OTHER PEOPLE'S WORDS A Memoir of Friendship, Love, and Conversations with the Dead

With her literary skills on full display in this absorbing memoir, a senior editor for a media company combines an elegy for two departed friends with absorbing philosophical perspectives on how language is formed and passed on to others. She narrates her lyrical writing in hushed tones, sounding as though she's sharing intimate feelings and creating an atmosphere that is perfect for her often arresting insights. She uses the work of Russian philosopher Mikhail Bakhtin to show how words from any individual are always embedded within other people's words and, in turn, continue to touch others in dialogues after they've died. The combination of these esoteric views with the author's intensely personal performance makes this a hypnotic listening experience that should not be missed. T.W. © AudioFile 2024, Portland, Maine [Published: OCTOBER 2024]