Author Jill Christman has released her memoir, "The Heart Folds Early", which explores her experiences with grief, motherhood, and the loss of a child during pregnancy. The book was published by University of Nebraska Press and is part of a series highlighting local writers. Christman, a 2020 National Endowment for the Arts Literature Fellow and a professor at Ball State University, centers on the period after learning her unborn son had a heart defect. The title refers to a stage of fetal development when the heart folds, a metaphor for enduring trauma and returning to love. The memoir includes scenes such as discovering she was pregnant again after her loss and watching her daughter process grief.