When the Heart Speaks, Listen
​Discovering Inner Wisdom

Book Signing and Conversation with Author Lerita Coleman Brown, PhD
Thursday, November 21, 2019
7 PM - 8:30 PM
"Lerita is courageous–literally.  Her willingness to share these conversations with her hearts–both of them–left me awestruck.  I read this book through tears as my own heart vibrated at the lessons I need to learn in my own life.  There is Truth in this book.  Be prepared.  You will be transformed." ~ Rev. Dr. Stuart Higginbotham, Rector, Grace Episcopal Church and co-editor of the upcoming book, Contemplation and Community
​When Lerita Coleman, a 41-year-old single, African-American psychology professor, learns she has only 18 months to live without a heart transplant, anxiety overwhelmed her. The daunting challenge of medical procedures, medications and the unknowns of losing an organ that symbolized her core being haunted her. In desperation, she turned to her diseased heart for guidance about whether to live or die. What emerges are a series of remarkably wise and witty conversations with her old heart and the one she ultimately received during a transplant in 1995. The talks guide Lerita through a journey of transformation, which she shares in "When the Heart Speaks, Listen - Discovering Inner Wisdom" and offers as instructions on how to enter into your own heart dialogues. The revelation of her remarkable journey is that courage, wisdom and inner peace are available and can be experienced by anyone who chooses to listen to their heart.
“Lerita Coleman Brown gave me both a unique biographical thriller and valuable psychological and spiritual insights in this book. The “thriller” is not knowing what will happen next as she took me step-by-step through her experience of receiving a heart transplant and its impact on her life.  The insights come from her honest and sometimes humorous dialogues with both her old and her new heart, leading to her advocacy for the reader to pause daily and listen to the deep wisdom and love that our hearts can show us. That listening helps to free us from the dominance of our ego-centered emotions, such as anger, resentment, depression, anxiety, jealousy, and fear. The reflection questions along the way gave me an opportunity to examine my own psychological and spiritual experience. I think many readers will find this book both a delight and a helpful guide to truer and fuller personal living.” ~ Rev. Tilden Edwards, Ph.D., Founder and Senior Fellow, Shalem Institute for Spiritual Formation, author of numerous books.
Join Lerita at Zeitgeist for an evening that will include a short talk about the themes of the book, time for questions and answers, and a book signing. Light refreshments will be served.
About Lerita
Lerita Coleman Brown, Ph.D. and Professor of Psychology Emerita at Agnes Scott College, has survived 24 years with a transplanted heart, 13 of them with a transplanted kidney as well. She also endured a heart valve replacement and a pacemaker implant. Her medical ordeals fostered an unwavering advocacy of organ and tissue donation, contemplative spirituality, explorations of inner life, and the wisdom of Howard Thurman, all of which she promotes at peaceforhearts.com, on Facebook and Twitter.
Thursday, November 21, 2019
7 PM - 8:30 PM

Room 175
2302 Parklake Dr NE
​Atlanta, GA 30345
This event is free of charge. Books will be available for purchase.
​Please RSVP to Debonee Morgan at deb@zgatl.org to confirm your attendance.
Click here to learn more about Lerita's workshop on Howard Thurman at
​St Philip's Cathedral on Saturday, October 26.