A memoir in the form of a prose poem, Megan Barker’s Kit tells of a friendship that began when the author was in her early 20s. When Barker first meets Kit in 1998, he has “an attitude of someone ready to dig in their heels, else spring from the hamstrings, take flight”. The pair become inseparable and talk “about IT ALL … With so much time in our hands to sift and loop and spool our world we are in each day, in each hour of each day, entangled”.
Their friendship continues into middle age by which time Barker is married with three young children. She cherishes the time spent in the company of her old friend, and away from the demands of family. So when Kit is laid low by a debilitating depression, she instinctively wants to take care of him. Against her husband Mac’s wishes, she invites him to join the family on holiday at a house in rural Wales. It is a decision that ends in disaster and a desperate call to the emergency services.
Actor Maxine Peake provides a beautiful narration, conveying the intimacy and agony of Barker and Kit’s bond and unearthing the rich textures and the winding, stuttering rhythms of the writing. Through this original medium, Barker is winningly blunt about motherhood and marriage, specifically the noise, the mess and the loss of thinking time (“All deep thought has been replaced with lists”). Most of all, Kit is a visceral, heartfelt paean to the wildness of friendship and unconditional love.
• Kit by Megan Barker is available via Cheerio, 2hr 8min
Further listening
The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck
Mark Manson, Harper Audio, 5hr 17min
Roger Wayne reads the popular blogger’s bracingly blunt guide to self-improvement, which encourages listeners to stop feeling sorry for themselves and rethink how they measure happiness and success.
The Last Party
Clare Mackintosh, Hachette Audio, 13hr 23min
The first in the crime writer’s DC Morgan series begins with a death at a New Year’s Eve party and a village full of suspects. Chloe Angharad Davies narrates.
