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Title details for Joy for Beginners by Erica Bauermeister - Available

Joy for Beginners

by Erica Bauermeister
Cassandra Campbell
Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
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1 of 1 copy available
An unforgettable adventure in living, loving, and the power of friendship, by the bestselling author of The School of Essential Ingredients.
 
At an intimate, festive dinner party in Seattle, six women gather to celebrate their friend Kate’s recovery from cancer. Wineglass in hand, Kate strikes a bargain with them: to celebrate her new lease on life, she’ll do the one thing that’s always terrified her: white-water rafting down the Grand Canyon. But if she goes, each of them must promise to do one thing in the next year that is new, or difficult, or scary—and Kate gets to choose their challenges.
 
Shimmering with warmth, wit, and insight, Joy for Beginners is a celebration of life: unexpected, lyrical, and deeply satisfying.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    June 14, 2011

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9780307933096
      • File size: 228185 KB
      • Duration: 07:55:23

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Publisher's Weekly

      April 18, 2011
      In Bauermeister's sensual second novel, a party for a woman who has beaten breast cancer results in six friends reconnecting, not just to each other but also to parts of themselves they had long neglected. Admittedly an "incongruous group," with each woman at a different point in her life, Kate's friends agree that each "will do one thing in the next year that is scary or difficult." Kate selects tasks for each of her friends; undertaking the tasks will bring heartbreak, joy, and adventure to everyone. Bauermeister's (The School of Essential Ingredients) evocative prose creates a magical world where gray goo becomes "forgiving dough" in an oven and a woman protects herself from loneliness by hiding in an unruly garden. Kate's well-meaning tasks, be they as grand as a trip to Venice or as banal as baking bread, push the friends toward much-needed awakenings. A book designed to both fill you up and make you hungry for life.

    • AudioFile Magazine
      The title may be JOY FOR BEGINNERS, but this audiobook is a sure tearjerker. Each chapter is like a short story that focuses on the lives of six women who are bound together by their friend's victory over breast cancer. Narrator Cassandra Campbell misses the opportunity to give a unique voice to each woman as her story is presented. Instead, she uses the same quiet voice throughout, drawing out words with a gravelly weariness that has a depressing effect. While the sad tone is appropriate for parts of the story, it is ultimately meant to be inspiring, and Campbell's somberness makes it difficult to feel the joy. M.M.G. (c) AudioFile 2011, Portland, Maine

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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