
Rough Beauty
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Narrated by:
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Jayme Mattler
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By:
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Karen Auvinen
In the best-selling tradition of Cheryl Strayed’s Wild and Helen MacDonald’s H Is for Hawk, a stunning, inspirational memoir from an award-winning poet who ventures into the wilderness to seek answers to life’s big questions and finds her way back after losing everything she thought she needed.
During a difficult time, Karen Auvinen flees to a primitive cabin in the Rockies to live in solitude as a writer and to embrace all the beauty and brutality nature has to offer. When a fire incinerates every word she has ever written and all of her possessions - except for her beloved dog Elvis, her truck, and a few singed artifacts - Karen embarks on a heroic journey to reconcile her desire to be alone with her need for community.
In the evocative spirit of works by Annie Dillard, Gretel Ehrlich, and Mary Oliver, Karen’s rich and compulsively listenable memoir is as much an inward as it is an outward pilgrimage. Her pursuit of solace and salvation by shedding trivial ties and living in close harmony with nature, along with her account of finding community and love, is sure to resonate with all of us who long for meaning and deeper connection. Rough Beauty is a luminous, lyric exploration of and homage to her 40 seasons in the mountains, embracing the unpredictability and grace of living intimately with the forces of nature while making peace with her own wildness.
©2018 Karen Auvinen (P)2018 Simon & SchusterListeners also enjoyed...




















Beautifully Written and Narrated
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As others have mentioned, I laughed and teared up many times listening to her poignant descriptions of love, loss and joy.
Th specificity and frequency of alcohol consumption is rampant throughout the book, a constant companion that conjures alcoholism yet she mentions it almost as though brag worthy. Not trying to come off as preachy but a heads up for anyone struggling with alcohol.
Enjoyable listen, transported to the rugged mountains of Colorado
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I LOVED this book in so many ways
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Living out of the norm, and connecting to all nature has to offer, comes to life in this book
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There were two things that took away from my overall enjoyment of the book. First was the reader's voice. In my mind the author has a strong voice, yet the reader was somewhat nasally and ended each sentence with a gravelly down tone. I don't know why, but it quickly began to annoy me.
Secondly, I cried for the author's love of her dog. It was a very special relationship, no doubt. I have dogs and I get that. But, there was no similar emotion for her mother's life threatening illness. That came across as more of an annoyance to the author and something that forced her to have to interact with her family. It was hard for me to empathize with her story when she showed more love and heartbreak for her dog than for her mother.
All in all, I do like her writing style and I will look for other titles by Ms. Auvinen.
Author's Memoir
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A wonderful read. Grounded earthy but poetic prose
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Mountains, animals, plants, and a human life create synergy!
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One of my favorites of 2018
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Beautiful story of a beautiful life.
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