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The Burning Side

A Novel

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The Burning Side

By: Sarah Damoff
Narrated by: Stacy Gonzalez, Timothy Andrés Pabon, Jackie Sanders
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From the author of The Bright Years, the story of April and Leo, a couple on the brink of collapse. When their house goes up in flames, family secrets and thorny histories emerge as they are forced to decide what is worth salvaging.

When April and Leo’s house burns in the middle of the night, they escape with their two young children and the quiet knowledge that the fire is not the only thing threatening their family. They retreat to April’s childhood home in Dallas, where her spirited parents and siblings provide both comfort and complication.

As the family reckons with the aftermath—grief, guilt, logistics, and memories scorched and intact—the fire exposes the cracks already forming in April and Leo’s marriage. The novel unfolds in alternating perspectives: from April, who feels the crushing weight of motherhood, marriage, and self-blame; from Leo, a high school history teacher shaped by a lonely, fractured childhood; from Deb, April’s generous and no-nonsense mother who has to contend with her husband’s recent Alzheimer’s diagnosis; and from flashbacks that trace April and Leo’s relationship from its earliest days of connection to the devastating decisions that led them here.

A family saga suffused with humor, longing, and heartbreak, The Burning Side is about what we inherit and what we choose, about forgiveness and the ache of being known. It is, above all, about the meaning of home and the costs of long love. Family Life Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Heartfelt Witty
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Critic reviews

"This thoughtful exploration of marriage and family works well in the audio format."
"A family fractures in the aftermath of a house fire in this engrossing audiobook. Stacy Gonzalez portrays April with a flair for the dramatic. When her voice gets breathless or shaky, she can sound distractingly overwrought, but that investment does make April three-dimensional. As April’s husband, Leo, Timothy Andrés Pabon is serious and level, his voice decisive. Jackie Sanders makes April’s mother, Deb, sound warm and welcoming as she dispenses gentle wisdom. All three narrators have a knack for dialogue, subtly changing tones in conversations with credible shifts, and their skilled performances blend together seamlessly."
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