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Moonface: A True Romance
At the age of eighteen, Angela Balcita had reached a point in her life when her health could not keep up with her optimistic personality. After suffering kidney failure and after her body’s rejection of the kidney her brother donated to her, she was in desperate need of a transplant.
Lucky for Angela, she had found the ultimate partner in crime: her boyfriend, Charlie. Charlie offered Angela his kidney. The ensuing story is unforgettable, with readers following Angela and Charlie’s journey through preparations for their respective surgeries; the procedures themselves, difficult yet emotionally riveting; the process of recuperation through the relapses; and the eventual healing — both inside and out — that greets this undeniably powerful duo.
By turns funny, bittersweet, and heartwarming, Moonface will make readers laugh, cry, and, above all, appreciate the importance of unconditional love.
Reviews
“A triumphant story of hope and love. . . written so honestly and so lyrically. . .”— OK! see PDF
“Balcita paints a picture of [her and her husband’s] commitment and empathy for each other that is sweet and compelling enough to keep readers engrossed into the wee hours.”— USA Today
“[Moonface] will restore your faith in humanity.”— People see PDF
“With her sharp ear for dialogue and unflinching honesty, Balcita offers a sweet story of love and healing.”— Bookpage see full review
“What makes Balcita’s memoir so brightly entertaining is the unequaled sense of humor and perspective with which she and her devoted boyfriend-cum-spouse, Charlie, challenge these health problems….Certainly, Balcita’s pitch-perfect prose and intrinsic sense of timing don’t hurt either.”— Booklist
“[Balcita’s] debut is a wonderfully composed, moving tale of what it was like to discover at age 17 that renal disease is her lot in life—and to realize not once but thrice that there are people who love her so much they will offer her a kidney. It’s not hard to see why Balcita would inspire such generosity; she’s funny and smart and considerate. In fact, she rarely stops worrying about her donors: her brother, then boyfriend (now husband), and a friend. Are they in pain? Do they regret their decision? Does she deserve such a gift? . . .Whether reflecting on her nomadic postcollege days or her emergency C-section, Balcita balances drama and comedy with finesse.”–Publishers Weekly
“The author gratefully reiterates how she has been blessed with the healing power of friends and family, who collectively bolstered her faith in love. A heartwarming and inspiring memoir.”–Kirkus see full review
“In this unexpectedly upbeat memoir about her ordeal with kidney disease, three-time transplant patient Angela Balcita demonstrates her gift for walking on the sunny side of her challenging life. Her story is a sweet testimony to the power of family, love, perseverance, and hope. And three cheers for her husband, Charlie, a natural comic and all-around great guy.” — Julie Metz, New York Times bestselling author of Perfection
“Girl meets boy, girl gets boy, girl gets kidney….Angela Balcita’s love story takes a couple of artsy wanderers off the road and into the bright, scary world of transplants, dialysis, and neonatal intensive care. Most striking to me was her finely detailed portrait of her husband, whose equanimity, good humor, and love were tested again and again. He’s not a saint, but a real man, occasionally saying the wrong thing, always doing the best he can. In fact, Moonface is full of people doing the best they can to take care of each other, and reading it is a rare refresher course in ordinary human kindness.” — Marion Winik, author of First Comes Love and The Glen Rock Book of the Dead