My Own Voice

Still Life with Memories, Book 1

By: Uvi Poznansky

Narrated by: Heather Jane Hogan

Length: 5 hrs and 37 mins

Publisher's Summary

Falling in love with Lenny should have been the end to all her troubles. For Anita, it's only the beginning, when family secrets start unravelling. His ex-wife, Natasha, is succumbing to a mysterious disease. How can Anita compete with her shadow? How can she find a voice of her own?

And when his estranged son, Ben, comes back and lives in the same small apartment, can she keep the balance between the two men, whose desire for her is marred by guilt and blame?

Dealing with the challenging prospects of the marriage of opposites, this book can be read as a standalone novel as well as part of one of family sagas best sellers. Still Life with Memories is a family saga series tinged with family saga romance, fraught with marital issues, and riddled with the difficulty of connecting fathers and sons.

©2015 Uvi Poznansky (P)2015 Uvi Poznansky

The emotional dynamics of a family.

A well crafted story with real characters with real emotional issues between them.The narrator helps us feel closer to these
interesting characters in a entertaining read.


This book was given to me for free at my request and I provided this voluntary review.

An emotional ride

From a "not so innocent" young girl, to a strong woman. This story was not my usual genre but I gave it a chance and I couldn't stop until the very end. I also purchased the Kindle edition to add to my collection of favorites. The author captures the reality of people and how fickle they can be. Found some great words of wisdom in the writing. I had no idea where the plot was headed until it took me there, now I can't wait to see where it goes to next. Beautiful storytelling by the narrator.

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Loved it

Amazing, loved the audio delivery as well, kept my attention to the end, didn't want the story to end.

A great, unique series.

I seem to be reading this series in reverse order. It is ok to do that. But, I first read about Lenny when he met and married Natasha. I fell in love with him then. In this read, though, he is not so lovable. He, too, is struggling. And poor Anita. This is another great read from Ms. Poznansky. Just know if you read any of this series, you'll be reading them all! Her writing style is unique and awesome.
I listened to this book on Audible. The narrator did an excellent job with Anita's improper, southern speech. She put all the emotion and feels in to it. Great job!
I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book from Story Origin.

Hmm

I’m not quite sure what I think of this book. There are some elements of the story I like and others that drove me crazy. I am not a fan of the use of the word “like” as a space filler as seems to be all too popular amongst some of the teenagers I know. The main character in this book uses this word far too much for my liking. My upbringing, as well as that of most people I have known through my life is vastly different than that of Anita, so it is very difficult for me to put myself in her shiny pink high heeled shoes. I like to imagine myself in the story as I read, or listen to, a book and just couldn’t do that with this one. That being said Anita comes across as a strong willed woman who knows what she wants and, for the most part, gets it through her own tenacity. She isn’t willing to be cowed by a substantial age difference between herself and the man her lust desires or group of old “aunts”. She is willing to learn new words at the tutelage of her husband. Communication, actual meaningful communication, seems to be an area that both Anita and her husband need to work at. There is so much that should have been discussed at the very beginning that either isn’t until far later or maybe not at all. I didn’t care for how much we were left hanging as the story progressed. For example Anita’s first encounter with Lenny is when she is 16, he doesn’t mention that he is already married and certainly doesn’t act like a married man. We find out years later that Lenny’s wife is sick. How was there no mention of her before? What kind of woman doesn’t find these things out? Even if Lenny didn’t tell her how did his son not let her know? The author’s synopsis of this book tells that Lenny and his son are estranged, but the book doesn’t mention anything of the sort until far into the story, years after Anita and Lenny meet, and it is at this point the relationship becomes strained. I feel like this story is kind of a ramble with little to no plot and direction, but that is my opinion. Overall, there is some potential that I feel is just not being met. It’s not a bad story, but is quite slow and rambling.

A literary masterpiece!

Uvi Poznansky is a literary tour de force in a contemporary age when the quality of writing often takes a back seat to the quick thrill, or to be more precise, the quick buck. She writes as she paints, with careful, vibrant strokes of amazing clarity and color. Whether you are a reader or writer, teacher or student, you owe it to yourself read her work. You will be transported to a world where life is examined from a poet’s point of view, where you live in vignettes so real that you can’t help but love and care for the characters.

The main character of In My Own Voice, Anita, tells her story in a genuine and true-to-life fashion, taking us from her teenage years to present day, sharing details about her traumatic past and difficult present day. The title resonates in many ways within this deeply felt work, and in truth, the voice used for Anita is absolutely believable. Her dialect is consistent within the story, her observations about her husband Lenny and his son Ben come through as authentic, and frankly, Anita’s characters leaps off the page.

This is a literary work. It will take you through the suffering and joys of an unforgettable character, and you’ll be sure to want to read the other stories in the Still Life With Memories series.

I listened to this book, and must say the narrator was outstanding. Her choice of voice for Anita—that Southern drawl with colloquialisms galore—was perfect. I found myself thinking of Anita as a real person, which is the testimony of a very good read.

Thank you, Ms. Poznansky, for another stellar story!

A Tragedy of a Man and the Other Woman

This touching and often painful story chronicles the life of a young girl captivated by an older man who is obsessed by the wife he loved and lost to Alzheimers. Told as a first person memoir from the girl's point of view, this story has the same lyrical quality I've come to expect of Poznansky's work. Lenny, the broken and obsessive husband, Anita, the wife and Ben, Lenny's son by his first wife engage in the kind of psychological struggle only a family can, haunted always by the lingering ghost of his first wife Natasha.
This story, like most great dramas, isn't always easy to hear, but you'll find yourself unable to leave it alone and the gentle, compelling voice of narrator Heather Hogan makes it a listening pleasure.

surprisingly good

I was given this free review copy audio book at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

I wasn't sure what to expect from this story, and honestly had doubts that it would hold my interest. Turns out, I thought this was a very well written story of the human condition. Especially when said humans are a disfuctional family. I thought the narration was well done and the characters were intersting. There is a lot of good morals peppered throughout the story. Well worth your time, in my opinion.

Engaging Story with Great Characters!

My Own Voice, Still Life with Memories, Book 1 by Uvi Pozansky and Narrated by Heather Jane Hogan

Story

My Own Voice, Still Life with Memories, Book 1 by Uvi Pozansky is a truly engaging family drama. The main character Anita is a young woman who thought all of life’s problems would end when Lenny swept her off her feet and they eventually married. She is a young and wild spirit who must compete with his ex-Natasha. This is a complex story of a marriage and it’s high and low points, relationships between parents and children, and a morality tale of how to treat one another.

Attention Holding

This is not my normal genre but the story sounded interesting and hearing the sample narration I wanted to hear more. The story really holds the listener's attention. Anita is a truly multi-layered character who the listener gets to know and empathize with throughout this first book in this series. You get hooked on the drama of these characters and want to find out what drives them and causes them to act and do the things they do.

Narration and Production Value

The narration was provided by Heather Jane Hogan. Ms. Hogan is my new favorite female narrator. She did an amazing job with this audiobook. It was on the strength of her performance on the sample and the overview of the book that I decided to try this book and I am really glad I did. I look forward to hearing more of Ms. Hogan’s performances in the future. The production value of this audiobook is of great quality. The author also published the audiobook production. The audiobook was crisp and clear through the entire book. I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Very nice listen

I very much enjoyed this. It was engaging and very entertaining. Would recommend. Provided in exchange for a review.

A fantastic read

This was a fantastic read. I found the first person narration refreshing. We see through a window straight into Anita’s mind; all of her desires and wants are exposed. We follow Anita’s story as she becomes a woman. Poznansky’s writing is solid and rich; and through Anita’s perspective we view a vivid world.
Although this story is not a genre I would normally read, I was enthralled by Anita’s voice. Anita is a wonderful character, and the narrator: Heather Jane Hogan, has done a great job of bringing her to life. She has an amazing southern drawl, which is soothing to listen to. Her reading is intuitive, and I soon found myself immersed in Anita’s world.
I highly recommend this book not just for readers of romance fiction, but for all readers who enjoy a good story and detailed three-dimensional characters. Five stars.