This Telling

Out of Line collection

By: Cheryl Strayed

Narrated by: Kristen Bell

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.

Exceptional telling of a very heartfelt story.

Such a different time than most young women will experience today. The reminder of women's lack of choices during this period and now is something we should all share.

Bite Size

I realize This Telling is a short short story and the author did a good job giving a fast forward to hit the high notes of a more complex story. I can't say that it's memorable or that it really packed much of a punch though.

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.

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.

An Amazon Original Short Story

This Telling is part of a collection of Amazon Original Stories. I chose it because it was authored by Cheryl Strayed (Dear Sugar & Wild).

The story involves a woman who was 17 years old in the 60s and became pregnant by her 19 year old boyfriend. Ultimately she goes to a home for unwed mothers, gives the baby up for adoption and goes on to live a full life. She keeps this part of her life a secret for over 40 years until an on-line genetic testing service makes a match between the ex-boyfriend’s son and a 25 year old young woman. How will Geraldine explain her secret?

I liked this book, but I wanted more from it. Strayed is a great story teller. It has all of the markings of a great book. Unfortunately, as a short story (52 pages on Kindle, 40 minutes on Audible Audio) it was disappointing. Maybe I‘m not a fan of short stories. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

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Want a whole book!

what happens next? How does Julie react? And Jason? This needs more story to it.

A Human Experience

Cheryl Strayed has done it again and this time in less than an hour. In this emotional telling performed by Kristen Bell, listeners get a peak into a very human experience. One that is often shamed and silenced. Thanks and admiration to Cheryl, Kristen, and Audible for creating the space to share such stories.

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.

Short, interesting, not very deep

In 1964, Geraldine Waters gets pregnant, and has to decide how she's going to deal with that. Many years later, she has to decide how to respond when the long-delayed consequences of her decision reach her. It's difficult to say much else without major spoilers. However, this is an interesting look at how social standards and expectations since then have changed.

A short, interesting read or listen, with some room for thought and reflection.

I received this story as part of the Audible Originals program, and am reviewing it voluntarily.

Excellent!

Very good story. Packs a big punch for such a short one. Narration was fine. Overall, time well spent! 👏👏