IN SICKNESS A Memoir

Barrett Rollins's life unspools when his wife, Jane, collapses at work from a blood clot caused by advanced breast cancer. More shocking than the medical emergency itself is that Jane has been hiding her diagnosis for years even though both husband and wife are oncologists. Rollins has perfect narrative timing, and his performance is reflective and expressive. He evokes the confusion, and even shame, he feels at having been kept in the dark and then at having to lie to Jane's family and friends at her request. Rollins revisits their courtship and long marriage with an eye and voice that are unflinching yet sympathetic. But the juxtaposition of Jane's unnervingly abnormal desire for privacy and the dynamics of their unusual marriage laid out for all to hear makes for an uncomfortable listen. A.B. © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine [Published: MARCH 2023]