November

The Year of Discovery, Book 11

By: M. L. Hamilton

Narrated by: Kelley Hazen

Length: 4 hrs and 32 mins

Publisher's summary

Twelve women connected by the death of another, realizing what they most want from life and reaching for it - this is the year of discovery, the year of new beginnings.

Mariko Saito listens to everyone’s problems, but who listens to hers? Divorced from the only man she ever loved, she faces the reality that her son may be beyond redemption and the rift between her and her daughter might not be salvageable. When everything in your own life is in shambles, how do you heal anyone else?

©2019 M.L. Hamilton (P)2019 M.L. Hamilton

November - Mariko’s Story

Physician heal thyself...

Mariko’s son is returning home from prison. She wants to trust in him and help him... she is his mother after all. But can she do for her son, and herself, what she has done for countless others?

This Year of Discovery series by M.L. Hamilton is so touching. The stories are so real and relatable. I’m always left thinking about how I would react if faced with the same issues.

Hands down, Kelley Hazen is one of the best narrators I have listened to. She truly brings out the emotions in every one of her performances. I highly recommend listening to any of her narrations.

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

Sometimes you can't save those you love...

The 11th book in the series tells the story of Dr Mariko Saito, the psychiatrist who has been helping all the other women we've met since 'January' - but who will help her?

She feels like a fraud; she's divorced, her daughter doesn't want her to be a part of her own family, and her son... her son is a drug addict who has just been released from prison and intends to move in with his mother... again... Everyone tells Mariko to put her foot down this time, to throw him out of her life - but can a mother really do it to her child? Can she do it to her son?

It's a heartbreaking tale; it shows the depth of motherly love and the impossibility of choosing between her child and the rest of her family... It also shows the destructive power of drugs both on the users and on their families. As in all the other books in the series, there is not an easy answer to the problem at hand. Ms Hamilton doesn't give you a solution, doesn't tell you what the right choice in a given situation is... But she does make you understand a bit more how difficult it is to love a person obviously beyond redemption and how helpless it makes you feel... It's one of the best books in the series.

As always, narration by Ms Hazen is wonderful, so emotional in the right places and so neutral and calm in narrative parts. She really does bring the story to life...

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

Great Read

November: The Year of Discovery, Book Eleven was another great read by M.L. Hamilton. Mariko always listens to everyone elses issues but no one will listen to hers. She must come to terms with the fact that her son may be beyond redemption when trouble follows him home. Due to her troubles with her son, there is a huge rift between her and her daughter. She must find a way to salvage the problems in her own life, before she can help others. I can't wait to read the rest of this series. I loved how Kelley Hazen narrates the characters so you feel for them.

Superb

Gives us insight into other women’s lives. Divorced from the man she loved, isn’t easy. Somehow she’ll make a life for herself. As always Ms Hazen’s voice draws the listener in.

Dr. Mariko Saito

I’m totally enjoying this Year of Discovery Series and this is book 11. The primary character in this book is Dr. Mariko Saito who is a professor at the college and women’s health clinic support group but her own life is in uproar. Her ex-husband Kenji and daughter Leiko are not being supportive as her son Maro whom she loves returns home from prison and feels she should not take him in as they do not feel he is going to change. It is a sad story with a surprise ending with great narration, cannot wait for December. I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review. Thank You!

An Awesome Listen

I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the narrator and found it inspiring. Mariko Saito's life is not as it seems. She spends her days helping other people put their lives back together, but she can't help her own son. She tries to be there for him, even after it destroyed her marriage and put a gap between herself and her daughter. Now she is at a crossroads and something has to change. The author has a special talent to create characters and stories that feel real and the narrator brings every story to life. Looking forward to December.