Leaving the Beach

A Woman's Tale of Music and Mental Illness

By: Mary Rowen

Narrated by: Gryphon Corpus

Length: 10 hrs and 25 mins

Publisher's Summary

“This is an outstanding novel... Erin is a perfectly flawed heroine.” ~ Semifinalist, 2017 BookLife Prize (10 out of 10 in All 5 Categories Judged)

“Rowen’s angsty, passionate debut explores the virtues and pratfalls of rock and roll fandom... Rowen’s frank delivery will hold readers from start to finish.” ~ Publishers Weekly

Erin Reardon gets her first kiss from Jim Morrison and loses her virginity to David Bowie. When she flunks out of college, Bruce Springsteen comforts her, and Elvis Costello breaks her heart in Europe. So what happens when she finally meets a rock star in the flesh?

Erin’s a lonely misfit with an eating disorder and a wild imagination. She believes she was born to save—and love—at least one tortured musician, and is willing to risk almost everything to fulfill that destiny.

“...gracefully grapples with several important issues, including alcohol and drug addiction, loss, grief and sexuality... There are also many entertaining pop-culture references to offset the weighty themes... An intriguing novel that looks at the ways that people cope with the pain in their lives.” ~ Kirkus Reviews

EVOLVED PUBLISHING PRESENTS a newly revised and edited second edition of a critically-acclaimed, award-winning literary/women’s fiction piece sure to compel you to keep those pages turning.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Leaving the Beach is told in first person by an unreliable narrator named Erin Reardon. Erin is bulimic, she suffers from anxiety and depression, and she engages in dangerous behaviors. Other themes in the book include suicide and suicidality. If any of these topics might distress or trigger you, please read with caution or choose another book. And if you or anyone you know is struggling with eating issues or other mental health issues, help is always available. The National Eating Disorders Association is a great place to start.

©2019 Evolved Publishing LLC (P)2020 Evolved Publishing LLC

Relatable and flawed character, addictive book

This book has been on my TBR pile for some months, and I regret it now so much! From the very first minutes, it trapped me and didn’t let go. I listened to it literally every free moment I had for the last days as I wasn’t able to stop.

Erin Reardon has serious problems. Not only dealing with bulimia, but also losing her father to a tragic accident, and the world, in general, being unfair to this misunderstood woman. My younger years were much less eventful but I could see myself in so many of Erin’s experiences that it was like Rowen was speaking directly to me. I think the fact that Erin is such a flawed character makes her so relatable and close to our hearts. She makes a bunch of bad decisions, but I was able to understand why she was acting the way she did. Waiting for fr things to go wrong was like watching a car crash in slow motion. You know it’s going to hurt but you just can’t stop looking.

There are two alternating storylines in this book, one from Erin’s younger years in high school and college, and another from several years later when she is a young independent woman but still a hostage to her fears and insecurities. There’s a common aspect to both storylines that I won’t reveal here but it adds a great deal of intrigue to the plot and complements perfectly Erin’s story.

This would have been a 5-star book for me, but I found the ending a bit anticlimactic. It’s not that the story was building towards something big, and we’ve definitely seen Erin’s castles in the air plenty of times before, but there’s something not sitting well with me and I can’t put my finger on it. A solid 4.5 stars.

Gryphon Corpus delivered a delightful narration. She really became Erin in this story, bringing her to life with her warts and all. The book is so well written, and the narration is so well done, that it was like listening to Erin’s thoughts and being with her at concerts, vomiting in the bathroom, and driving to work in the stranger’s car. Gryphon Corpus was also able to interpret the rest of the characters in a way that each had a different style and voice, allowing the listener to easily follow the dialogs and just relax.

A book I thoroughly enjoyed and that I absolutely recommend.

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Hard to connect to the story

I did not particularly enjoy this book. I had high hopes for the music references, but I fond they mostly fell flat for me, and that in many cases the lyrics (or rather descriptions of the lyrics, to avoid actually quoting the songs) felt like fillers to make the book longer.

Erin as a character did not make a lot of sense to me either. Yes, she definitely had some difficulties and struggles, but I couldn't make sense of her choices and actions. At times she was outright delusional (e.g. Bowie concert)

I did enjoy the narration of the book, and how it was immediately obvious which character was speaking.

I was given a free copy of the book and have left the review voluntarily.

Complex and Compelling Story

Mary Rowen wrote a truly complex and compelling story centered around a character named Erin, who although flawed, she had an eating disorder and suffered from the grandiose idea that she is meant to love a famous musician, is still very human. It is a story which gives a voice to issues such as bulimia, alcohol and drug addiction, body image, loss of a parent, sexuality, etc...and although one might think that there are so many issues that the reader would get lost in the miasma of the complexities, Rowen skillfully weaves a tale that has the reader relating to and cheering for the main character completely. The references to some of the musical greats such as Queen and David Bowie help to make the book memorable and very entertaining. I felt that Gryphon Corpus did a great job as narrator in this story. Her expressive voice brought the characters to life and this helped to further depict the complexities in this story. I was given a free copy of the audiobook and I have voluntarily left this review.