Stella Maris

In 1972, Alicia Western, a PhD candidate in mathematics at the University of Chicago, checks herself into Stella Maris, a psychiatric hospital in rural Wisconsin, with over $40,000 in cash. She is diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia. The psychiatrist thinks she is there to talk about her decision to take her brother Bobby off life support. Instead, Alicia begins a meandering discussion about philosophy, mathematics, humanity, religion, ethics, and mental illness. McCarthy’s companion novel to The Passenger is a gripping, thought-provoking look at what it means to be human. Narrators Julia Whelan and Edoardo Ballerini give stunning performances as Alicia and her psychiatrist. With a calm, measured tone, Ballerini provides stability, while Whelan embodies a troubled but brilliantly self-aware Alicia as she reveals shocking truths about her life. Listeners will be wholly drawn into Alicia’s slippery story where the boundaries of truth and reality become blurred. The audio provides ambiance with well-placed sound effects, such as the clicking of the psychiatrist’s tape recorder.