Marrow: A Love Story
By: Elizabeth Lesser / Narrated By: Sally Field
Length: 9 hrs and 42 mins
Live from your marrow; love from your marrow!
This is a completely engaging and heartfelt listen. If you’re looking for a book on the bonds of family, of true and undeniable sisterhood, this book is it. If you’re looking for a book on finding your sacred self, this books is it. If you just want to laugh or cry at the drop of a hat, look no farther than Marrow by Elizabeth Lesser, narrated by the inimitable Sally Field.
Sally Field turns in an emotional and often funny performance of some pretty fine writing. Lesser grapples not only with her sister’s illness but with her own lack of sense of self, self-worth. It turns out that she and Maggie share a lot: of flawed assumptions, of questions of worth, of fears about the future. And together, as they discover that Elizabeth is Maggie’s “perfect match”, they come together to work things out, seeking therapy even before the marrow transplant so that Maggie’s cells can accept Elizabeth’s, accept them as helpers, not as invaders.
But that’s not where their discussions end. They look back on their lives as children, and question each other over choices made, over what roles they took on when they were younger, over what roles they grew into. If you’ve ever looked back over your own life and decried the role your family forced you to play, this will ring true. And Elizabeth always felt like the outsider, while Maggie always felt like the confined good-girl. They resent each other for that.
But greater than their resentment is their love for each other and their longing to be true and honest with themselves. Truly, Marrow is, as it says, a love story. It’s about learning to love and accept yourself, blemishes, warts, and all. Only then can you love another person wholly and without reservation.
If you’re a seeker of self, lots of this audiobook will resonate as Elizabeth, the black sheep, has always questioned pretty much everything. This is a thoughtful, contemplative book filled with insight and emotion. Even when she’s confused and grasping at straws, wondering how best to help Maggie, to guide her cells as they flood Maggie’s bloodstream, begging Deepak Chopra for answers, she’s really seeking advice on how to be the best person she can be. And she finds that living the answers is so much harder than asking the questions.
Sally Field really adds so much warmth to the book, and she’s probably what made me cry as Maggie’s life comes to an end. Because Elizabeth finds humor, love, redemption, and forgiveness, all in the face of such an unbearable loss. She finds she is part of a sisterhood greater than just Maggie and her; she still belongs to her two surviving sisters, flaws and all, past hurts and all. As someone with a sister, who had one pretty nasty falling out, what it all comes down to is: Love matters more than any slight or misunderstanding.
There is such dignity in this book, such love and compassion. And faith fought for is a pretty tough and enduring faith in the end. Truly, a great and touching way to spend 9+ hours. It’s a look at a bond we all should be so blessed to feel in our own lives.
It sure as hell made me want to hug my own sister!
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.