Hearts

By Brittany Eden

Description:

Eighteen-year-old pencil artist Elizabeth Rhodes is on the cusp of a breakthrough art commission that could cement her future career: the debut of her drawings at L'étoile dans les Ténèbres, the social calendar's biggest art auction hosted by renowned art collector and gracious philanthropist Madame Penelope Garcon.

Concealing her true identity as the mysterious artist Briar Rose—whose name and fame she inherited at the deathbed request of her beloved Aunt—Elizabeth accepts the terms her dapper and elderly benefactor Sterling Figgleston negotiates for the debut of Briar Rose's new series, Hearts.

When the mental illness she's been hiding threatens to expose her charade to the boy she's loved since childhood, and with her estranged parents slated to make an appearance at L'étoile dans les Ténèbres, will Elizabeth find the courage to break the curse and open her heart, or will she lose her one chance at true love by revealing her heart's darkest secrets?

Book Takeaway:

Please see the section "Why you wrote this book"

Why the author wrote this book:

At the end of Hearts I leave this ‘note from the author’, and I’ll share it here because I think it’s important:
“FROM THE AUTHOR
Have you ever felt alone? Like no one understands you? Or as Elizabeth wonders, “I never thought someone could know everything I ever did in secret, and still have grace for me.” I’m here to tell you that there is grace for you. That you are more than your past or your mistakes or what people did to you or didn’t do for you. That the shadows on your mind can shrink. There is a future, there is hope, and you are not alone.
I wrote the first draft of this story during a time when I experienced severe post-partum depression. Much of my experience is woven in Elizabeth’s story, but not all, nor specifically in the way I portrayed her struggles. Imagination was important for me to navigate my experience and also the challenges I’ve seen in my life with close family and friends; not to copy any particulars, but to reflect journeys of trauma, regret, denial, and healing. I didn’t want to tell what happened to me, but I did want to explore how it felt. Taking Elizabeth on a fairytale-like journey was a precious experience but also fiction: a fantasy. True healing takes time and is a lifelong process. My desire is for you to hear the heart in this book—that there can be light in every story—and that it sinks into that hope-shaped corner of your soul.
If you find yourself with questions or are in the deep, please reach out to a trustworthy friend, family member, or member of your community. Lift your eyes, you are not alone.”