3.5⭐⭐⭐✨ rounding up to 4 because of how much I liked the protagonist by the end of the story.

Entertainment journalist, Dawn Roberts, is returning home to Baltimore to inter her husband's ashes. The trip home is riddled with memories of old betrayals made worse when she finds out a film is in production based upon her stolen work from decades earlier. The worst part is that Dawn and her deceased husband are both scandalously portrayed, and their identities are hidden under the thinnest of veils. Dawn/Fawn anyone? She feels utter disgust at the way her deceased husband is presented and is compelled to act to restore his reputation and her good name. Her family resides in Baltimore and their relationships are messy but with big hearts at the center. I loved their interactions. Dawn grew as a character acknowledging flaws and learning from them. Her dialogue is punctuated with sharp snark, and I grew to appreciate her spirit. We visit two timelines 30 years apart and see Dawn as a young up-and-coming journalist, meeting her husband, and the heartache of her work being stolen by a trusted mentor. With the help of a millennial journalist and a legendary diva she is relying on a glimmer of hope to prove her allegations.

As I listened to the audio this one grew on me. At first, I was lukewarm about it but as Dawn's character became more vulnerable and showed different aspects of herself, she won me over. I laughed out loud and appreciated her spirit. The narrator voiced two supporting characters almost identical (and annoying) but otherwise the narration was decent. The wit and banter lightened what could have been a heavier read. The author struck an excellent balance. The ending was a little too neat, but I didn't mind because Dawn's road to get there was quite difficult.

I was sad for this one to end as it started to feel like hanging out with a dear friend each day.

Thank you to Brilliance Publishing for the Advance Listening Copy via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

There was a lot going on in this book to say the least, but it had my wheels turning until the very end. I didn’t find Dawn very likable at first. But with so much family drama, I couldn’t figure out if she had been traumatized or if she was the source of the family trauma. I’m leaning toward the latter. Nonetheless, her character was developed very well. I wish I could say the same for some of the other characters. I wish a bit more effort was put into the minor characters (at least a few of them).

I did enjoy the authors descriptive writing and the humor that was diffused throughout story. Some parts made me literally laugh out loud! Nonetheless, the ending seemed way too rushed to the point that it was unrealistic. However, I did enjoy this book and would recommend it. The audiobook was very well engineered and made for easy listening.

Thank you NetGalley and Brilliance Publishing for the ARC audiobook!!

FAMILY AND OTHER CALAMITIES is a fast-paced, page-turning, rollicking read from Leslie Gray Streeter. I was fortunate to get early access to the audiobook on NetGalley, read by the talented Bahni Turpin, who brought Streeter’s story to vivid action.

Dawn Roberts is a successful journalist living in California who heads for her hometown of Baltimore to dispense with her late husband’s ashes and celebrate her mother’s 70th birthday.
Confident, dynamic, and opinionated, a loving sister, daughter, widow, and friend—Dawn nonetheless has beef with a lot of people back in Baltimore. Her brother-in-law, who blames her for separating her husband from his family. Her sister, who had a hand in a betrayal that nearly cost Dawn her career. And then there’s Joe Perkins, her erstwhile friend-turned-nemesis.

Dawn left town 30 years ago after fellow journalist Joe, posing as a mentor, double crossed her, stealing a story that wound up winning him a Pulitzer—a story about government corruption that Dawn first learned about from her sister Tanya. And now, the whole thing is going to be a feature film—with an unflattering characterization of Dawn herself. So, while Dawn is in town, she’ll settle some scores, make some amends, dodge some enemies, but also form new alliances.

I loved Streeter’s characters, the story and the narration so much, was so engrossed, that I found myself yelling back at the players, chastising Dawn, especially, to get out of her own way and listen to reason. Best of all, for me, a GenX Black woman, the narrative was full of delightful cultural references that had me laughing out loud.
Thank you to Leslie Gray Streeter and NetGalley for advanced access to the audiobook. Loved every minute of it. 5 Stars!!
See this review on Goodreads.