Unstoppable Heart

Ronnie Botwinick Londner’s son Michael entered the world eleven weeks premature. At three days old, Mikey suffered bleeding in his brain, further threatening his already-tenuous grasp on life.

But Mikey survived to grow into a bright and cheerful boy with physical disabilities. His life pushed Londner and her family into difficult emotional, medical, and ethical terrain—but also enriched them with joy and love. Then, suddenly and unexpectedly, Mikey died at the age of eight.

Now, thirty years after Mikey’s birth, Londner shares her son’s story to comfort families facing similar tragedies—and raise important questions about how we view issues of life and death.

Londner tackles tough topics with grace, compassion, and even humor. She uses her personal experience as a mother and a medical researcher, writer, and lecturer to explore issues including premature birth, infant surgery without anesthesia, disability, the death of a child, the death of a spouse, organ donation, lawsuits, decisions about having more children, and the impact that educational, religious and medical institutions have on our choices, decisions and lives.