Publisher, BBC Audiobooks America / Sound Library (November 2004)

"...Munro's writing is precise and almost clinical. Dakin's minimally differentiated narration, soft and clear yet strong, perfectly matches the bravery with which these women confront their destinies." --Kliatt

The stories in this collection are about women of all ages and circumstances. The runaway of the title story is a young woman who is incapable of leaving her husband. In another, a country girl emerging into the larger world via a job in a resort hotel discovers in a single moment of insight the limits and lies of passion. Three stories concern the same woman-in the first, she escapes from teaching at a girls' school into a wild love affair; in the second, she returns with her child to the home of her parents, whose marriage she finally begins to examine; and in the last, her vanished child turns up caught in the grip of a religious cult. In these and other stories Alice Munro's understanding of the people about whom she writes makes their lives as real as our own.

About the Author: Alice Munro is the author of nine previous collections of stories and a novel. Among them, Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage; Friend of My Youth; and The Love of a Good Woman are available as Sound Library® audiobooks. Her awards include the W. H. Smith Award and the National Book Critics Circle Award. Munro and her husband divide their time between Clinton, Ontario, and Comox, British Columbia.

About the Performer: Kymberly Dakin is a professional actress with twenty years experience. Featured both on Broadway and in national tours. Kym has also played roles on The Guiding Light, One Life to Live, and All My Children, as well as It's a Miracle on PAX-TV. Kym is currently voicing the character of "Split" on the PBS series Math Monsters.