Amy Silverstein Obituary, Death – American Author and Two-Time Heart Transplant Recipient Dies at 59

American writer and author Amy Silverstein, whose memoirs chronicled her extraordinary experiences as a heart transplant recipient, died peacefully on May 5, 2023, at the age of 59.

Silverstein became known for writing candidly about serious illness, transplantation, friendship and resilience. Her personal experiences eventually became the foundation for two widely recognized memoirs, Sick Girl and My Glory Was I Had Such Friends. Her death was announced by her family and later reported by The New York Times and other major publications.

Remembering Amy Silverstein

Born Amy Jill Shorin on June 3, 1963, in Queens, New York, Silverstein studied at New York University, earning an undergraduate journalism degree before completing her law education at NYU School of Law. She initially pursued a career in corporate law before turning her attention to writing.

Her medical journey began in her twenties when she was diagnosed with a failing heart. At 25, she received her first heart transplant, allowing her to continue her education and build a life that included her husband, Scott, and their son, Casey.

Her first memoir, Sick Girl, was published in 2007 and examined the experience of living with serious illness and undergoing a heart transplant.

More than two decades after her first transplant, Silverstein’s donor heart developed transplant-related vasculopathy. She eventually underwent a second heart transplant after relocating to California in search of experimental treatment and another chance at survival.

That experience became the subject of her second memoir, My Glory Was I Had Such Friends, published in 2017. The book focused heavily on the extraordinary network of friends who supported her while she waited for another donor heart.

A Voice for Transplant Patients

Silverstein became an outspoken advocate for improvements in transplant medicine and patient-centered healthcare.

In April 2023, shortly before her death, she published a New York Times essay titled My Transplanted Heart and I Will Die Soon. She used her experience to call attention to problems she believed affected transplant recipients and encouraged greater honesty and patient involvement in medical care.

She also contributed to medical journals and served in advocacy and advisory roles connected with transplantation organizations. Her writing and public speaking brought attention to the experiences of people living with transplanted organs.

Silverstein’s second memoir was also being developed as a television series, with J.J. Abrams attached as a producer.

Cause of Death

Silverstein had been dealing with serious health complications in the final months of her life. Her official website states that she died peacefully on May 5, 2023. Contemporary reporting identified cancer as the cause of death.

She was 59.

Legacy

Amy Silverstein’s life and writing left a lasting record of what it meant to live through repeated medical uncertainty while maintaining strong relationships, pursuing creative work and advocating for other patients.

Through Sick Girl, My Glory Was I Had Such Friends, her essays and her work in transplant advocacy, Silverstein transformed deeply personal experiences into a broader conversation about medicine, friendship, resilience and the value of patient voices.

She is remembered not only as an author but also as an advocate who used her own remarkable medical journey to encourage greater understanding of transplant care and the people who depend on it.