Review: From one Heart to Another

reviewed by Elder M. Lindahl

From one Heart to Another by Dick Rasanen, Xulon Press, 138 pages.

Pastor Rasanen at age 42 was too young to have heart symptoms. While taking down the Christmas tree ornaments one year, he felt sweaty and experienced some tightening in his chest and jaw. He hoped these would go away, but after a four-year period, he needed and received a heart transplant. Dick celebrates this life-giving gift as he weaves together two threads, one about the physical ordeal he went through leading to well-being, and the other about the spiritual lessons he learned in the process. These parallel stories run throughout the book, connecting nicely into what might be classified as an extended, edifying Christian tract. Clearly evangelical, a “Take a Look” section with questions and biblical passages concludes each of the 31 short pieces which make up his book. He tells his medical story, not to portray successful surgery, but as a basis for giving an invitation to readers to receive a transforming heart in Christ. While the medical procedures he underwent are fascinating and tastefully told, the spiritual thread is at times didactic. All the same, it’s a good read.