On May 23, 1999, Martha Hart's husband, Owen Hart, died after a botched wrestling stunt sent him into an eight story free-fall from the top of Kansas City's sold out Kemper Arena into the ring below. The rigging 'experts' to whom the WWF's highly-touted international star trusted his life, had hooked him up for a 78-foot descent using a $68 nautical clip designed expressly for the quick release of sailboat masts. The tragic incident occurred five weeks before their tenth wedding anniversary. New York City shock jock Howard Stern called Owen Hart's death the first real thing ever to happen in professional wrestling. Martha Hart calls it the worst day of her life. Witnessed by more than 16,000 spectators and millions more on TV, his death sparked an ugly 17-month legal battle with the WWF over responsibility for the tragedy. A battle that, through Martha's personal grief and struggle for justice, concluded with the founding of the Owen Hart Foundation. In Broken Harts, Martha Hart tells the story of their life together from the days as highschool sweethearts, through his rise to fame in the WWF, to the repercussions of Owen Hart's death on those who knew and loved him, and on the world of professional wrestling. She speaks poignantly and with defiance of her husband's life, their deep love, their family's loss and her personal anguish.

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ERIC FRANCIS is a freelance reporter and photojournalist whose work has appeared in dozens of newspapers and magazines in over 30 countries. A staff correspondent for People magazine, Francis has also covered several notable murder cases for The New York Times, The Boston Globe, and Time magazine. He lives on the Vermont-New Hampshire border and was one of the first reporters on the scene of the Zantop double homicide in January, 2001.

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