Unfolding Secrets: Jill Christman Reveals the Hidden Truths Behind The Heart Folds Early
I can think of no better guide than Jill through the hard experience of a second trimester abortion, the subject of her new memoir, The Heart Folds Early: A Memoir (University of Nebraska Press; March 2026), which takes place before Roe v. Wade was overturned in the summer of 2022. Of course the book is heartbreaking. But it is also filled with joy, beauty, tension, conflict; it’s a great read. In December of 2025, we met over Zoom to talk about it.
Nan J. Bauer: Jill, thanks so much for taking the time to discuss The Heart Folds Early, a book we desperately need in this version of America. How did you keep going in telling such a tough story?
