The Fact of a Body Audiobook By Alex Marzano-Lesnevich cover art

The Fact of a Body

A Murder and a Memoir

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The Fact of a Body

By: Alex Marzano-Lesnevich
Narrated by: Alex Marzano-Lesnevich
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"This book is a marvel. The Fact of a Body is equal parts gripping and haunting and will leave you questioning whether any one story can hold the full truth." -- Celeste Ng, author of the New York Times bestselling Everything I Never Told You

Before Alex Marzano-Lesnevich begins a summer job at a law firm in Louisiana, working to help defend men accused of murder, they think their position is clear. The child of two lawyers, Alex is staunchly anti-death penalty. But the moment convicted murderer Ricky Langley’s face flashes on the screen as Alex reviews old tapes—the moment they hear him speak of his crimes—they are overcome with the feeling of wanting him to die. Shocked by their reaction, Alex digs deeper and deeper into the case. Despite their vastly different circumstances, something in Langley's story is unsettlingly, uncannily familiar.

Crime, even the darkest and most unsayable acts, can happen to any one of us. As Alex pores over the facts of the murder, they find themself thrust into the complicated narrative of Ricky’s childhood. And by examining the details of Ricky’s case, Alex is forced to face their own story, to unearth long-buried family secrets, and reckon with a past that colors their view of Ricky's crime.

But another surprise awaits: Alex wasn’t the only one who saw their life in Ricky’s.

An intellectual and emotional thriller that is also a different kind of murder mystery, THE FACT OF A BODY is an audiobook not only about how the story of one crime was constructed—but about how we grapple with our own personal histories. Along the way it tackles questions about the nature of forgiveness, and if a single narrative can ever really contain something as definitive as the truth. This groundbreaking, heart-stopping work, ten years in the making, shows how the law is more personal than we would like to believe—and the truth more complicated, and powerful, than we could ever imagine.

This program is read by the author.

©2017 Alexandria Marzano-Lesnevich (P)2017 Macmillan Audio Abuse Biographies & Memoirs Child Abuse Crime Dysfunctional Families Dysfunctional Relationships Lambda Literary Award Memoir Essentials Murder Parenting & Families Relationships True Crime Inspiring Scary Thought-Provoking Memoir
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Editorial reviews

Editors Select, May 2017

I won’t bury the lede: If Marzano-Lesnevich doesn’t get shortlisted for a Pulitzer for this incredible work, I’ll eat my hat. This book was so much more than I expected - on one side, a riveting true crime that follows the horrific murder of a six-year-old boy back through the tragic life story of his killer, convicted child molester Ricky Langley; on the other side, the masterful and emotionally intelligent story of the author’s own childhood abuse. But the truly outstanding achievement is how she folds together those sides to demonstrate that there is no absolute truth or justice, only conclusions that are as variable and complex as the concluder. Like Joan Didion or Truman Capote, Marzano-Lesnevich makes otherwise austere reporting cinematic and moving by filling in sensory details with her own imagination, and by narrating in her own kind, empathic voice, she draws you that much closer. —Erin, Audible Editor

Critic reviews

"This book is a marvel. With unflinching precision and immense compassion, Alexandria Marzano-Lesnevich peels apart both a murder case and her own experience to reveal how we try to make sense of the past. The Fact of a Body is equal parts gripping and haunting and will leave you questioning whether any one story can hold the full truth." --Celeste Ng, author of the New York Times bestselling Everything I Never Told You

"The Fact of a Body is unlike any murder story I've ever read, a masterpiece of both reportage and memoir, a book that could only be written by an author with Alexandria Marzano-Lesnevich's staggering gifts: a relentless reporter with a law degree from Harvard, a poet's understanding of the cadence of a line, and a novelist's gift for empathy. Walter Benjamin famously said that all great works of art either dissolve a genre or invent one. This book does both, and its greatness is undeniable." --Justin St. Germain, author of Son of a Gun

"The Fact of a Body is a remarkable act of witness, an anatomy of silence and the violence it abets, a book of both public and private accountings. Rejecting the false comfort of certainty, it confronts the inadequacy of all our tools for fathoming not just unforgivable crimes, but the baffling, human grace that can forgive them. This is a profound and riveting book." -- Garth Greenwell, author of What Belongs to You

Featured Article: The top 100 memoirs of all time


All genres considered, the memoir is among the most difficult and complex for a writer to pull off. After all, giving voice to your own lived experience and recounting deeply painful or uncomfortable memories in a way that still engages and entertains is a remarkable feat. These autobiographies, often narrated by the authors themselves, shine with raw, unfiltered emotion sure to resonate with any listener. But don't just take our word for it—queue up any one of these listens, and you'll hear exactly what we mean.

Featured Article The top 100 memoirs of all time
Compelling Dual Narrative • Meticulous Research • Intimate Confidence • Thought-provoking Exploration • Powerful Memoir

Highly rated for:

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Not a happy story, but exceptionally executed. Much to ponder during and after listening to this book. The author's narrative is of the highest quality, too.

The juxtaposition of true crime and personal history genres is brilliant. I mirror the author's hunger to examine facts and the value of ethics. She is a very talented storyteller, but if you like action /intrigue without so much dogged pursduit of truth, skip this one. My take home from this book is that "truth" is often unattainable. and least likely to be neatly packaged in court.

I deeply enjoyed the intellectual ride and the engrossing story full of nuance, beauty, and sensory input. I am changed by it.

Ambitious, Moving

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Couldn't sleep after finishing this book. Not because it was dark or scary, but because I couldn't stop processing its message.

Gripping

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I just finished this 10.5 hr audiobook in under 4 days -- definitely a new record I didn't know I was capable of! Listening while driving, cooking, cleaning, sitting in the bathroom, gardening with earbuds in, and sometimes in small bits whenever I could squeeze them in like the minutes in-between getting up from my yoga mat to sitting down at my work laptop lamenting that I didn't have more time to keep listening. It's​ not a short book, but I almost wish it was longer because I wanted to keep listening and keep being mesmerized by this masterpiece. Bravo and congratulations to the author for this achievement!

A mesmerizing masterpiece!

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Great book. Best listened to at .75 speed. The writing deserves the slower pace. The topic needs the slower pace for the listener to absorb. Five starts is not enough.

Best listened to at .75 speed

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Once I started listening to The Fact of a Body on audio, I couldn’t stop. I knew it was a true story about a murder, but I didn’t know how much more it was going to be or how much I’ve always been looking for this story. In 1992, a 6-year-old boy was murdered in Louisiana. Years later, law student Alexandria Marzano-Lesnevich went on a quest to understand the convicted murderer’s mind in order to answer questions from her own past. If you’ve ever had the experience of learning that someone close to you has done something unthinkable, this is a fascinating, difficult, and special story. The author does her own narration, and she treats the story so delicately that I was able to handle it on audio.

True Crime Meets Heartbreaking Memoir

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