At 39, Russell Cobb may have a time bomb ticking away in his chest. For two generations, all the men in his family have developed heart disease in the prime of life -- his father and grandfather both died before the age of 50. In his Star Dispatches ebook, Heart in Darkness: The Genetic Defect that Could Kill Me, Cobb chronicles his journey to understand the family curse; and discover whether he, too, is at risk of developing familial dilated cardiomyopathy. Along the way, he conjures up larger-than-life family members who lived and drank hard, or sought help in Pentecostal religion and faith healing, or both. Funny and poignant, Heart in Darkness is a revealing description of what it's like to live with uncertainty.
At 39, Russell Cobb may have a time bomb ticking away in his chest. For two generations, all the men in his family have developed heart disease in the prime of life -- his father and grandfather both died before the age of 50. In his Star Dispatches ebook, Heart in Darkness: The Genetic Defect that Could Kill Me, Cobb chronicles his journey to understand the family curse; and discover whether he, too, is at risk of developing familial dilated cardiomyopathy. Along the way, he conjures up larger-than-life family members who lived and drank hard, or sought help in Pentecostal religion and faith healing, or both. Funny and poignant, Heart in Darkness is a revealing description of what it's like to live with uncertainty.