LISTEN MAMA

JD Jackson narrates this memoir in a low, well-modulated voice. At first, this choice seems helpful as a vehicle to deliver the audiobook's intense, heartbreaking story, but soon the sameness creates a feeling of relentless, unmitigated events. Born into poverty with physical disfigurements, Manny finds himself up against impossible odds that seem to mount. His stepfather, Ray, has left him and his two sisters, and listeners are fairly certain he won't be coming back. Writing unsent letters to his mother, who is in a psychiatric hospital, Manny fervently hopes that one day she will be well enough to read his epistles. His descriptive writing has humor and heart, and his determination to help his family out of difficult situations is both laudable and impossible. S.W. 2022 Audies Finalist © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine [Published: FEBRUARY 2022]