Audio only
The Bar Harbor Retirement Home for Famous Writers (And Their Muses)
A NovelBy Terri-Lynne DeFinoNarrated by Bernadette DunneLength12h 29m
About this audiobook
A whimsical, moving novel about a retirement home for literary legends who spar, conjure up new stories, and almost magically change the lives of the people around them.
Alfonse Carducci was a literary giant who lived his life to excess—lovers, alcohol, parties, and literary rivalries. But now he's come to the Bar Harbor Home for the Elderly to spend the remainder of his days among kindred spirits: the publishing industry's nearly gone but never forgotten greats. Only now, at the end of his life, does he comprehend the price of appeasing every desire, and the consequences of forsaking love to pursue greatness. For Alfonse has an unshakeable case of writer's block that distresses him much more than his precarious health.
Set on the water in one of New England's most beautiful locales, the Bar Harbor Home was established specifically for elderly writers needing a place to live out their golden years—or final days—in understated luxury and surrounded by congenial literary company. A faithful staff of nurses and orderlies surround the writers, and are drawn into their orbit, as they are forced to reckon with their own life stories. Among them are Cecibel Bringer, a young woman who knows first-hand the cost of chasing excess. A terrible accident destroyed her face and her sister in a split-second decision that Cecibel can never forgive, though she has tried to forget. Living quietly as an orderly, refusing to risk again the cost of love, Cecibel never anticipated the impact of meeting her favorite writer, Alfonse Carducci—or the effect he would have on her existence. In Cecibel, Alfonse finds a muse who returns him to the passion he thought he lost. As the words flow from him, weaving a tale taken up by the other residents of the Pen, Cecibel is reawakened to the idea of love and forgiveness.
As the edges between story and reality blur, a world within a world is created. It’s a place where the old are made young, the damaged are made whole, and anything is possible….
Audiobook details
Rating★★★★ 3.8 (5.2K)
Includes Goodreads, Amazon, StoryGraph, LibraryThing
GenreGeneral Fiction, Romance
Length12 hrs 29 mins
Narrated byBernadette Dunne
FormatAudiobook
Publish dateJun 12, 2018
LanguageEnglish
More from Terri-Lynne DeFino
WhistlerAnn Patchett10h 45m4.6 (4.6K)$29 · $0.00
Demon CopperheadBarbara Kingsolver21h 3m4.5 (949.4K)$46 · $0.00
To Kill a MockingbirdHarper Lee12h 18m4.5 (7.4M)$29 · $0.00
Remarkably Bright CreaturesShelby Van Pelt11h 17m4.4 (1.7M)$29 · $0.00
The Ghost by the Billabong (The Matilda Saga, #5)Jackie French14h 58m4.6 (773)$33 · $0.00
Cast in BloodMichelle Sagara16h 35m4.6 (607)$33 · $0.00
The Captain Blood Trilogy (Annotated)Rafael Sabatini29h 20m4.6 (1K)$3 · $0.00
Ship of the Line (Annotated)Cecil Louis Troughton Smith11h 13m4.6 (1K)$2 · $0.00
The George Orwell CollectionGeorge Orwell24h 46m4.5 (14.4K)$12 · $0.00
Time RegainedMarcel Proust15h 38m4.5 (9.2K)$2 · $0.00
Driving ForceElle James4h 58m4.6 (407)$20 · $0.00
When God Calls the HeartBrian Bird, Michelle Cox3h 24m4.6 (439)$10 · $0.00
Five Little IndiansMichelle Good10h 34m4.5 (64.5K)$29 · $0.00
Lolth's WarriorR. A. Salvatore13h 20m4.6 (2.4K)$33 · $0.00
The Things We Cannot SayKelly Rimmer13h 48m4.5 (359.1K)$33 · $0.00
The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du BoisHonoree Fanonne Jeffers29h 49m4.5 (58K)$8 · $0.00
Going PostalTerry Pratchett11h 23m4.5 (189.9K)$29 · $0.00
Glen AffricKarine Giebel22h 51m4.5 (3.2K)$46 · $0.00
The Book Of NegroesLawrence Hill15h 45m4.5 (107.3K)$33 · $0.00
Lieutenant Hornblower (Annotated)C. S. Forester11h 41m4.5 (2.9K)$2 · $0.00
Arctic WitnessHeather Woodhaven5h 46m4.6 (985)$12 · $0.00
Following the TrailLynette Eason6h 35m4.6 (2.3K)$12 · $0.00
Her Duty Bound DefenderSharee Stover6h 30m4.6 (558)$12 · $0.00
Defending from DangerJodie Bailey5h 46m4.6 (588)$24 · $0.00
White HotIlona Andrews13h 18m4.5 (136.9K)$5 · $0.00
Explosive RevengeMaggie K. Black6h 18m4.6 (545)$12 · $0.00
Her Brand of JusticeB.J. Daniels6h 48m4.6 (1.3K)$12 · $0.00
Search And DetectTerri Reed5h 51m4.6 (706)$24 · $0.00
Driving ForceElle James4h 58m4.6 (407)$20 · $0.00
Danger in the WildernessDarlene L. Turner6h 54m4.7 (299)$12 · $0.00
Yukon JusticeDana Mentink6h 15m4.6 (751)$12 · $0.00
The Rogue WarriorCindy Roland Anderson5h 44m4.6 (409)$17 · $0.00
Trail Of ThreatsJessica R. Patch5h 47m4.6 (425)$24 · $0.00
Ironwood, a Fae Universe SeriesAlessa Thorn26h 57m4.6 (835)$30 · $0.00
Ready to ProtectValerie Hansen5h 38m4.6 (981)$24 · $0.00
Searching For EvidenceCarol J. Post6h 21m4.6 (552)$24 · $0.00
New Beginnings at Lullbury BayGeorgia Hill6h 59m4.6 (422)$13 · $0.00
Hiding in MontanaLaura Scott6h 18m4.6 (1K)$12 · $0.00
Christmas K-9 Unit HeroesLenora Worth, Katy Lee5h 51m4.6 (507)$24 · $0.00
Three ComradesErich Maria Remarque15h 50m4.5 (47.3K)$2 · $0.00
You may also like
HeftLiz Moore, Jenny Piening11h 44m4.1 (32.6K)$25
A Dog Named BooLisa Edwards7h 50m4.0 (1.2K)$22
Be Frank With MeJulia Claiborne Johnson8h 38m4.0 (30.1K)$26 · $0.00
The Lamplighter (Annotated)Maria S. Cummins16h 15m4.0 (7K)$2 · $0.00
The Glass GirlKathleen Glasgow12h 13m4.3 (23.8K)$29 · $0.00
Summer Hours at the Robbers LibrarySue Halpern10h 16m3.7 (9.9K)$29 · $0.00
PaperweightMeg Haston8h 9m4.0 (19.6K)$26 · $0.00
The Grown-Up's Guide to Teenage HumansJosh Shipp7h 41m4.4 (2.8K)$26 · $0.00
All the Children Are HomePatry Francis12h 2m4.2 (10.1K)$29 · $0.00
First Term at Malory TowersEnid Blyton6h 20m4.2 (26K)$1 · $0.00
Yes PleaseAmy Poehler7h 31m4.0 (701.1K)$26 · $0.00
Heroes Are My WeaknessSusan Elizabeth Phillips12h 51m3.9 (30.6K)$33 · $0.00
The LoopJoe Coomer7h 22m4.0 (887)$17
Mostly the Honest TruthJody J. Little5h 1m4.5 (597)$24 · $0.00
Every Lie I've Ever ToldRosie Waterland8h 30m4.1 (2.4K)$26 · $0.00
Oh My GothGena Showalter8h 35m3.8 (3.1K)$26 · $0.00
Chronicles of The Juice ManSoren Baker, Juicy J7h 17m4.2 (568)$24 · $0.00
A Bit of EarthKaruna Riazi6h 47m4.1 (670)$24 · $0.00
The Obsession of Victoria GracenGrace Livingston Hill8h 25m4.3 (1.1K)$1.20 · $0.00
Alternatives to SexStephen McCauley9h 23m3.6 (1.2K)$20 · $0.00