An autobiographical poetry and art book, heartaches' poems are as universal as they are personal. The poems are conceived as flashpoints of heartaches that reflect painful moments in the author's life. Growing up gay, biracial (half-white and half-black), liberal and agnostic in small-town Texas imbued Donovan Lord's life with a mountain full of heartaches. Told through poetry, heartaches revisits many painful moments in the life of the author from heartbreak, to suicide, and from racism to homophobia, heartaches reflects the various means of pain that the author has endured over a 25 year period. heartaches also features Donovan Lord's artwork and photography in conjunction with each poem to elevate and complement the emotional experience of the book. An introspective, innovative debut, heartaches reminds us of the transformative power of emotional pain and the indomitable human spirit. This book is one for anyone who can relate to, at once, the unique and ubiquitous nature of the issues that heartaches addresses. Readers will finish this book not only knowing the journey of the author's life but with a better understanding of themselves and by promoting the healing of heartache of one's own.