Heart to Heart

I just finished a teen novel called Heart to Heart by Lurlene McDaniel.  It is a about heart transplantation, donor family and organ recipient meeting and cellular memory [which apparently occurs more often with heart transplants].  This book was a tear jerker given our family experience with organ donation.  Read below to learn about the inspiration behind the book.

After a bit of digging online, I discovered this review on goodreads.com by Lois Duncan:

Of course, I love it! This young adult novel about a girl who received s heart transplant is dedicated "To Lois, and to Kaitlyn whose heart lives on." 

One evening when my friend Lurlene and I were having dinner together,I told her about my daughter, Kaitlyn Arquette, who was chased down in her car and shot in the head in Albuquerque, NM, in 1989 (case is still unsolved). Kait was an organ doner, and, as the recipient of her heart and lungs came out from under the anesthetic, he described to his mother and to a nurse his vivid "dream" of a terrified girl being chased in her car by dark-complexioned men. Apparently Kait's final memories were transplanted along with her organs. 

I said to Lurlene, "This could be the plot of one of your novels." And, now, it is. (less)