HEART EARTH

Doig's memoir of the year he turned 6 is based on letters written by his mother during her last months of life to her brother, who was serving in the Pacific during WWII. Narrator Tom Stechschulte underplays Doig's emotional journey as the author pays tribute to Berneta Doig, an independent Montana native who refused to let her life-threatening asthma hold her back, whether she was on horseback herding sheep or at the kitchen table visiting with girlfriends. Unfortunately, owing to Stechschulte's steady intonations, listeners are not always immediately able to differentiate between Doig's narrative text and quotations from Berneta's letters. Further, he misses the mark for Doig's father's Scots accent, making the elder Doig sound distinctly Irish. Nonetheless, listeners will be drawn to Berneta's spunk and vivid observations. C.B.L. © AudioFile 2011, Portland, Maine [Published: APRIL 2011]