Mothers, Memory, and the Search for Self

About this episode

Jo Reed discusses audiobooks that explore themes of identity, family, and belonging with guest Leslie Fine.

Host Jo Reed talks with contributor Leslie Fine about three audiobooks that circle around questions of identity, family, and belonging. In Kin by Tayari Jones, dual narrators Angel Pean and Ashley J. Hobbs give distinct voices to two lifelong friends shaped by maternal absence as well as the racial and class realities of the 1950s South. Boy From the North Country, written and read by Sam Sussman, blends autofiction and grief as a son returns home to his dying mother, while My Other Heart by Emma Nanami Strenner, narrated by Joy Ozymanski, follows two teenagers navigating questions of heritage, class, and family. Three very different audiobooks, each asking—through story and performance—how we come to understand where we belong. Audiobooks Discussed: Kin by Tayari Jones, read by Angel Pean and Ashley J. Hobbs (Random House Audio) Boy From the North Country written and read by Sam Sussman (Penguin Audio) My Other Heart by Emma Nanami Strenner, read by Joy Osmanski (Penguin Audio) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

People in this episode

Host: Jo Reed

Guest: Leslie Fine

Topics covered

• identity
• family
• belonging
• audiobooks
• maternal absence
• heritage
• class

Keywords

• audiobooks
• identity
• family
• belonging
• maternal absence
• heritage
• class

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Kin, Boy From the North Country, My Other Heart

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