THE OTHER MOTHER

January LaVoy and William DeMeritt are well paired narrators for this audiobook, in which a complex family saga is told through multiple points of view. DeMeritt begins with the portrayal of a gifted pianist named Jenry, who leaves his mother in Miami to attend Brown University. In returning to Rhode Island, his birthplace, he seeks answers to questions he has about his father. DeMeritt conveys Jenry's impatience and shock as he discovers that his mother was involved with a woman, his "other mother," when he was born. Sharing the stories of the women, LaVoy lays out complications and secrets. DeMeritt also delivers the narratives of the men Jenry knows as his father and his grandfathers, who have more secrets. Both narrators capture all the characters' humanity. J.E.M. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine [Published: JUNE 2022]