The stories in
Broken Heart Syndrome
revolve around a small, local hospital in the beach community of Lewes, Delaware, all influenced by the loss of Jeff Donahue, a marine biologist who dies in a cycling accident. Jeff's wife, Sylvie, his best friend, Brian, and his sister, Regina, take the loss hard. Tina, the emergency room nurse who was there the night Jeff died, and Sue, the attending doctor, feel the loss as part of a pattern of loss they deal with constantly in their profession. Charmel, a mother whose daughter is in surgery, and Mrs. Shipley, who will be treated in the same ER long after Jeff's death happens, feel the loss as a ripple through a close-knit community. Travis breaks into his ex-wife's home to remember what it was like to be part of a family. Regina tricks her dead brother's best friend into sleeping with her by asking him to scatter the last of the ashes. For Anne Colwell, death doesn't end relationships but transforms them. Her characters live lives haunted by ghosts, and yet they all eventually choose to suture up their despair for a chance at restoration.