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The Speed of Light cover art

The Speed of Light

By: Elissa Grossell Dickey
Narrated by: Christine Williams
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Summary

A compelling and provocative debut novel told in intersecting timelines over a tumultuous, defining year in one woman’s life.

Simone is trying her best not to think of what she’s lost. Diagnosed with MS, she awaits the results of another anxiety-inducing MRI. She’s just walked away from Connor, “a fixer” but possibly the love of her life. And nearing the holidays, the sights and sounds of winter in South Dakota only prick memories of better years gone by. Then, on a December morning at the university where she works, jarring gunshots pierce the halls. In a temporary safe place and terrified, Simone listens and pretends this will all be over soon.

As she waits for silence, her mind racing, Simone’s past year comes into focus. Falling in love and missing it. Finding strength in family and enduring friendships. Planning for the future, fearing it, and hoping against hope in dark places. Her life has been changing at the speed of light, and each crossroad brought Simone here, to this day, to endure the things she can’t control and to confront those that she can.

©2021 Elissa Grossell Dickey (P)2021 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Critic reviews

“Christine Williams gives a compelling and affecting narration of this #disabilityawareness novel.... Williams powerfully delivers this complex story and presents the multidimensional characters with nuance and depth. The narrative has multiple storylines, and Williams keeps listeners on track as the plotlines slowly converge.” (AudioFile Magazine)

“Thrilling as it is heart-felt, The Speed of Light drew me in from the first page. While its newly-diagnosed heroine struggles with life’s unexpected twists, Dickey delivers a story about family, friendship, and the kind of love that truly makes us feel seen.” (Elle Marr, bestselling author of The Missing Sister)

“Compellingly readable, Elissa Grossell Dickey’s The Speed of Light takes readers on a harrowing journey through the storm that is Simone Archer’s life, starting with her diagnosis of an unpredictable, incurable illness. With the stakes high, the wry and quick-witted Simone discovers hidden inner strength that drives her forward even as she comes face-to-face with her own mortality. The Speed of Light is a suspenseful tale about overcoming illness and fear, and discovering the untapped powers we have within ourselves.” (Meredith O’Brien, author of four books including Uncomfortably Numb: A Memoir)

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Good concept, well executed but too slow for me

It’s a good story but the pacing was at times frustratingly slow. Partly due to the deliberate pace of the easy-on-the-ear narrator but mainly the basic flaw in having only 30 second updates on a very exciting situation (which quite frankly was the bit I wanted to stay with) bracketing a much more leisurely romance story.

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