Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
The Fixed Stars  By  cover art

The Fixed Stars

By: Molly Wizenberg
Narrated by: Erin Mallon
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $14.03

Buy for $14.03

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

At age 36, while serving on a jury, author Molly Wizenberg found herself drawn to a female attorney she hardly knew. Married to a man for nearly a decade and mother to a toddler, Wizenberg tried to return to her life as she knew it, but something inside her had changed irredeemably. Instead, she would discover that the trajectory of our lives is rarely as smooth or as logical as we'd like to believe.

Like many of us, Wizenberg had long understood sexual orientation as a stable part of ourselves: we're "born this way". Suddenly, she realized that her story was more complicated. Who was she, she wondered, if something at her very core could change so radically?

The Fixed Stars is a taut, electrifying memoir exploring timely and timeless questions about desire, identity, and the limits and possibilities of family. In honest and searing prose, Wizenberg forges a new path: through the murk of separation and divorce, coming out to family and friends, learning to co-parent a young child, and realizing a new vision of love. The result is a frank and moving story about letting go of rigid definitions and ideals that no longer fit and learning instead who we really are.

©2020 Dreamscape Media, LLC (P)2020 Dreamscape Media, LLC
  • Unabridged Audiobook
  • Categories: LGBTQ+

Featured Article: The Best Audiobooks Under 7 Hours


Have some time to spare? All of the audiobooks on this list come in under seven hours, so they’re perfect for a single-session binge or a multi-day journey. While some may say the longer the book the better, we believe there is a lot of value in short audiobooks. Some of the best nonfiction is short and powerful, while short sci-fi stories and fantasy novels are just the thing when you want to escape the world but don't have time to get absorbed in a 30-hour tome. Time and attention spans are short these days, so we've got you covered with some of the best audiobooks under seven hours across multiple genres.

What listeners say about The Fixed Stars

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    60
  • 4 Stars
    29
  • 3 Stars
    11
  • 2 Stars
    3
  • 1 Stars
    6
Performance
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    51
  • 4 Stars
    21
  • 3 Stars
    10
  • 2 Stars
    4
  • 1 Stars
    4
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    56
  • 4 Stars
    18
  • 3 Stars
    9
  • 2 Stars
    2
  • 1 Stars
    5

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Wonderful story and great narration!

I know some people were out off by the narrator, but I thought it was wonderful. For whatever reason, Molly didn’t narrate this book, but this narrator was the next best I thought. If you listen to Molly’s Spilled Milk podcast, you will find that this narrator really captures Molly’s voice. This story is heartfelt just like her other books, but takes it to a more personal level. Loved it. Thank you sharing this journey with us. ❤️🌈

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

To be seen

I feel seen with this book. It is so comforting to know I am not the only one going through this, and Molly does an excellent job telling her story without making anyone the enemy. It's just life.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars
  • aw
  • 09-02-20

Story is good narration is off-putting

I've been reading Molly Wizenberg's work for years and love her tone and content. There is so much sarcasm in the narrator's voice that it is really hard to listen to as I don't feel it matches the book or the way the author is intending for it to sound. I am left wondering if the author does not have the opportunity to pick or at least review the narrator before they do the book. This is a definite mismatch in my opinion and it is sad as it is really coloring my experience of the novel.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Interesting story, well told, however...

Wizenberg is a good writer. She told her story well. I have to say I felt bad for her husband who caught this way out of left field.

I felt worse for the little girl. Her little nest was crushed, and when I got to the part about her being involved with the girlfriend’s cosmetic breast removal drains, I stepped off.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Narration is so bad

Ummm, is this a joke? I love Molly W and everything she has ever done. This narrator reads her work like a robot and with this weird affectation. I had to stop listening so it wouldn’t be ruined for me. Going to read the book myself. So sad that Molly hasn’t narrated this herself. I can tell I’m going to love the print version, but had to stop the audio version.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Being Human

Molly Wizenberg gently and beautifully steers us through the trials and tribulations of being human and not fitting the mold. What are sexuality and gender? A great book to help seekers find their way. I was impressed by Molly's telling of a very difficult subject. The protagonist Molly though questioning, confused, and at times self-deprecating is highly evolved. I was moved to tears and made to laugh out loud. This is worth the read or the listen. The narrator, Erin Mallon, was spot on.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

couldn’t stop listening

this book only took me a few days to finish, i couldn’t stop listening! highly recommend.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Honest, well written

I really enjoyed this book, and am grateful to people who share their stories, their hard truths, as it helps those of us on similar paths.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Disappointed

There are some good scenes and ideas here, but the protagonist is so self absorbed it is difficult to care about her.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Are you kidding me??

I thought this was an astrology book based on Fixed Stars!!! Totally mislead! Ughhhh if you’re interested in this book for astrology DO NOT PURCHASE!!!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!