Heart-work is a compelling collection of stories by Roberta Silman that explores the intricacies of love, the infinite surprises that exist within families, the yearning for guidance that can result in great leaps of the imagination on the part of her passionate and resilient characters. As she did in her first prize-winning collection, Blood Relations, Silman has created a group of unforgettable people who have something to tell us about how to negotiate the often dangerous shoals of daily existence that are so blithely called “life.”