Book Review

This Beating Heart: Uplifting tale of forging a new path after fairytale future is shattered

In Laura Barnett’s third novel, the protagonist has to set out on her own when round after round of failed IVF treatments leads to the breakdown of her marriage

Laura Barnett: the prevailing tone of her third novel, This Beating Heart, is one of hope, despite the difficult subject matter of IVF treatment and marriage breakdown. Picture: Chris O’Donovan

“Once upon a time, there was a man and a woman.” So begins Laura Barnett’s This Beating Heart, a novel about familial upheaval, IVF treatments and forging new paths that diverge from an imagined future. Barnett is the author of two previous novels, including the number one bestseller The Versions of Us.

The woman at the centre of this story, Christina, had every facet of her life planned out: the husband, the home, the babies. ...