Mom Still Likes You Best

Joyce Bean's authentic-sounding phrasing includes a type of sentence ending one could describe as a raised-eyebrow tonal riff that makes listeners instantly curious about what is to come. Always a mature and complex interpreter, Bean misses nothing in this satisfying book about the emotional currents that pulse between siblings. Author Jane Isay interviewed scores of siblings about their relationships with one another and their parents. With minimal commentary from the author, the interviews bring into focus the childhood struggles and narcissistic injuries that adult siblings try to push aside but ultimately have to work through. Through stories of competition, shared tragedy, cruelty, and reconciliation, these revealing interviews and the author's poetic observations will awaken appreciation for how connections with siblings impact who we become in life. T.W. (c) AudioFile 2012, Portland, Maine