This genre-bending collection of searingly intimate real-life conversations exemplifies everything that is exciting about audio as a medium. When actor Diane Ladd is diagnosed with lung scarring from pesticide exposure, she's given six months to live and told that exercise is her only chance for improvement. Ladd's daughter, actor Laura Dern, proposes daily walks, with the commitment to leave nothing between the two unsaid. Recording their conversations ignites the storyteller and performer in Ladd, whose breath and spirit audibly improve as the audiobook progresses. Listening to these raw conversations would feel voyeuristic if the emotional themes the women cover weren't so universal. Ladd and Dern are highly gifted at connecting with an audience, making this a phenomenally crafted audio experience unlike any other.
Pub Date: April 25, 2023
Duration: 7 hrs, 45 mins
DD ISBN: 9781549190025
Publisher: Hachette Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Thanks to Hodge’s most enjoyable narration, this is a tasty treat.
British actress Patricia Hodge’s narration of Berry’s reflections is high-toned, crisp, and professional. Berry, now 91, offers her first book about gardening after dozens of cookbooks. Berry is a familiar face to BBC and PBS viewers, and here she enthusiastically shares the meaning gardening has for her. In this lightly sketched family memoir, she details the plants she loves to grow and identifies the people who have inspired her. Hodge's performance is particularly keen when Berry discusses being named a Dame of the British Empire and focuses on her charitable efforts, which include opening her personal gardens for events and tours.
Thanks to Hodge’s most enjoyable narration, this is a tasty treat.Pub Date: March 10, 2026
Duration: 6 hrs, 5 mins
DD ISBN: 9798217303137
Publisher: DK Publishing
Review Posted Online: April 21, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2026
Minnelli tells her story her way, one-on-one, in a wonderful performance.
For this memoir, Minnelli worked with her best friend, Michael Feinstein, to offer an extraordinary glimpse into her life both in front of and behind the camera. At 80, Minnelli performs her own audiobook in high style. The content is candid, funny, and revealing, if slightly sanitized. It’s all here—Minnelli’s collaborations with songwriters Kander and Ebb and her many marriages and affairs, triumphs, disasters, substance use, and, most recently, 11 years of sobriety. The only drawback when listening is that it’s not always clear when the narrative is moving on to a new theme.
Minnelli tells her story her way, one-on-one, in a wonderful performance.Pub Date: March 10, 2026
Duration: 9 hrs, 30 mins
DD ISBN: 9781668653418
Publisher: Hachette Audio
Review Posted Online: March 16, 2026
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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