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Lisey's Story  By  cover art

Lisey's Story

By: Stephen King
Narrated by: Mare Winningham
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Publisher's summary

Now an Apple TV+ limited series starring Julianne Moore and Clive Owen

The “haunting...tender, intimate book that makes an epic interior journey” (The New York Times), Lisey’s Story is a literary masterpiece - an extraordinarily moving and haunting portrait of a marriage and its aftermath.

Lisey lost her husband, Scott, two years ago, after a 25-year marriage of profound and sometimes frightening intimacy. Scott was an award-winning, best-selling novelist and a very complicated man. Early in their relationship, before they married, Lisey knew there was a place Scott went - a place that both terrified and healed him, could eat him alive or give him the ideas he needed in order to live. Now it’s Lisey’s turn to face Scott’s demons, to go to that terrifying place known as Boo’ya Moon. What begins as a widow’s effort to sort through the papers of her celebrated husband becomes a nearly fatal journey into the darkness he inhabited.

“Intricate...exhilarating” (The New Yorker), perhaps Stephen King’s most personal and powerful novel ever, Lisey’s Story is about the wellsprings of creativity, the temptations of madness, and the secret language of love. It is a beautiful, “rich portrait of a marriage, and the complicated affection that outlives death” (The Washington Post).

Don't miss more from Stephen King.
©2006 Stephen King (P)2006 Simon and Schuster Audio

Critic reviews

"As much about the facets of longtime marriage as it is about the characters themselves, Lisey's Story offers a poignant glimpse at abiding love and the tides of grief, and the internal language of relationships of all kinds." (Atlantic Monthly)

"In Lisey's Story, Stephen King makes bold, brilliant use of his satanic storytelling gift, his angelic ear for language, and above all his incomparable ability to find the epic in the ordinary." (Michael Chabon)

"Lisey's Story is bright and brilliant. It's dark and desperate. While I'll always consider The Shining, my first ride on King's wild Tilt-A-Whirl, a gorgeous, bloody jewel, I found, on this latest ride, a treasure box heaped with dazzling gems. A few of them have sharp, hungry teeth." (Nora Roberts)

Featured Article: Stephen King’s 20 Best Audiobooks—The Definitive List


Stephen King is one of the most prolific American authors of all time. He has published 61 novels, more than 200 short stories, and six nonfiction books—and he shows no sign of stopping. His most recent novel, The Institute, was published in September of 2019, and we’ve already pre-ordered his novella anthology If It Bleeds, which is set to be released in 2020. With such a large portfolio, choosing one listen to start with can be daunting.

What listeners say about Lisey's Story

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Spit first then I’ll give you my opinion

Excellent story of sisters and love and good devoted marriage and the spine tingling unknown
Kept me on the edge
Mare Winningham gave me chills when she spoke the words of daddy!

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Beautifully done! What a masterpiece!

Narration was amazing and the story although it jumps to different times just seemed to flow. A Beautiful story with so much description. This is definitely a must read!

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good story

loved it!! right from the start I was hooked. fascinating, pravacative, I would definitely recommend

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Must pay attention

Stephen King loves to jump back and forth in the timeline of his story telling. This is done often in this book. It was easy to get lost if not really listening. Great story.

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Simply brilliant

This is a brilliant book from King. Definitely top tier among his work. The characters are superb and memorable, as always. This story has so much heart and soul, you can feel it. The climax was a tad predictable, but the resolution was a home run.

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Another great read from Stephen King.

Loved this book. It was rich in character development. So many twists and turns! Awesome

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  • 12-12-19

Amazing and emotional

This is another one of Stephen kings amazing novels. I understand they’re making a movie about this story and I hope they do it justice. There is a roller coaster of emotions throughout the story. By the end I had tears in my eyes. Great job!

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Great book! Narrator is Excellent !

This was a re-read for me and I wasn't disappointed. Mare Winningham was the perfect narrator!

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Not for me

Story is slow and jumps all over. Others have liked it. Not so much for me.

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Great all the way around!

I loved this story!! I also love that Mare Winningham was reading. She is such an amazing narrator! Stephen King is the absolute BEST author! I have never been able to connect with stories the way I do his. He is pure genius!! I love you, man!!

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