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How to End a Story

Diaries 1995-1998

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How to End a Story

By: Helen Garner
Narrated by: Helen Garner
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About this listen

Helen Garner’s third volume of diaries is an account of a woman fighting to hold on to a marriage that is disintegrating around her.

Living with a powerfully ambitious writer who is consumed by his work and trying to find a place for her own spirit to thrive, she rails against the confines. At the same time, she is desperate to find the truth in their relationship - and the truth of her own self.

This is a harrowing story, a portrait of the messy, painful, dark side of love lost, of betrayal and sadness and the sheer force of a woman’s anger. But it is also a story of resilience and strength, strewn with sharp insight, moments of joy and hope, the immutable ties of motherhood and the regenerative power of a room of one’s own.

2023, National Biography Award, Short-listed

2023, ASA Medal, Winner

©2021 Helen Garner. First published by The Text Publishing Company (P)2022 Bolinda Publishing Art & Literature Authors Diaries & Journals Memoirs, Diaries & Correspondence

Critic Reviews

"The ordinary in these diaries - the daily, the diurnal, the stumbled-upon, the breathing in and out - is turned into something else through the writer’s extraordinary craft." (Australian Book Review)

"Helen Garner is one of the lords of language in our midst and something more." (The Australian)

"The spirituality of these diaries is worth a library of high-minded theology." (Sydney Morning Herald)
All stars
Most relevant
Thoroughly enjoyed Garner’s masterful rendering of a marriage unravelling as a result of infidelity. In the end, the love of our life must be ones own self.

Secrets, Sex and Lies

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i will read the diaries again and again. i feel so fortunate that Helen wrote, shaped and read this magnificent work.

Wonderful

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I loved hearing Helen’s reflections in her own voice. She Hasan extraordinary ability to describe the world around her, discerning both her own and others reactions and emotions with objective precision.

Evocative language

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Loved it. Reading it again, just for the cleverness of her sentence construction and pure, honest vocabulary.

Garner Again

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This audiobook was a treat. Narrated by the author, Helen Garner. I was trying to stretch it out, hoping it would last longer. But like delicious chocolate….. I devoured it too quickly!

Feeling spoilt

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I cannot praise this book enough so many times l felt connected to Helen’s experience and expressions of every emotion - her descriptions of daily life and how we move through it whilst navigating deep emotional pain and the constant desire we all have of being loved approved of and cared for as humans is so very real.
I will miss her voice and narrative did not want it to end.

Garner at her best

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I read the hard copy first, but to listen to this in Helen’s own voice was just so wonderful!

Loved!

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