Hello glorious readers,
This isn’t about food, at all. Brace yourselves.
This summer I had the honour to organize, direct, and do the initial edit on a wonderful audiobook. The book in question is Who Killed Mom by Steve Burgess. Steve is a brilliant writer whose work is filled with charm, humour, and a bit of an edge. The book is aptly subtitled: A Delinquent Son’s Meditation on Family, Mortality, and Very Tacky Candles.
Steve and I shuttled ourselves an hour on transit to the welcoming home of Carlyn Craig, of Post Hypnotic Press where we hunkered down to record. And what a pleasure, Steve’s voice is gorgeous and his emotional reading of the book made it all the more moving. I was in the midst of dealing with my father’s illness at the time and found myself choking up at Steve’s mention of his struggles and laughing out loud at the many moments of humour that everyone can find even in these dark situations. It truly is an incredible book that all readers will appreciate, funny, moving, and familiar.
The critics have loved the book as well, see below just a few of the rave reviews that Who Killed Mom has received:
“Who Killed Mom? more closely resembles a poignant, darkly humorous but very loving memoir of [Steve Burgess‘] parents, his mom especially, and the kids who had to let her go, not an easy thing to do. I found it hard to let her go too.”
—Toronto Star
“His first book is a great effort after almost 20 years in the freelance trenches, a very funny book worthy of a Leacock Medal for Humour. If I could, I’d nominate Burgess and Who Killed Mom? for the 2011 short list. I just hope Burgess has more books on his hard drive to share.”
—The Globe and Mail
“Who Killed Mom? brims with uproarious anecdotes and one-liners. Whether he’s relating how an ice cream product saved him from a gruesome death on the Trans-Canada, sizing up the rebranding efforts of a woeful Manitoba motel, or depicting daily life in a retirement community, Burgess infuses his tales with plenty of laughs. But beneath the book’s hilarity is a penetrating examination of eternal themes: family, mortality, fate, and the enduring value of love.”
—CBC Books
Well, now the audiobook is being offered in sections for free from The Tyee! You can also buy the full version of the book from Post Hypnotic Press! You can also buy the physical book from Amazon if you are not so much a listener! The audiobook (both the free parts and the paid full version) has an additional essay written by Steve reflecting on the writing of the book and discussing some events since.
I hope you enjoy, this book has a very firm place in my heart, and I hope it finds its way into yours as well.
The Tyee audiobook series, Who Killed Mom (this is the first two chapters, you can find the rest of the parts in a column in the article).
Oh heck, and follow Steve on Twitter, he is full of funny!
