Bound

A Daughter, a Domme, and an End-of-Life Story

By: Elizabeth Anne Wood

Narrated by: Rachel Music

Length: 8 hrs and 24 mins

Publisher's summary

Unflinchingly honest and darkly funny, this memoir will resonate with anyone facing the complicated reality of aging and illness in the United States. Elizabeth and her mother Judy have always had a complicated relationship. Now, they face a confounding illness treated in a labyrinthine health care system at a complicated stage of life.

Nothing is as it first seems in this riveting account of an unconventional mother-daughter journey, a journey that from the start poses questions about love, life, family, aging, health care, sex, and death. In Bound, Elizabeth Anne Wood addresses these questions as she chronicles the last eight months of her mother’s life - a period she comes to see, over the course of months, as a maternity leave in reverse: she is carrying her mother as she dies. Throughout their journey, Wood uses her notebook as a shield to keep unruly emotions at bay, often taking comfort in her role as advocate and forgetting to “be the daughter”, as one doctor reminds her to do. Meanwhile, her mother’s penchant for denial and her childlike tendency toward magical thinking lead to moments of humor even as Wood battles the red tape of hospital bureaucracies, the frustration of planning in the midst of an unpredictable illness, and the unintentional inhumanity of a health care system that too often fails to see the person behind the medical chart.

©2019 Elizabeth Anne Wood (P)2022 Elizabeth Anne Wood

Captivating story!

Bound is beautifully written and performed in the audio book! The story's relatable delivery encourages self reflection and caused me to question the actions it would benefit society, and my future self, to take in solving systemic health care and sexual care deficiencies.

Amazing voice for an amazing story!!

The voice of Rachel Music is absolutely amazing and perfect for the book! The emotion and style of Rachel Music's reading made it feel like the author was telling the story. It wasn't like you were listening to someone read words off of a page but as if you were having a conversation with someone. Her voice and the attention to detail and story made me go through many emotions, and I thoroughly enjoyed it!
Elizabeth Anne Wood’s memoir about her relationship with her mother during her end-of-life medical journey is truly wonderful and keeps you listening till the end! Learning about the author and her mother as they grew up and started to understand who they are really helped create a deep connection with them as the story progressed. It’s such an honest and heart-warming story that shows a strong bond between mother and daughter and how strong both were through the whole journey of her mother’s end-of-life tale.