Reading the Waves
A Memoir
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Reading the Waves
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Narrated by:
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Lidia Yuknavitch
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Written by:
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Lidia Yuknavitch
About this listen
The frank and revealing memoir of a writer who draws from her own creativity to heal.
"I believe our bodies are carriers of experience," Lidia Yuknavitch writes in her provocative memoir Reading the Waves. "I mean to ask if there is a way to read my own past differently, using what I have learned from literature: how stories repeat and reverberate and release us from the tyranny of our mistakes, our traumas, and our confusions."
Drawing on her background—her father's abuse, her complicated dynamic with her disabled mother, the death of her child, her sexual relationships with men and women—and her creative life as an author and teacher, Yuknavitch has come to understand that by using the power of literature and storytelling to reframe her memories, she can loosen the bonds that have enslaved her emotional growth. Armed with this insight, she allows herself to look with the eye of an artist at the wounds she suffered and come to understand the transformational power this has to restore her soul.
By turns candid and lyrical, stoic and forgiving, blunt and evocative, Reading the Waves reframes memory to show how crucial this process can be to gaining a deeper understanding of ourselves.
©2025 Lidia Yuknavitch (P)2025 Penguin AudioWhat the critics say
"Remarkable … [T]he author decides to approach her own past like a favorite book, hoping this approach might ‘loosen’ those memories’ grip on her psyche today. The eclectic results won’t just move those who already follow [Yuknavitch], but will inspire readers to revisit their own lives with as much care and creativity."—Bustle
“At turns emotional and darkly hilarious … this memoir is rich ground and a magnificent narrative about memory, trauma, and healing. Fans of genre-bending or lyrical memoir will enjoy this multilayered meditation leveraging Yuknavitch's creativity, thoughtfulness, and sense of wonder.”–Booklist, starred review
"A noted writer and teacher explores the uses of memoir to recast and heal the wounds of the past. . . [Reading the Waves is] full of the messy, moving, in-your-face inspiration and storytelling for which Yuknavitch is beloved."—Kirkus Reviews