From the Publisher
"Gleeson's personal stories of pain, illness and death are unforgettable...Her experiences are rendered vividly and with an admirable lack of self-pity...Gleeson has an eye for telling detail." — New York Times Book Review
"Gleeson is an eloquent storyteller, and the stories are held in delicate balance with the analysis of her world." — The Guardian
"An eloquent collection of essays on health, parenthood and the brutality of being a woman inhabiting a body." — Harper's Bazaar
"This stirring collection of personal essays from Irish radio broadcaster Gleeson effortlessly renders pain, both physical and emotional, into prose...While 'in illness it is hard to find the right words,' Gleeson's strong work shows it is worth the effort to search for them." — Publishers Weekly
"Gleeson writes about pain with an absorbing intensity...Constellations will make you think differently about the body in all its weaknesses and feel grateful to the artists and writers who, like Gleeson, have transfigured their suffering into a sacred creative release. Though Gleeson is skeptical of heaven, she finds solace in the stars and their many constellations. In this book, she offers a unique map of her own constellations, one that has clearly helped her find her way when navigating a wide and painful world." — BookPage
MAY 2020 - AudioFile
Irish writer Sinéad Gleeson’s light, musical voice is as mesmerizing as her prose in this collection of essays about living in a body. Gleeson explores many topics but always returns to bodies, especially women’s bodies. She writes about blood, bone, illness, pregnancy, and motherhood, along with music, love, art, grief, and ghosts. She’s interested in the ways these disparate ideas, experiences, and identities manifest in our bodies. Though the essays are mostly personal, she also examines the work of artists, writers, and thinkers who have influenced and inspired her. Her narration is lovely and warm; her voice is especially poignant in the essays about her Irish childhood and the 2018 abortion referendum. This is a quiet and thoughtful audiobook, beautifully written and narrated. L.S. © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine
JULY 2020 - AudioFile
Narrator Kosha Patel brings believable teenage angst to a story that feels like a combination of a Mindy Kaling audiobook and “Buffy the Vampire Slayer.” Violet Choudury is a former warrior-queen-in-training, but she just wants to fit in on her local high school’s combination cheer/dance team. Instead, an ancient force has other plans. This audiobook combines fantasy and Indian mythology mixed with concerns about peer pressure, racism, sexual assault, and the desire to fit in. Patel’s narration is a delight. She sounds exactly like a teenager telling the story of how she accidentally became a semi-supernatural warrior princess. Patel makes it easy for the listener to hold onto her every word. V.B. © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine
JULY 2020 - AudioFile
Narrator Kosha Patel brings believable teenage angst to a story that feels like a combination of a Mindy Kaling audiobook and “Buffy the Vampire Slayer.” Violet Choudury is a former warrior-queen-in-training, but she just wants to fit in on her local high school’s combination cheer/dance team. Instead, an ancient force has other plans. This audiobook combines fantasy and Indian mythology mixed with concerns about peer pressure, racism, sexual assault, and the desire to fit in. Patel’s narration is a delight. She sounds exactly like a teenager telling the story of how she accidentally became a semi-supernatural warrior princess. Patel makes it easy for the listener to hold onto her every word. V.B. © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine
