Preview
  • Sedating Elaine

  • A Novel
  • By: Dawn Winter
  • Narrated by: Marisa Calin
  • Length: 8 hrs and 26 mins
  • 3.1 out of 5 stars (14 ratings)

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Sedating Elaine

By: Dawn Winter
Narrated by: Marisa Calin
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Publisher's summary

An exuberant dark comedy about love, grief, sex, guilt, and one woman’s harebrained scheme to tranquilize her voraciously amorous girlfriend for a few days so that she might pay off her drug dealer, make soup, and finally get some peace and quiet.

"A brilliantly quirky, surreally funny story.... An intriguingly headstrong yet vulnerable character with an astonishing talent for making the worst possible life-decisions." —Sarah Haywood, best-selling author of The Cactus

Frances was not looking for a relationship when she met Elaine in a bar. She was, in fact, looking to drown her sorrows in a pint or twelve and nurse a broken heart, shattered by the gorgeous, electric Adrienne. But somehow (it involved a steady stream of beer and weed, as things often did with Frances) Elaine ended up in Frances’s bed and never left. Now, faced with mounting pressure from her drug dealer, Dom (and his goon, Betty), Frances comes up with a terrible idea: She asks Elaine to move in with her for real. Unfortunately, this seemingly romantic overture makes Elaine even more sex-crazed and maniacal with love. Frances fears she may never escape the relationship, so, given no choice, she makes the obvious decision: She will sedate Elaine.

A story as enthusiastically madcap and funny as it is smart and emotionally surprising, Sedating Elaine introduces a roster of unforgettable characters and an indelible, wildly exciting new voice in fiction.

©2022 Dawn Winter (P)2022 Random House Audio
  • Unabridged Audiobook
  • Categories: LGBTQ+
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Critic reviews

"In Dawn Winter’s knockout debut, Sedating Elaine, Frances owes money to a drug dealer and, with no way of getting it, contrives to have her obnoxiously upbeat, generationally wealthy girlfriend, Elaine, move in with her so she can shake her down for money… The prose, like Frances, is sprightly and dry. Crisp. Delivered with a shrug… There are depths here; it is not all froth… Frances is funny and winning... You find yourself rooting for the drugging to go off without a hitch.”
—Erin Somers, The New York Times

“A delightfully unconventional love story, where Frances’s heartbreak from her previous girlfriend is woven throughout. A worthy nominee for the Comedy women in print prize, not only is the concept fun, Winter also has a knack for embedding jokes in a way that feels effortless and, like, actually funny.”
—Lily Lindon, The Guardian

“Humorous, emotive, perplexing… It is [Frances’s]…somewhat distasteful mission and overall ethos that makes her amusing, and which provides ample room for Winter to display her skill with humor, which she does often and with good reason….Engaging… Sedating Elaine is a notable accomplishment.”
—D. W. White, Chicago Review of Books

Featured Article: The Best Lesbian Listens by Queer Authors


Get to know lesbian literature’s past and present with these essential listens from the LGBTQIA+ canon. Anyone on the hunt for the best LGBTQIA+ audiobooks knows that it can still be a challenge to find stories centered on lesbian characters and experiences. Discover the best lesbian listens across fiction and nonfiction and in a range of genres and age categories, with one common factor: All of these stories are focused on lesbian characters.

What listeners say about Sedating Elaine

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Really…

Was waiting for the plot to really go there. Just felt like circles and then all is forgiven. The main character should have been committed End of story.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Brilliant

I’m not smart enough to know if this is literature, but I do know it’s damn good writing - smart and witty and tragic, wonderful! Ms. Carlin is a pro… no one could’ve done it better. Thank you Ms. Winter & Ms. Calvin, bravo!

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    1 out of 5 stars
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Can i delete this from my purchase history

I just could not get with it. Like it was trying too hard. TBF, I did not finish it. Maybe it gets better?

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