When Characters Choose You: Allowing Fictional Voices to Lead the Way 

By Heather Frimmer

I’ve always dreamt of being one of those authors who cultivates a never-ending list of ideas for their next novel—ideas popping into my head while commuting to work on the Merritt Parkway, shampooing my hair, or sniffing tomatoes in the produce section—but alas, I am not. A relentless self-editor, I won’t allow myself to write anything down unless I’m confident it has a chance to go the distance. Really good ideas, the ones with true staying power and fascinating depths to plumb are precious and rare. A grain of sand won’t make my meager list until I’m sure it has a fighting chance to become a pearl. Drafting and revising a novel can take me two years, if not more, and I must remain fully engaged with the storyline, characters and themes throughout. If I lose interest along the way, my readers surely will too.

When I was ready to embark on a third novel, I opened the note in my phone entitled Book Ideas—so original, I know. Of the three or four vague thoughts lingering there, only one jumped out at me: MALPRACTICE TRIAL FROM BOTH SIDES. Though I am a physician, I have not had firsthand experience with the medicolegal system—knocking on all the wood over here. However, according to the American Medical Association, approximately one in three U.S. physicians will face a malpractice suit over the course of their career. In line with these alarming statistics, I have stood witness as friends and colleagues have been forced to navigate perilous journeys through the confusing and frightening world of medical malpractice law. I have seen how a lawsuit can shake a physician to their core, wreaking havoc on their hard-earned confidence, relationships and mental health. In Always Hope, I set out to explore how a malpractice lawsuit affects both the plaintiff who claims to have been harmed by the medical system and the physician who is being pinned with the blame.

Because obstetricians are at the highest risk with sixty-two percent sued in their career, I had no trouble choosing the specialty of my main character, Jess, and it stood to reason she would be sued for a birth injury. My plaintiff character, Kendall, brings a suit against Jess, claiming her actions on the day of her daughter’s delivery caused Hope to have cerebral palsy. Ironically, neither of these characters came to my mind first. In the early stages of thinking about this concept, I recall sitting at the nail salon waiting for my polish to dry when a character came to me fully formed. He was a Jewish man in his sixties who had recently lost his beloved wife, a personal injury attorney with a penchant for Yiddish sayings, a keen sense of humor and a deep love for his rescue mutt. In one word, a mensch. Once Abe moved into my brain rent-free, the other pieces of the story began to fall into place.

I won’t pretend I knew exactly where the novel was headed at that stage. I am a proud pantser, meaning I fly by the seat of my pants rather than plotting the story out in advance. This approach allows me more leeway to travel where the characters take me rather than feeling tied to a pre-set itinerary. Plus, I wouldn’t know how to write an outline before I’ve learned who my characters are and what makes them tick. How can I predict how they will respond to certain scenarios, what choices they will make and how those decisions will make them feel until I know who they are inside and out? What I did know was I would write chapters from all three points of view so that each character would have their own individual journey, all set in motion by and revolving around the malpractice case. 

As I wrote my way into the novel, Jess, Kendall, and Abe all came to life in wonderful and unexpected ways. I fell in love with each of these perfectly imperfect humans who make mistakes and try to make things right, who do their best and find it may not be enough, and who love and want to be loved in return. Without preplanning, the novel became about so much more than the lawsuit, blossoming into a story about the fallibility of being human, the value of being honest both with yourself and with others, and the importance of maintaining hope even in the most difficult circumstances. During the writing process, several subplots emerged for Jess who is sandwiched between providing support for her teenage children and her ailing parents, trying and sometimes failing to juggle these demands with those of her rigorous career. This is where the “write what you know” advice came into play. Every book I write contains pieces of me, kernels of truth culled from my life experience in some way. I used my experience navigating my child’s gender transition and caring for my aging parents to color and authenticate Jess’s midlife experience.

Like children, each novel is delivered into the world in a unique way. I’ve learned to go where the process takes me and accept that sometimes the path is not as straightforward as I would like. In the end, I am supremely proud of this novel which explores themes of humanity, heartbreak, honesty and —always hope.

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A board-certified radiologist by day and a passionate novelist by night, Heather brings a unique perspective to her writing, blending authentic medical and emotional insights into her stories.

A graduate of Weill-Cornell Medical College, Heather Frimmer has spent decades in the field of breast and abdominal imaging. She honed her radiology skills as Chief Resident at New York Presbyterian Hospital and through a fellowship in breast and abdominal imaging at Yale New Haven Hospital. She currently serves as the Director of the Breast Imaging Section at Radiology Associates of Main Street, where she oversees workflow optimization, patient care, and quality improvement initiatives, including implementing advanced AI technology for enhanced cancer detection. Previously, Heather Frimmer was the Medical Director of the Norwalk Radiology and Mammography Center, leading accreditation efforts and quality assurance programs. Her multifaceted career reflects a profound commitment to advancing medical imaging while inspiring excellence in patient care.

Heather Frimmer’s literary journey began in 2014 at the Westport Writers Workshop, where she discovered her passion for storytelling. Her first novel, Bedside Manners, was published in 2018 and is a poignant mother-daughter tale, navigating a breast cancer diagnosis and the effects it has on their relationship. The novel received several awards including National Indie Excellence, Readers’ Favorite, and Independent Press awards. In 2021, Better to Trust, captured readers with a story about a family pushed to its breaking point as secrets about addiction, infidelity, and identity surface, challenging their ability to rebuild trust and find a path toward healing. This novel received a National Indie Excellence award.

Heather resides in Weston, Connecticut, with her husband, a theater educator, and their two teenage children.

For more information, on Heather Frimmer and her latest book releases, signings, and events, please visit www.HeatherFrimmer.com and follow along on Instagram @heatherfrimmer.

ALWAYS HOPE

Obstetrician Jessica Schorr will never forget the worst day of her life and the way it ended, with the traumatic delivery of a baby with cerebral palsy. Plagued with debilitating panic attacks since that day, she can’t stop blaming herself for what happened.

Kendall Carlson can’t forget that day either and the distressing memory of her newborn daughter, Hope, being taken away to intensive care. Is Hope’s diagnosis because of mistakes the doctor made during the delivery, or is Kendall partially responsible too? With only weeks until the state deadline, Kendall needs to decide soon whether to file a malpractice suit against Dr. Schorr.

Following the retirement of his partner, Attorney Abe Silverberg is having trouble getting his law practice back on track. Every malpractice case that comes his way seems like a scam. What he needs is a case with real merit, a chance to prove to himself, and to everyone else, that he’s not just some lowly ambulance chaser.

Always Hope combines a fast-paced story with deep emotional resonance, ultimately exploring the imperfection of being human, the importance of forgiveness, and the power of transformation.

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