DIRECTIONS TO MYSELF A Memoir of Four Years

Heidi Julavits’s midrange voice and crisp pronunciation combine for an engaging narration of her disarming collection of essays about life. Candid, thought-provoking, and often laugh-out-loud funny, the essays encompass the four years when her youngest child grows from a hand-holding-boy-child to a preteen. Amid her attempts to help him be the best possible person he can be, the award-winning writer mines the quandaries and joys of family life, the messy politics of the college where she teaches, and memories of her childhood in Maine. Julavits’s evenly paced delivery occasionally resembles a comedian’s deadpan tone just before the punch line. It’s curiously appealing and feels like the perfect choice for an audiobook full of wit, as well as wisdom. A.C.S. © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine [Published: SEPTEMBER 2023]