Life and Other Love Songs

By: Anissa Gray

Narrated by: Dominic Hoffman, Karen Murray, Nicole Lewis

“Musical in structure—the octaves rise when the music calls for it; truths are revealed by the invisible beats of this gorgeous, rich story” –Ann Napolitano, New York Times bestselling author of Hello Beautiful (Oprah’s Book Club Pick)

“Riveting, rhythmic, transcendent...a stellar family saga.”—Jacqueline Woodson, New York Times bestselling author of Red at the Bone

Named a Most Anticipated Book by Time ∙ Essence ∙ Real Simple ∙ Good Housekeeping ∙ Atlanta-Journal Constitution ∙ The Root ∙ SheReads ∙ Atlanta Magazine ∙ Zibby Mag

A father’s sudden disappearance exposes the private fears, dreams, longings, and joys of a Black American family in the late decades of the twentieth century, in this page-turning and intimate new novel from the author of The Care and Feeding of Ravenously Hungry Girls.

It’s a warm, bright October afternoon, and Ozro Armstead walks out into the brilliant sunshine on his thirty-seventh birthday. At home, his wife Deborah and daughter Trinity prepare a surprise celebration; down the street, his brother waves as Oz heads back to his office after having lunch together.

But he won’t make it to the party or even to his briefcase back at his desk. He's about to disappear.

In the days, months, and years to follow, Deborah and Trinity look backward and forward as they piece together the life of the man they love, but whom they come to realize they might never have truly known.

In a gripping narrative that moves from the Great Migration to 1970s Detroit and 1990s New York, we follow the hopes, triumphs, losses, and secrets that build up and tear apart an American family.

©2023 Anissa Gray (P)2023 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

“Life and Other Love Songs is a precisely observed, often beautiful book about family, love, loss and the hidden history that shapes lives…The prose is beautiful and poignant.” —The New York Times

"This novel wields themes of generational trauma, class and race as pickaxes, excavating a Black family’s history and making room for the future to bloom.” —Essence

“Life and Other Love Songs builds beautifully—we care about these characters while coming to understand that the ground beneath their feet is constructed of secrets. Anissa Gray’s novel feels musical in structure—the octaves rise when the music calls for it; truths are revealed by the invisible beats of this gorgeous, rich story.” —Ann Napolitano, New York Times bestselling author of Dear Edward and Oprah Book Club Pick Hello Beautiful

Excellent story

I loved this book!! This was such a nice well thought out story. Great book!

Good story of grief, tragedy, love and redemption

Good analysis of the complexities and the underlying, unspoken realties that can haunt families if not addressed. My main issue was that, as a Black male who often connects with Black male characters, I had a hard time fully connecting with Oz. But overall it was a well written and well developed story

Captivating Story

Really enjoyable telling of a family disjointed by generational trauma while trying to figure each other out. Exceptional writing and narration.

What a journey…

I like how this booked allowed you to look into a family’s untold truths from each of the immediate family’s perspective. I appreciated the way we were able to travel back in the past to see how Oz and Deborah got to where they were before he left and to see how past experiences affected the decisions made then which also helped the reader to see how those decisions played out in their lives. Black families, and probably all, have so much trauma that individuals often never get the chance to work through and heal from that ultimately impacts the trajectory of their lives. I’m grateful for the bit of resolve that came in the end.

I wasn’t as crazy about the performance for Oz, only because I felt like his voice aged him. I felt like I was listening to a man in his 50s/60s rather than in his mid/late 30s.

Not worth the credit

I don’t like to write bad reviews, but this book simply did not do it for me. One of the main characters, Trinity, is woefully underdeveloped and it’s simply too long. Although the narrators are talented, I don’t think they were cast properly… especially the female characters.