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I Liked My Life

A Novel

Audiobook
2 of 2 copies available
2 of 2 copies available

"An emotional journey of love, loss, healing, and redemption. I rooted for every character." —Lisa See, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of Snow Flower and The Secret Fan
"I Liked My Life is a treasure of a novel. Warm-hearted and clever, the story will keep you reading until the final delicious revelation." —Diane Chamberlain, New York Times and USA Todaybestselling author
"Warm and hopeful, this marvelous debut stands next to novels from Catherine McKenzie and Carolyn Parkhurst." —Booklist (starred)

A story from debut author Abby Fabiaschi that is "as absorbing as it is illuminating, and as witty as it is heartbreaking."
Maddy is a devoted stay-at-home wife and mother, host of excellent parties, giver of thoughtful gifts, and bestower of a searingly perceptive piece of advice or two. She is the cornerstone of her family, a true matriarch...until she commits suicide, leaving her husband Brady and teenage daughter Eve heartbroken and reeling, wondering what happened. How could the exuberant, exacting woman they loved disappear so abruptly, seemingly without reason, from their lives? How they can possibly continue without her? As they sift through details of her last days, trying to understand the woman they thought they knew, Brady and Eve are forced to come to terms with unsettling truths.
Maddy, however, isn't ready to leave her family forever. Watching from beyond, she tries to find the perfect replacement for herself. Along comes Rory: pretty, caring, and spontaneous, with just the right bit of edge...but who also harbors a tragedy of her own. Will the mystery of Maddy ever come to rest? And can her family make peace with their history and begin to heal?

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    • Publisher's Weekly

      October 10, 2016
      It’s been two weeks since Maddy jumped off the roof of the Wellesley College library, leaving behind a husband, Brady, and a teenage daughter, Eve. Narrating from beyond the grave, Maddy continues to watch over (and exert influence on) her family in the hope that she can help them move past their grief. She’s even picked out a new wife for Brady: Rory, an elementary school teacher who survived a terrible tragedy of her own. Although Rory does indeed strike up a connection with both Eve and Brady in the months that follow, father and daughter will have to find their own paths and reconnect with each other in order to move forward. Brady delves into a family secret from his own past; Eve copes with her emotions through peeks at her mother’s diary and becomes inspired to find a voice of her own. As Fabiaschi employs ever more convoluted narrative machinations to hide a big twist at the end, the story loses the emotional impact it needs to maintain a connection with the reader. As such, it’s hard to grieve along with Eve and Brady, and the disparate plot elements don’t fully come together.

    • AudioFile Magazine
      Listeners won't want to miss this surprisingly positive yet truthful novel. Teenager Eve and her father, Brady, struggle to understand why seemingly happy mother-and-wife Maddy committed suicide. Susan Bennett's soft, gentle voice is perfect for Maddy's sections, and her self-assured narration highlights the character's practicality as she questions her circumstances and tries to make things right with the family members she left behind. Therese Plummer's youthful pitch and varied tone, from trembly to sassy, believably project Eve's roller-coaster emotions and changing perspective on how to live a full life. Dan Bittner's performance teases out Brady's guilt, anger, and insecurities as he reviews his married life and attempts to create a new future. All three performances are strong, creating a seamless listening experience. C.B.L. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2017, Portland, Maine

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  • English

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