GETTING TO KNOW DEATH A Meditation

Narrator Rosemary Benson's steady voice gives an anchoring stability to a memoir that dips in and out of the author's remembered experiences of death. The strength and depth of Benson's tone build a credible picture of an 85-year-old intelligent, tenacious woman whose attempt to water a failing dogwood in her yard results in a bad fall, a broken neck, and a long recovery. The audiobook's structure of long unoccupied hours allows time for contemplation, and Benson intersperses warm portraits from Godwin's past with pithy pictures of making new friends in a rehab center. A roommate and nurses enliven residential living, but these yield to remembrances of Godwin's lively lifelong friend Pat, her father who saved her from "the desperate place," an abusive step-father, a beloved partner, and the many authors she has outlived. S.W. © AudioFile 2024, Portland, Maine [Published: AUGUST 2024]