CONSENT A Memoir

Reflection is central to the memoir. In this one, Jill Ciment reconsiders the events she wrote about in her first memoir, HALF A LIFE, 28 years ago. Eileen Stevens's narration embraces the author's candid questioning as she wonders--in the context of the #MeToo movement and her husband Arnold Mesches's death after 45 years of marriage-- how she should think about the relationship she began with the 47-year-old American artist when she was only 17. Stevens's performance enhances the careful detailing of scenes that give their courtship and long marriage verisimilitude. Some are even dissected and re-composed from new perspectives. Stevens also evokes the author's thoughtful scrutiny of how a writer might revisit memories, find them faulty, and come up with a very different story. S.W. © AudioFile 2024, Portland, Maine [Published: JULY 2024]