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All Down Darkness Wide
- A Memoir
- Narrated by: Seán Hewitt
- Length: 7 hrs and 40 mins
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All Down Darkness Wide
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Summary
Brought to you by Penguin.
A luminous and haunting memoir from the prize-winning poet—a story of love, heartbreak and coming of age, and a fearless exploration of queer identity and trauma.
When Seán meets Elias, the two fall headlong into a love story. But as Elias struggles with severe depression, the couple comes face-to-face with crisis. Wrestling with this, Seán Hewitt delves deep into his own history, enlisting the ghosts of queer figures and poets before him. From a 19th-century cemetery in Liverpool to the pine forests of Gothenburg, Hewitt plumbs the darkness in search of solace and hope.
All Down Darkness Wide is an unflinching meditation on the burden of living in a world that too often sets happiness and queer life at odds, and a tender portrayal of what it's like to be caught in the undertow of a loved one's suffering. By turns devastating and soaring, it is a mesmerising story of heartache and renewal, and a work of rare and transcendent beauty.
What listeners say about All Down Darkness Wide
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Kindle Customer
- 24-12-22
This a beautiful and very brave memoir
You can certainly tell Seán Hewitt is a poet. The words drip off the page. One of the best books about the reality of living with, and caring for someone with depression can be. It also rendors perfectly what a debilitating emotion shame can be.
I definitely want to seek out someone Seán Hewitt's poetry now. I am not generally a re reader but I shall definitely be returning to this one as I think the more I read it the more I will get from it.
Can I also recommend reading and listening to this book at same time as the author reads it himself which makes it even more poignant.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Stephen C. Wilson
- 19-07-22
Poetic and stunning
I have never written a review but this book has to be read or listened too. The honesty and tragic longing speaks to the human in all of us and to the loneliness of difference and acceptance of ourselves . Thank you Sean the best thing I’ve read all year .
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Owen
- 13-12-22
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Wonderful writer, dreadful narrator, I can only imagine it was a financial decision to allow Sean to read this, avoid, but without hesitation buy the book.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- SRG
- 19-07-22
A haunting experience
A wonderful and immersive experience of a gay life tortured but hopefully redeemed by experience.
Essential reading for any gay man but also for anyone interested in poetry or literature.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- P M D Edgington
- 16-08-22
Very personal and profoundly moving
Poetry is woven throughout this account of the author’s growth and relationships. His love for the poetry of Gerald Manley Hopkins is evident and gives the book a fluency and flow reminiscent of the works of Seamus Heaney. The tragic relationship in Sweden is the central concern and the mental health issues are dealt with sensitively. A book that will stay with you for months.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- A reader
- 28-02-23
Haunting memoir
A truly beautifully written memoir full of literary depths- Gerard Manley Hopkins, Digby Dolben, Karin Boye. I learned so much while being moved by a familiar story of identity struggles and falling in love. The author narrates, which in general I find a problem on audible - a professional actor would have made this book sing, whereas the author read so slowly and flatly it almost made me give up. I bought the hard copy in the end and sailed through its poetry.
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