HOLD STILL A Memoir with Photographs

Photographer Sally Mann asserts that art is essentially about “confronting truth and challenging convention.” This audiobook, featuring Mann’s own performance, not only confronts and challenges—it does so in a wonderfully magnetic way. Mann’s near husky voice is comfortable and honest, with wide swaths of humor and a genuine charisma that makes one wish for more time with her. Her clean, vivid prose entwines intriguing family histories and personal musings with details about the artistic process, frustrations and successes alike. The audiobook refers often to an accompanying PDF of the photographs mentioned in the title. These images—Mann’s, along with others’, interspersed with family documents—are as absorbing as the memoir itself. Together, this is a fresh, illuminating experience. L.B.F. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2015, Portland, Maine [Published: NOVEMBER 2015]