Slow Motion

A Memoir of a Life Rescued by Tragedy

By: Dani Shapiro

Narrated by: Dani Shapiro

From one of the most gifted writers of her generation comes the harrowing and exquisitely written true story of how a family tragedy saved her life.

Dani Shapiro was a young girl from a deeply religious home who became the girlfriend of a famous and flamboyant married attorney—her best friend's stepfather. The moment Lenny Klein entered her life, everything changed: she dropped out of college, began to drink heavily, and became estranged from her family and friends. But then the  phone call came. There had been an accident on a snowy road near her family's home in New Jersey, and both her parents lay hospitalized in critical condition. This haunting memoir traces her journey back into the world she had left behind. At a time when she was barely able to take care of herself, she was faced with the terrifying task of taking care of two people who needed her desperately.

Dani Shapiro charts a riveting emotional course as she retraces her isolated, overprotected Orthodox Jewish childhood in an anti-Semitic suburb, and draws the connections between that childhood and her inevitable rebellion and self-destructiveness. She tells of a life nearly ruined by the gift of  beauty, and then saved by the worst thing imaginable. This is a beautiful and unforgettable memoir of a life utterly transformed by tragedy.

Fast paced memoir . Recommended!

This was fascinating. I read Inheritance and thought she was a little whiny. But this memoir was well written and I thoroughly enjoyed the author’s narration. Recommended!!!

Family Secrets

I found Dani Shapiro through her podcast “Family Secrets” which I became addicted to. Having grown up within a family with countless family secrets, I wanted t learn more. My first Dani book was The Inheritance which I loved and I moved quickly through many of her books. This one was difficult to read because I was introduced to a different and younger Dani. It brought all her other books and memoirs together in a new light. Loved this!

I love the rawness of this story

Dani is amazing. Her stories and dedication to revealing and questioning family secrets helps me feel seen and curious in my own story. Thank you!

A Kaleidoscope of a Story...

Thank you Dani, for recording the Audible version of your beautiful book. I inhaled the book when I read it but have really enjoyed listening to the story several times – as I always tune into different aspects of it and hear parts I didn't completely catch before. For me, listening has a greater impact when the narrator really shares her story both impassibly – and also infuses the details with bristling memory, aliveness, and perspective. Your story is so hauntingly rich with detail – with so many raw scars, honesty, and healing - and so we root for you – and are grateful you made it to the other side to see your potential unfold, blossom and expand. You have been rewarded for unfurling each piece of your messy, magnificent life with all of us and we are the grateful recipients of what can happen when we are brave enough to really dig deep.

Fabulous

Dani Shapiros style of writing is so truthful so insightful . You get so immersed in the story it hard to put it down.