Once We Were Sisters

A Memoir

By: Sheila Kohler

Narrated by: Sheila Kohler

A beautiful, heartrending literary memoir about the tragic death of the author's beloved older sister and a tribute to their bond.

When Sheila Kohler was 37, she received the heart-stopping news that her sister Maxine, only two years older, was killed when her husband drove them off a deserted road in Johannesburg. Stunned by the news, she immediately flew back to the country where she was born, determined to find answers and forced to reckon with his history of violence and the lingering effects of their most unusual childhood - one marked by death and the misguided love of their mother.

In her signature spare and incisive prose, Sheila Kohler recounts the lives she and her sister led. Flashing back to their storybook childhood at the family estate, Crossways, Kohler tells of the death of her father when she and Maxine were girls, which led to the family abandoning their house and the girls being raised by their mother, at turns distant and suffocating. We follow them to the cloistered Anglican boarding school where they first learn of separation and later their studies in Rome and Paris where they plan grand lives for themselves - lives that are interrupted when both marry young and discover they have made poor choices. Kohler evokes the bond between sisters and shows how that bond changes but never breaks, even after death.

©2017 Sheila Kohler (P)2017 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Her language was exquisite.

I liked the way her prose sounded like poetry to me. Her descriptions were very vivid.

Very Poignant…

Beautifully written; I particularly loved how the story moved back and forth in time, marrying memories together.

Truth

Her clear, honesty is admirable. It’s easy to imagine the two sisters spending time together.

Absorbing

I loved this book. Brutally honest story of her life experience. I am completely touched.

The narrator makes it

Her story is good, but similar to one that you might read in an English class to dive into the reason behind the descriptions the narrator makes. You could peel this story and each chapter, each line apart like an onion. It’s drawn out, but it is a good story and the author reading it gives it more gravity than being read by an actress.

tragic, brilliant, heartbreaking, fascinating

Both the voice narration and the writing are high quality. The storytelling is intriguing and compelling because the author is so honest and insightful. Although the story itself is heartbreaking, it’s a relief to hear truth so bravely spelled out. The author’s story is unique, but I believe she is able to connect with others’ lives on so many levels.

Very interesting!

The authors voice and the many foreign words she will say are great reasons to get this a
book you on audio. I think the story is very interesting but her reading it takes it to another level.

Sisterhood

You could really feel her loss. Her sister was like her right hand. She knew something was wrong nut she gave her sister her space and regretted it in the end. To ease her grief she decided to write which was the best therapy.

Intimate, beautifully written memoir.

This book was so moving; made even more so by the author’s own voice. Although hard to listen at times, the story unwound as it should, with glimpses of the past and the present in harmony. Such a sweet, tragic tale.

Haunting, a love story to her sister

This book haunted me, her grief, love, and regret palpable in each memory she shares. I loved hearing the author speak, made her words more real, emotional, lovely. Yet even with the sadness, I wanted more. I’ll be sure to check out the authors other stories.