The Same Bright Stars

Joella’s (A Little Hope) latest is warmly presented in audio by narrator Chris Henry Coffey. Fifty-two-year-old Jack has only one commitment, and he spends all of his time dedicated to it—running his family’s beachfront Delaware restaurant. Told in dual timelines, set in the present day and the 1980s, readers watch Jack reflect on his past choices, his future, and his lack of relationships and family. Jack begins to seriously consider taking a buyout offer from the corporate restaurant conglomerate DelDine as a chance to start over. Coffey smoothly navigates between the two timelines and interludes from a fictional guidebook about Rehoboth Beach, DE, as he gives voice to Jack’s internal tension about his life’s dramatic events. Joella seamlessly interweaves themes of grief, death of family members, suicide, addiction, abortion, aging, and corporate vs. family-owned businesses, while providing listeners with an emotional reprieve through the idyllic beach setting and Jack’s kind personality. Coffey’s amiable tones help illustrate Jack’s wise and thoughtful nature.