Open-Hearted is a detailed account of one man’s struggle through his open-heart surgery and recovery. There is a lot of medical jargon to read through, but it adds to the reality that he was living. Thankfully my mother is a nurse so I grew up fascinated by health things and I have a good medical knowledge base that helped as I was reading.

Recommended for: graphic memoir readers

Content warning: animated surgical scenes & nudity

I received a digital ARC of this from NetGalley in exchange an honest review.

The art in this book is fantastic. Keramidas is an animator and it really shows how energetic and expressive the images are. The art composition, the colors and the language work really well together and make the emotions of his experiences really stick out. More than once I found myself laughing out loud or tense with worry about what would happen.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this eArc!

I am usually not one for realistic/memoir type books but while reading the description of this story it intrigued me!
I love graphic novels so that is one reason I picked this up. I enjoyed the look of the graphics/drawings. They were fun and fit the story well.
My favorite part of this book is that while it was about a serious subject the author was able to make it funny and not a hard read!
If you like non-fiction books and graphic novels this is definitely one you should pick up!

Also posted on goodreads!

Alright so I am just going to be honest. I did not like this comic at all. I was born with several extremely rare heart conditions and I thought a book that followed someone's journey though their open heart surgery would be something I could relate to. Sadly I was very wrong.
A few of the things he said rang true but very few. His description of the pain of having chest tunes removed is sadly the most accurate part of the book. I am aware everyone experiences things differently but this to me at least felt a bit over dramatic.
The way he almost makes the hospital sound like a prison really bothered me. There is no time taken to thank the doctors and nurses. All he does is complain and that is what really bothered me. Yes. being in a hospital isn't fun I get that and when you are in pain and recovering it is so much worse but at least acknowledged the people there who were helping you.
Overall this book just felt like a pitty party. Maybe I don't see the hospital as such a big deal because I have had over 25 open heart surgeries in my life time. Maybe I am just not someone who focuses that much on the negative when people are trying to save my life. I don't know exactly what it was but this really rubbed me the wrong way. I'm sorry if you read and enjoyed this but it was not for me. I will not be recommending this one.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the early review copy.

A graphic novel memoir of someone who needed what sounds like major heart surgery in his forties – having already had a slice made into him as a toddler due to a combination of four problems in his early days. The visual language, style and light-hearted readability of this are top notch (also this reads much more quickly than the page count might have you thinking) but would anyone want to keep this for a re-read? Not likely, unless you know the creator, and/or a couple dozen people who might have the exact same circumstances.

Keramidas is an amazing artist and I loved visual part of this book so much. The fact that he was a Disney Studious illustrator really shows and the art is pretty... cartoon-like. I loved it, truly, but some of these child-like drawings of adult people reeeeeeealy freaked me out!

This honest story about a heart surgery and recovering from it was touching, no denying it, but it didn't really speak to me all that much.

By far, one of the best graphic novels I've ever read!

in 1973, Nicolas Kéramidas became one of the first infants ever to have successfully undergone an open heart surgery. But about forty years later, he needs the same surgery again. This graphic novel describes his mental and physical journey through this second ordeal.

Kéramidas narrates a journey of pain with great dashes of humour. Considering the ordeal of surgery, recovery and rehabilitation, I'm really amazed at how the author was able to pen this down. It must have been a cathartic process to relive those memories. I found it impossible to keep this book aside midway. It sucks you in with its traumatic storyline. The hopeful end also sends a message to all of us not to take life for granted and to live it to the fullest whilst we can.

Kéramidas worked for Disney Studios as an animator and that shows in his illustrations. Every emotion comes out so powerfully in the panels without going over the top. The graphics are absolutely stunning in their imagery and add wonderfully to the narrative..

"Enjoy" would be an incorrect word to use for such a book, but I definitely relished living through Kéramidas' journey. I'd recommend this book to everyone.

Thank you NetGalley and Europe Comics for this ARC.

Keramidas uses his particular drawing style (which given his background as a Disney animator is not unlike something from a 1970s Mickey Mouse cartoon) to tell a story with lots of humor and also lots of pain. These elements actually balance rather well, producing something very entertaining and moving.