, strength, and love.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"St Martin's Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43016159756351,"sku":null,"price":19.95,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0647\/8626\/8223\/files\/1443893482633.jpg?v=1773745896","url":"https:\/\/bookconnection.com.au\/products\/irritable-hearts-a-ptsd-love-story-by-mac-mcclelland","provider":"The Book Connection","version":"1.0","type":"link"}