This Telling

Out of Line collection

By: Cheryl Strayed

Narrated by: Kristen Bell

Length: 41 mins

Publisher's summary

A genealogy test sparks a woman’s reflection on the two accounts of her life—the real one and the one she’s always told the world—in this poignant short story by Cheryl Strayed, the bestselling author of Wild.

In 1964 teenage Geraldine Waters was sent away by her parents to an unwed mothers’ home, where she gave up her newborn for adoption. Ever since, she’s lived an alternative narrative. Decades later, it’s time for Geraldine to reconcile the telling of her life, to finally grieve, and to discover what happened to that part of her past that slipped away.

Cheryl Strayed’s This Telling is part of Out of Line, an incisive collection of funny, enraging, and hopeful stories of women’s empowerment and escape. Each piece can be read or listened to in a single thought-provoking sitting.

Audible narration by Kristen Bell (Veronica Mars)

©2020 Cheryl Strayed (P)2020 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Exceptional telling of a very heartfelt story.

Such a different time than most young women will experience today. The reminder of women's lack of choices during this period and now is something we should all share.

Bite Size

I realize This Telling is a short short story and the author did a good job giving a fast forward to hit the high notes of a more complex story. I can't say that it's memorable or that it really packed much of a punch though.

Hard choices

Confession: I’m a huge fan of Cheryl Strayed, so the bias here is more than implicit. But I love how in this short story she presented so many difficult choices - none of them wrong, but all of them hard - and how said choices end up shaping our lives. Who we are, who we become, who we want to be.

Living with a secret

I was impressed. This story really caught my attention from the beginning. A secret kept an entire life, and then comes the moment to tell... I understand how many will find the ending incomplete or disappointing. To me it was perfect. It's like watching a scene that fades aways and you can already imagine what's gonna happen after that, and it's all good.

Great short story

This story pulled me in fast in typical Cheryl Strayed style! Kristen Bell was perfect

Short but cute!

Firstly, I love Kristen Bell and her narration. She really brings the stories to life. I wish this story was a little longer!

Common Story

It's a common story for someone who grew up in the 50s/60s, all the high school girls who went out of state to "take care of their sick aunt" but wound up in homes for unwed mothers or hidden at home until the "terrible shame" was over, often leaving a young girl/woman in deep and long lasting depression following forced surrender of her baby. If this is a subject of interest to you I highly recommend the book "The Girls Who Went Away" by Ann Fessler, a sociological analysis of full impact on mothers, children, and families affected by unplanned pregnancies in the days before Roe v. Wade.

Short, interesting, not very deep

In 1964, Geraldine Waters gets pregnant, and has to decide how she's going to deal with that. Many years later, she has to decide how to respond when the long-delayed consequences of her decision reach her. It's difficult to say much else without major spoilers. However, this is an interesting look at how social standards and expectations since then have changed.

A short, interesting read or listen, with some room for thought and reflection.

I received this story as part of the Audible Originals program, and am reviewing it voluntarily.

Excellent!

Very good story. Packs a big punch for such a short one. Narration was fine. Overall, time well spent! 👏👏

Beautiful Story

Such a bittersweet story. Beautifully written and beautifully read. I got teary at the end.