Irreplaceable

"Irreplaceable explores the mystery and vagaries of life with such gentle understanding of the way things can fall apart in an instant and, just as suddenly, come together. Stephen Lovely knows the human heart."

--Luanne Rice, author of The Geometry of Sisters

"Truly unique. An utterly convincing portrait of people who have lost the person they love most in the world."

--Associated Press

"[Irreplaceable] vividly realizes the casualties and rebirths that occur when an organ is donated after a fatal accident. Lovely explores the nature of grief and guilt, salvation and healing."

--The Columbus Dispatch

Some things are impossible to replace . . .

Alex Voormann, an intense, cerebral thirty-year-old archaeologist, is married to the woman of his dreams--an intelligent, ambitious botanist named Isabel. When Isabel is killed by a reckless driver, Alex reluctantly agrees to donate her heart.

Janet Corcoran, a young mother of two and an art teacher at an inner-city school in Chicago, is sick with heart disease. She is on the waiting list for a transplant, but her chances are slim. She watches the Weather Channel, secretly praying for foul weather and car crashes. The day Isabel dies, Janet gets her wish.

So begins this extraordinary story about two families whose lives intersect forever in the aftermath of a tragic accident.

On a windy afternoon, a young woman bicycles along a stretch of Iowa highway. She's pedaling hard, hurrying to get home in time for dinner... So begins this extraordinary story about two families whose lives intersect forever in the aftermath of a tragic accident. Stephen Lovely takes us vividly inside their world to reveal their true intentions--however misguided--and gives us a stunning debut novel of loss and love.