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Pluck
- A Memoir of a Newfoundland Childhood and the Raucous, Terrible, Amazing Journey to Becoming a Novelist
- Narrated by: Donna Morrissey
- Length: 9 hrs and 18 mins
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Pluck
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Publisher's Summary
NATIONAL BESTSELLER
FINALIST FOR THE 2022 ATLANTIC BOOK AWARDS’ EVELYN RICHARDSON NON-FICTION AWARD
A deeply personal account of love's restorative ability as it leads renowned novelist Donna Morrissey through mental illness, family death, and despair to becoming a writer—told with charm and inimitable humour.
When Donna Morrissey left the only home she had ever known, an isolated Newfoundland settlement, at age 16, she was ready for adventure. She had grown up without television or telephones but had absorbed the tragic stories and comic yarns of her close-knit family and community. The death of her infant brother marked the family, and years later, Morrissey suffers devastating guilt about the accidental death of her teenage brother, whom she'd enticed to join her in the oilfields. Her misery was compounded by her own misdiagnosis of a terminal illness, all of which contributed to crippling anxiety and an actual diagnosis of PTSD. Many of those events and themes would eventually be transformed and recast as fictional gold in Morrissey's novels.
In another writer's hands, Morrissey's account of her personal story could easily be a tragedy. Instead, she combines darkness and light, levity and sadness into her tale, as her indomitable spirit and humour sustain her. Morrissey's path takes her from the drudgery of being a grocery clerk (who occasionally enlivens her shift with recreational drugs) to western oilfields, to marriage and divorce and working in a fish-processing plant to support herself and her two young children. Throughout her struggles, she nourishes a love of learning and language.
Morrissey layers her account of her life with stories of those who came before her, a breed rarely seen in the modern world. It centers around iron-willed women: mothers and daughters, wives, sisters, teachers and mentors who find the support, the wind for their wings, outside the bounds given to them by nature. And it is a mysterious older woman she meets in Halifax who eventually unleashes the writer that Morrissey is destined to become.
An inspiring and insightful memoir, Pluck illustrates that even when you find yourself unravelling, you can find a way to spin the yarns that will save you—and delight listeners everywhere.
What the critics say
NATIONAL BESTSELLER
FINALIST FOR THE 2022 ATLANTIC BOOK AWARDS’ EVELYN RICHARDSON NON-FICTION AWARD
One of:
Winnipeg Free Press's Best Books of 2021
CBC's "57 works of Canadian nonfiction coming out in fall 2021 [that] we can't wait to read"
“Remarkable. . . . [Pluck] is that rare book that pulls the curtain back on working life, illuminating both its stresses and sorrows and its unexpected joys.” —The Globe and Mail
"Imagination, fortitude, pluck and metamorphosis are some of the themes of this . . . engaging account of the author’s ties to Newfoundland and her family in the context of her development as a writer." —The Winnipeg Free Press
“I have heard many tell and sing about the challenges and blessings of the hard and happy times in outport Newfoundland, but never have I felt such a connection to it in story or song as in Donna Morrissey’s Pluck. I feel like I have walked the hills with her in an extraordinary childhood filled with death and dancing, where nothing was so fearsome or fascinating as ‘away’. This is a song of a story and I would love an encore.” —Alan Doyle, musician, actor and bestselling author of All Together Now
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What listeners say about Pluck
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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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
- TDog
- 2022-08-29
Stunningly Beautiful!
Thank you Donna Morrissey for having “The Pluck” to tell your story! Your voice sang to my soul in the beautiful recounting of both tragedy and triumph. I just couldn’t get enough. Much love and gratitude to the author.
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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
- Carol
- 2023-02-24
Poignant
So enjoyed hearing Donna’s story in her voice. Heartfelt, full of heartache and so poignant. Made me smile, made me cry a lot. We can learn in this life. Pay attention!
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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
- Una
- 2023-06-29
An incredible book
It was especially wonderful to hear this read by the author.. I so enjoyed this !! It was captivating and stayed with me after finishing
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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
- Grammie
- 2023-10-30
Pluck
A wonderful book. It was like Donna was holding my hand while she told me about her life. Moving!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Ida Linehan Young
- 2021-12-16
Plucky and Raw
Donna, I just finished Pluck on Audible. I must say that I thoroughly enjoyed the journey. I laughed out loud a few times when I remembered happy times of my own, I hurt for you a few times when I remembered hurts of my own, and I reminisced of loud times gone by that have been since silenced. I loved your imagery, your “voice”, and your voice from start to finish. Standing out the most was the young defiant Donna on her martyr’s pillow and killing turrs(ists), the innocent sad Donna with the world on her shoulders, the stund Donna who didn’t see that twist a mile away (probably because she was still an innocent Donna), and the grown-up Donna caring and nurturing all in one when it was most needed. Thanks for sharing a piece of you both openly and honestly. Well done, girl, well done.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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- Max Harding
- 2023-12-27
Family
Thank you Donna. You’re able to express the feelings that sometimes remain locked inside for the rest of us.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- G. Bonnell
- 2022-01-16
Wonderful Grand!
I listened to the new book Pluck by Donna Morrissey on Audible. It is read by the author herself. She has such a youthful voice and reads with such passion as she brings each character alive .The "spot on " accents she delivers adds a wonderful dimension to the story. It's the first book that that I have ever listened to where I felt that the listening to it was just as important as reading it. The book would make a wonderful play and better still a wonderful grand movie. The folks that made the movie Brooklyn could probably do justice to it. If I had the money I would buy the movie rights to the book. Well done Donna Morrissey. .
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Merryl Rab
- 2023-10-02
Wonderful
Wonderful book and I loved the author’s voice reading it. It was splendid and I felt every emotion as I listened. I look forward to reading her novels.
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