Because of His Heart

What do you do when the person who knows you best becomes a person you can no longer trust?

Because of His Heart is literary fiction — a psychological drama told through blog entries, therapy transcripts, letters, and shifting voices. Structured like a Shakespearean drama, this character-driven epistolary novel explores marriage betrayal, unreliable narration, and the quiet devastation of failed communication.

Dr. Erica Seames is a physician, a wife of eight years, and a woman who believed she understood her own life. When a single misread moment at the hospital unravels everything she thought she knew about her marriage, Erica flees New York for Toronto — and the only refuge she has left: an anonymous blog called Mother-Wife, where she can finally say the things she cannot speak aloud.

Her husband Charles, a journalist who prides himself on uncovering facts, is left behind with a version of events he cannot reconcile. He is not a bad man. He knows this. But something essential is missing — and the woman writing those blog entries is not the wife he thought he knew.

At the centre of their fractured world stands Dr. Nathan Milo: a psychiatrist of considerable intelligence and charm, whose carefully chosen words conceal something far more calculated than reasoned emotional support.

A Canadian literary fiction novel set in Toronto and New York, Because of His Heart is for readers of Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates and Notes on a Scandal by Zoë Heller. Reminiscent of Kurosawa's Rashomon in its conflicting narratives and unreliable perspectives.

For readers who love domestic suspense literary fiction, psychological drama, women's fiction about marriage and identity, and character-driven stories about love, betrayal, and the limits of human understanding.

Awards and Recognition:
Shelf Media Top 100 Notable Books 2025 | Canadian Book Club Awards Finalist 2025 | Bookfest Award 2026 | Pinnacle Book Achievement Award 2026 | Literary Titan Award January 2026

Praise:
"A slow-building masterclass in fractured romance... The prose is a linguistic playground where Marvin dexterously toys with syntax and vocabulary." — Self-Publishing Review ★★★★

"Perfect for readers who like character-driven stories that wander through memory, longing, and emotional tension." — Literary Titan

"A taut, beautifully written psychological drama about desire, deceit, and the fragile limits of understanding." — The Prairies Book Review