7: AN EXPERIMENTAL MUTINY AGAINST EXCESS

A Texas community outreach minister describes how she initiated a life structure that, over seven months, guided her to shed many possessions, simplify her eating and spending habits, reduce media use, and help the least among us in various ways. It's a candid account of the privileges she enjoyed and a chatty look at the mental process that led her to start her experiment to eradicate excess. The narrative is very personal, but what keeps the author from sounding self-absorbed is her generous spirit, good writing, and witty sensibilities. Rebecca Gallagher's pacing seems slow and meticulous at first, but it eventually quickens. Her phrasing is impeccable. What feels disconnected about her performance is her formal-sounding control over her expression, which doesn't seem the best way to render the author's playful authenticity. T.W. © AudioFile 2013, Portland, Maine [Published: FEBRUARY 2013]