Cast Me Gently

By: Caren J. Werlinger

Narrated by: Shalauna Casey

Length: 10 hrs and 14 mins

Publisher's Summary

Teresa Benedetto and Ellie Ryan couldn’t be more different, at least on the surface. Teresa still lives at home. As much as she loves her boisterous Italian family, she feels trapped by them and their plans for her life. Their love is suffocating her. Ellie has been on her own for years, working hard to save up enough to live her dream of escaping from Pittsburgh to travel the world. Except leaving isn’t that simple when she knows her brother is out on the streets of the city somewhere, back from Vietnam, but not home.  

When Teresa and Ellie meet and fall in love, their worlds clash. Ellie would love to be part of Teresa’s family, but they both know that will never happen. Sooner or later, Teresa will have to choose between the two halves of her heart - Ellie or her family.  

Set in 1980, the beginning of the Reagan era and the decline of Pittsburgh’s steel empire, Cast Me Gently is a classic lesbian romance.

©2015 Caren J. Werlinger (P)2019 Audible, Inc.

Excellent !

I loved Cast Me Gently. I loved reading it and loved it all over again on audio. Really brings to focus making a choice between a partner or your family. Shalauna Casey did an excellent job with the narration.

It captures history

What a fantastic story that captures the late 80’s. It’s strange to think such a short time ago lesbians had to struggle, women had to struggle and love can change lives.

Loved this trip to Pittsburgh 1980s!

I'm a huge Pittsburgh Steelers fan, living close to Baltimore, so I had to love this book (the 2 cities in story). I grew up in the eighties so I could sort of relate to what was going on in this book. It was very well written and I finished it in 2 days thanks to the amazing narration. I wished there was another hour at the end of this because I thought the ending was a bit sudden but over all I really loved everything else about it.

You do Love ME Don’t You?

Kept me going until the very end. Had an instant like to DogMan and Lucy. Off to my next adventure.

Great story about love & family

I enjoyed the story of Teresa & Ellie. I would love to know more about their relationship and how much deeper it develops within the Benedetto family. Also.. there is another mystery not quite solved.

Amazing

This story, like all of Caren Werlinger’s stories, is simply amazing. It is the story of two women living in a more homophobic time, who find each other. Both are quite innocent in a certain sense of the word, and it is beautiful seeing them come together and start a relationship. One has to make some sacrifices to be with the other - though, as her maiden aunt tells her, you have to make sacrifices either way - you need to decide which regrets you can live with - true wisdom.

There is an incident of almost-accomplished sexual assault nearer the end, and it is one of the pivotal points of the story.

As much as the two went through before meeting each other, and as much as they went through during the story, they are lucky in many ways, including finding support in some surprising and beautiful ways.

And the narration! While I don’t actually know if the accents are authentic, I imagine they are. And she did male voices as convincingly as female voices, over a range of ages. I’m sad I haven’t found other books she has narrated.

There are few reasons why I loved this book,

As a Pittsburgh resident for the last 16 years, this is a great feel of this beautiful city, its residents and their special language that was captured in the best of ways.
The few descriptions of the city are accurate. The story was great, but then every book of Caren J Werlinger that I read so far was wonderful. She tells the stories she has in a very sensitive way.
And the narration was excellent as well.

wonderful book!

Every time I I think Werlinger can't get better she does! The story rings true for so many and is so very strong. The charters are well developed and relatable to us that are more mature and so many young people who are still having to face the very same issues in this the 21st century. The narrator is wonderful and expresses the emotions of the different characters perfectly!

Heartwarming and inspiring

In this claaaic scenario of how it was for most of us in this situations.This time stamp of yesterday's time of how it was.

Beautiful story and narration

Cast Me Gently has been one of my favourite books since I first read it. The reader feels the powerful emotions of first love and coming out along with Teresa and Ellie. They are both such relatable and realistic characters. The story explores the strong, but sometimes stifling, bonds of Teresa’s big family, in contrast to Ellie’s experience of losing her parents at a young age and searching for her long-lost brother. We see how love changes each of them, against the gritty backdrop of Pittsburgh in 1980.

Shalauna Casey’s narration is wonderful. I’m told she’s a native of Pittsburgh, so this provides authenticity to the voices she gives the characters and adds an extra touch to this audiobook. Definitely worth a listen!