HOW THE LIGHT GETS IN

Joyce Maynard's sweater-warm voice is rich with nuance as she performs her newest, a sequel to her Earphones Award-winning COUNT THE WAYS. Taking place between 2010 and 2024, the story finds Eleanor, a successful writer, back on the family's New England farm after her former husband's death. In a story that is simultaneously profound and quotidian, she navigates life with three adult children--one brain injured and the others either geographically or emotionally distant. She also finds an unusual new love. Maynard's performance is both relaxed and intense, her pleasant manner offering welcome while her realistically paced delivery heightens the emotional stakes. Without creating character voices, she modifies her cadence and inflection in a way that illuminates personality and keeps the listener hooked. A.C.S. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2024, Portland, Maine [Published: AUGUST 2024]