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This audiobook uses AI narration.
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Learn moreOn the eve of her thirty-seventh birthday, former voice-over artist Fran Clark finds herself in a role she could never have envisioned: that of a surprisingly desperate housewife, suffocating in her life despite, or because of, her ad-exec husband and two children. She’s far too cynical to take suburban life too seriously—“if it weren’t for the Happy Meal, several thousand women would have murdered their children”—yet she can’t seem to stop herself from entering a panicky, drink-enhanced spiral downward to rock-bottom depression. It will take her children and her two best friends counting on her more than they’d ever dreamed for her to find the inner strength to rebuild her life.
Fran’s completely flawed yet charming personality narrates this funny, self-deprecating tale about one woman’s brutally candid trip to the brink and back.
Maria Beaumont had careers as a dance instructor and in advertising before turning to writing. She lives with her husband, novelist Matt Beaumont, and their two children in London.
Kate Reading has recorded hundreds of audiobooks across many genres, over a thirty year plus career. Audie Awards: The Strange Case of the Alchemist’s Daughter (mystery), Breasts (non-fiction), Bellwether (fiction), and Words of Radiance (fantasy), co-narrated with her husband, Michael Kramer. Among other awards, she has been recognized with: the ALA Booklist best of 2019 for Bowlaway (fiction), AudioFile Magazine Voice of the Century, Earphones Awards, Narrator of the Year, Best Voice in Science Fiction and Fantasy, and Publisher’s Weekly’s Listen-Up Award. She records at her home studio, Madison Productions, Inc., in Maryland.
Reviews
“A carefully observed account of one mother’s struggle to claw back an identity of her own.”
“Enjoyable mommy lit, aided by ample doses of British humor, breezy storytelling, and an upbeat feel even in the down moments.”
“Kate Reading’s bravura performance nails down every character…Reading turns this amiable novel into a tour de force performance that is funny, fast-moving, and fearless.”
“[Fran] may be a desperate housewife, but her observations about life near forty are hilarious.”
“A gift for dissatisfied housewives.”
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