Life in Every Breath, Fatima Bremmer
Life in Every Breath, Fatima Bremmer
List: $42.99 | Sale: $30.10
Club: $21.49

Life in Every Breath
Ester Blenda: Reporter, Adventurer, Pioneer

Author: Fatima Bremmer, Gloria Nneoma Onwuneme

Narrator: Laura Jennings

Unabridged: 10 hr 25 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 10/18/2022


Synopsis

An award-winning biography of one of the first undercover journalists—a pioneering Swedish woman who lived a fascinating life of adventure and forbidden love and who changed journalism forever.Born in 1891 in Stockholm, Ester Blenda Nordström defied stereotypes from an early age. She wore trousers, smoked a pipe, and rode motorbikes, much to the chagrin of her esteemed family. As a young woman, she captivated the public as Sweden’s first investigative journalist.Ester’s real passion was uncovering the truth, which she did by inhabiting the lives of others. Under an assumed identity, she toiled as a Swedish milkmaid on a farm, lived for six months with the Indigenous Scandinavian Sami people, and journeyed to America alongside poor emigrants aspiring to a better life. She saved villages from starvation during the Finnish Civil War and joined an expedition to study volcanoes in Siberia. Her groundbreaking reports were received by a spellbound audience and would change journalism forever.But just as Ester’s star was rising, her forbidden love affair with a woman ended in heartbreak, nearly destroying her. Her spectacular adventures and untamed heart concealed an inner turmoil that threatened to silence her powerful voice, but Ester’s life and spirit were ultimately irrepressible.Life in Every Breath brings Ester’s story back to the fore—and showcases one of the most fascinating women of the twentieth century.

About Fatima Bremmer

Fatima Bremmer is a Swedish journalist and author. In 2017, Life in Every Breath was awarded the August Prize. Upon the book’s success in Sweden, she curated a follow-up exhibition on Nordström at Skarhults Castle in Skåne. She is currently working on a new biography.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Annette on January 02, 2018

Ett jävla solsken var nominerad till Årets svenska fackbok 2017, den kategori jag som Augustambassadör var utsedd att bevaka. Ett jävla solsken blev sedan den bok som tilldelades Augustpriset i sin kategori. Jag brukar normalt sett inte läsa biografier, eftersom jag tycker att de sällan håller måttet......more

Goodreads review by Annika on July 09, 2018

Jag hade väl höga förväntningar men jag tror inte att biografier är min grej. Visst att Ester Blenda Nordströms liv delvis är imponerande och fascinerande, men jag blir ändå lite uttråkad och jag tycker att språket är för målande. Sen tycker jag också att klassperspektivet och -analysen är för svag.......more

Goodreads review by Jinnie on November 01, 2018

Jag läser nästan aldrig biografier, men detta var en som var värd att ta sig igenom. Porträttet av den kvinnan som levde ut livet fullt ut, älskad av nästan alla, men som flyr allt och alla, inklusive sig själv och sin förbjudna kärlek, är så sinnrikt berättat att jag nu tycks känna den kvinnan jag......more

Goodreads review by Sarah on January 13, 2018

Det var inte bara Ester Blenda Nordström som var duktig på att skriva. Med en fruktansvärd skicklighet kastar Fatima Bremmer in läsaren i Ester Blendas liv och det är lätt att glömma att boken är en biografi och inte skönlitterär. Hon bjuder på historier om hattnålar, artiklar, resor över hela värld......more

Goodreads review by Victoria on November 01, 2017

En riktigt bra biografi! Så spännande och välskriven att man mycket väl kan sträckläsa den och om en person och ämnen som är aktuella och angelägna. Den fastnar inte heller i en tom hyllning utan belyser även mörkare och problematiska aspekter av personen och skribenten Ester Blenda Nordström.......more


Quotes

“Laura Jennings’s expressive narration pairs perfectly with Swedish journalist Bremmer’s gracefully written debut. … Listeners will be moved as Jennings emphatically narrates Nordström’s struggles with fame and alcohol addiction and her joy and heartbreak over her lifelong secret love affair with Carin Wærn Frisell, when same-sex love back then was labeled both a crime and a mental disorder. Bremmer and Jennings capture the larger-than-life, often frenetic spirit of this feminist trailblazer who pushed back against social norms to try to thrive professionally and personally; her story should inspire all those who continue to fight gender bias and homophobia today.” Library Journal

“Journalist Bremmer debuts with a tantalizing biography of Sweden’s first investigative reporter, Ester Blenda Nordström…Richly textured and vividly told, this is an intriguing portrait of a pioneering woman and her era.” Publishers Weekly

“Despite her fame, time has made Nordström fade into obscurity, but Bremmer does her justice with a story that remains relevant and captivating today.” —Shondaland