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.

So tired of foul books and stories

Poorly developed stories and foul language!!! This is the third story from the collection that I’ve turned off today. I’m very tired of authors who cannot write without foul language to express themselves

the magic of storytelling - thank you Cheryl

Once again Cheryl uses her superpower, to open our eyes, hearts and minds for the divine beauty and pain in the "secret" universe of every woman.
Never ever have I read (listen to - thank you Kristen) better pictures of feelings, experiences and emotions. Even though I can not entirely relate to every detail of the story, I feel as I can completely relate to the characters and I myself have lived through every moment.
It's not an easy story to tell or listen to, it's not a short one either because it transports you through a lifetime of emotions ... but i couldn't stop listening even for a second (thank you Kristen) and in fact this is technically a short story.
This is the power of one Cheryl Strayed - the women who created - "Tiny beautiful things" - my holly book.

So simple so emotional

Cheryl, your ability to paint a scene through your words is incredible. You’ve told a lifetime of a story in such a short piece and it was as emotional as a full novel. Thank you for offering your writings to the world. We are grateful.

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.

Language

First 5 minutes. Language too much. Should have a warning! Doubt I’ll listen to any other “Amazon Original”

Not worth your time.

Kristen Bell is pretty much always a good reader, however, this audio mix is off. Was this recorded in a closet?

A time when "reproductive rights" did not exist

this story resonated with me. I was a good girl who was young and pregnant when abortion was illegal and single motherhood was an embarrassment. I understand what the main character went through and how her parents reacted.

I want more

My only criticism is that I want more. I enjoyed this story and wanted to spend more time with the characters

Beautiful Story

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

Great short story

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

well written and read

I have to admit that I really enjoyed listening to that short story. It went in completely different directions than I expected listening first few lines. Surpriseing in good way - proven that Cheryl Strayed mastered not only novel/memoir but also short stories. I recommend it.

Cheryl Strayed does not disappoint

Excellent story and characters. All this author's books are worth reading or listening to.