Map of a Heart by Jacque Gorelick

“Gracefully dances backwards... Gorelick’s love, wit and wisdom ripple through time, page after page.” Heather Harpham, author of the Reese Witherspoon book club memoir, Happiness: The Crooked Little Road to Semi-Ever After

Jacque Gorelick was just three when her parents divorced, six when her dad remarried, and eight when her mother’s sudden death and her father’s volatility sent her already crumbling family into even more upheaval. Her father takes her younger brother to Alaska, leaving her with her ex-stepmother to sift through the emotional wreckage. Neither orphan nor adoptee, Jacque struggles to heal and find belonging after years of chaos and loss. 

In her twenties, she meets the love of her life, marries him, and has a baby, finally finding long-sought stability. Then, just months after their son is born, Jacque’s husband collapses on an afternoon jog and ends up on life support. For a harrowing ten days in an ICU waiting room, she must advocate for her husband's life while caring for their newborn, navigating tenuous family dynamics, and confronting the ghosts of her past.

Map of a Heart is a deeply personal look at what it means to build a life when the foundation was fractured from the start. For anyone who has ever asked What makes a family?, this book offers an answer rooted in resilience, hope, and hard-won love.

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Pub date: 17-Feb-2026

Page count: 292

ISBN: 978-3-98832-226-5