Single, unfulfilled and well into middle age, long-troubled Charlotte Lansing desperately reaches for love and acceptance. When she announces her engagement to an unemployed morphine addict, her family falls into a tailspin. Her mother is determined to prevent disaster, her father seeks to mend the growing chasm, and her sister stubbornly hopes that their sibling bonds can keep Charlotte safe. But Charlotte resists all this because she thinks she is finally happy. Ultimately, all her loved ones can do is watch as Charlotte disappears, slowly and inevitably, into her new husband's illness. In this bittersweet novel of determination, love, and familial bonds, Lisa Friedman takes listeners into the insidious world of prescription drug abuse, showing the havoc opioids can wreak in our lives, and revealing the grace and care given to us at our lowest moments.
"This riveting audiobook about a middle-aged woman in a disastrous marriage is narrated with nuance and conviction by Rebecca Gibel. Charlotte meets Jimbo, a drug addict, and impulsively marries him. Desperately lonely and depressed, she's convinced that being overweight makes her unlovable. Her family connection is strong, especially with her father and her sister, Celia, whose constant support is wonderfully captured by Gibel. Gibel takes listeners on an emotional roller-coaster ride as she portrays Charlotte's fragility, especially as she begins to take the pills Jimbo offers. The story will both grip and sadden listeners as they bear witness to a descent into mental illness that seems unstoppable despite family intervention. Gibel brings forth all the emotions in this powerful novel. M.J. � AudioFile 2025, Portland, Maine"
