11 Jun Identity Theft Audio Book Has Arrived!
Almost four years ago when I started negotiating with publishers for this book, I accepted what I was told – the audiobook won’t come out right away. We have to see how the book is selling, I was told, and then decide if we’ll invest in producing an audiobook. That publisher didn’t work out, and we worked on the book for two years without a publishing contract – figured we’d get one later or self-publish.
Three years later when we connected with the Andrews McMeel Publishing team – who have been great – producing an audiobook was non-negotiable for me. I had spent several years interviewing and getting to know so many incredible survivors. In some ways my ongoing disabilities are quite severe relative to others – especially my speech challenges. But I’m lucky that I can read, and comprehend, just about as well as I could before my stroke. This is not the case for so many survivors, for whom reading can be difficult, stressful or simply not an option. I think my book can be helpful to MANY people – even those with no traumatic event at all – but I had become committed to making sure it was accessible for as many survivors as possible.
So, I’m thrilled that the audiobook is now available. The narrator, Julia Whelan, is awesome. And that’s a small world story. About six months ago when it was time to start that process, I was listening to Educated, by Tara Westover, on audiobook. I loved the voice! Searched to find it was Julia, searched some more to learn about her, and found she had narrated Plus One by Elizabeth Fama, a close friend of mine. A few emails and phone calls later, and Julia was on board. Thank you, Beth, for the introduction!
I’m humbled that such an accomplished and celebrated narrator (and person!) has recorded our book. An accomplished actress and author as well, in addition to Educated (AudioFile Best Memoir award), Julia’s narrating credits include Gillian Flynn’s 2012 thriller Gone Girl, The Witness by Nora Roberts (2013 Audie Award winner for the romance category) and the award winning 2018 novel My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh. Thank you, Julia, for joining our team!
For those of you who will listen to the book (and those who have read the book too) – I sincerely hope you like it, and find value in it. I’d love to hear your thoughts. And better yet, share them on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and other review sites – I’m told that more reviews help make the book more visible in this crazy world of algorithms.
Thanks for “listening”,
Debra