In her memoir, author/narrator Jennette McCurdy uses a dynamic voice for her mother's lines and a flat tone for much of her own thoughts and dialogue. The writer, director, podcaster, singer, and former child actor shares details of her dark adolescence. Years after her mother's death, she is now coming to terms with the emotional and physical abuse she endured from a mother who makes other stage moms seem sweet. Her story makes clear that her career and personal habits were formed in direct response to that abuse. In one scene, she illuminates her volatile home by depicting a shouting match between her parents with moans and sobs. In a lighter moment, she uses a high pitch to showcase a JELL-O commercial she did as a kid.
Pub Date: Aug. 9, 2022
Duration: 6 hrs, 45 mins
DD ISBN: 9781797147949
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
An essential listen for Sondheim enthusiasts.
For those who know Sondheim best as the lyricist of Broadway giants such as Gypsy and West Side Story, this extremely well-researched, rather concise audiobook will enlighten and inform. Author Okrent’s boundless enthusiasm is clear in his performance as he discusses Sondheim’s personal and professional journey. Sondheim, who passed in 2021, was an intensely private man, but fans of Company, A Little Night Music, Sweeney Todd, and more of Sondheim's work will appreciate that Okrent was able to mine previously unexamined archives and other resources.
An essential listen for Sondheim enthusiasts.Pub Date: May 16, 2026
Duration: 8 hrs, 21 mins
DD ISBN: 9798228745124
Publisher: Blackstone Audio
Review Posted Online: April 28, 2026
Listeners will get to know a charming woman, and to share her love for poetry.
Oscar winner Ellen Burstyn is not only a marvelous actor, she is also a lover of poetry and a graceful and engaging writer. At 93, her voice is not as strong as it was, but she still knows how to use it to tell a story and interpret a poem. In this anthology she uses a selection of her favorite poems—some familiar, some from skilled but little-known poets—to trace the growth of her poetic taste, her relationship with the art, and her spiritual development. Her readings of Mary Oliver, Rumi, Poe, and more are as good as her comments, meaningful and instructive.
Listeners will get to know a charming woman, and to share her love for poetry.Pub Date: April 28, 2026
Duration: 5 hrs, 9 mins
DD ISBN: 9780063387706
Publisher: Harper Audio
Review Posted Online: May 26, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2026
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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