UNLIKELY FRIENDS

Journalist and narrator Julie Salamon recounts details of her small-town upbringing and the subtle--and sometimes not so subtle--discrimination that she and her two closest friends endured while growing up in one of Ohio's poorest counties. Interviews with those closest to Salamon in childhood are eye-opening and sometimes heartbreaking. Salamon's performance is both emotional and introspective as she explores the questions of who she and her friends have become and whether her memories of small-town Ohio are realistic or merely innocent nostalgia. This production is reminiscent of a well-performed podcast. V.B. © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine [Published: SEPTEMBER 2021]