My Sunshine Away

Name: My Sunshine Away
Brand: Penguin Random House
Availability: InStock
Rating: 4 (8 reviews)
Author: M. O. Walsh
ISBN: 9780698190467

Author: M. O. Walsh

Narrator: Kirby Heyborne

Unabridged: 10 hr 27 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Penguin Audio

Published: 02/10/2015

Categories: Fiction, Coming Of Age, Crime, Literary Fiction

Synopsis

THE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

"A tantalizing mystery and a tender coming-of-age story...Unputdownable."—Oprah.com

In the summer of 1989, a Baton Rouge neighborhood best known for cookouts on sweltering summer afternoons, cauldrons of spicy crawfish, and passionate football fandom is rocked by a violent crime when fifteen-year-old Lindy Simpson—free spirit, track star, and belle of the block—is attacked late one evening near her home. As the dark side of this idyllic stretch of Southern suburbia is revealed, the close-knit neighborhood is irreversibly transformed.

In My Sunshine Away, M.O. Walsh brilliantly juxtaposes the enchantment of a charmed childhood with the gripping story of a violent crime, unraveling families, and consuming adolescent love. Acutely wise and deeply honest, it is an astonishing and page-turning debut about the meaning of family, the power of memory, and our ability to forgive.

Named A Book of the Year by NPR, The Dallas Morning News, Kirkus Reviews, and Booklist

An Entertainment Weekly 'Must List' Pick

About The Author

M. O. Walsh’s fiction and essays have appeared in The New York Times, Oxford American, The Southern Review, American Short Fiction, Epoch, and Best New American Voices, among others. He is a graduate of the MFA program at the University of Mississippi and is currently the director of the Creative Writing Workshop at the University of New Orleans, where he lives and works, happily, with his wife and family.Kirby Heyborne is an American musician and actor. After graduating from the University of Utah with a degree in economics, he received critical acclaim for his starring role in the award-winning World War II drama Saints and Soldiers. He has starred in many feature films and national commercials, and has appeared on Everwood and Free Ride. He is well known for his narration and voice work on several audiobooks. In addition, he can frequently be found touring the country with his singing and songwriting act.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Vickie Becker on March 04, 2015

I bought this book after reading several stellar reviews and spent my entire time reading it wishing I hadn't. The story is told from the point of view of a grown man looking back 20 years, describing the story through the eyes of himself as a hormonal, love struck teen. There is a horrible event th......more

Goodreads review by David on October 26, 2014

With language wrought by skill and a plot never void of movement, M.O. Walsh has written an ode to the power of memory, a beautiful examination of the balance between regret and hope. This novel is about the moments in our lives that hang with us, memories that follow us like ghosts. It's about the......more

Goodreads review by Lawyer on April 28, 2015

My Sunshine Away by M.O. Walsh was selected by members of On the Southern Literary Trail as the post-1980 Group Read for April, 2015. This novel was nominated simultaneously by three separate Trail Members. Special thanks to them. Walsh's debut novel is a bravura performance. This is an upcoming auth......more

Goodreads review by Diana on September 25, 2017

The best kind of books make you feel them. You will be reading along and gradually but surely your emotions take over. For me, My Sunshine Away is one of those books. M.O. Walsh has written a moving story that made me contemplate how events from childhood contribute to the type of adults we become.......more

Quotes

“A page-turner you want to read slowly and a literary novel you can’t look away from. At times funny, at times spine-tinglingly suspenseful, and at times just flat-out wise.” —Tom Franklin, bestselling author of Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter“The last page is as satisfying as the first. A mystery you cannot wait to solve.” —Kathryn Stockett, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Help
“An outstanding examination of the way that the past and the weight of our memories shape us."—Kevin Wilson, author of The Family Fang

Awards

International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award