AFTERCARE INSTRUCTIONS

Listeners meet Genesis, who is almost 18, as she leaves the clinic where she has just had an abortion. Abandoned by her boyfriend, who was supposed to wait for her, Gen must fend for herself, as she has done since her father's death several years earlier and her mother's subsequent descent into inconsolable grief. As narrator, Bonnie Pipkin's flat affect and deliberate pacing are wholly appropriate to Gen's struggles with loss and her search for stability and love. Divided into first-person monologues and flashbacks crafted as scenes from a play, this is sometimes a challenging listen, but perseverance pays off in compelling characters and honest emotions. Pipkin' s sincere connection to the story brings additional depth to her reading of this journey from despair to hope. S.G. © AudioFile 2017, Portland, Maine [Published: SEPTEMBER 2017]