Beneath Everything by Suzie Carr
Hear the first chapter of the audiobook for Beneath Everything by Suzie Carr @girl_novelist on this episode of Book Clips, the mini podcast that gives listeners a taste of a book.
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Synopsis
Sarah Destin is a highly successful marketing executive who makes great money, lives in a beautiful home, and drives a sweet car with an engine that purrs. She should be thrilled, but somewhere along the line, she took a wrong turn and ended up in the dreaded rat race of life.
When she meets Jolene, a scuba instructor from Bonaire, curiosity stirs deep within. Suddenly, she begins to crave adventure. By getting out of her comfort zone, Sarah soon begins to realize that life begins to bloom beneath the facade of materialism. Purpose and meaning can’t be found on the surface. It can only be found when she digs deep and uncovers things that make her question what’s most important in life. Does Sarah have the courage to embrace her newfound discoveries, even if that means letting go of what brings her comfort in the process?
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Transcript
please note this transcript has not been edited and is automatically generated meaning certain words will be incorrect
you are listening to book clips a mini podcast in which authors and erasers do readings from novels check out the show notes for the synopsis and by links for this book beneath everything written by Suzie Carr read by Stephanie Murphy chapter one through her typical mad dashes from one meeting to another Sara Dustin had learned that a good laugh or an extra-large glass of merlot could usually mitigate most stress well on that particular morning no amount of laughter or Merlot could rescue her from the upheaval running ten minutes late for her meeting with the la chapelle department store sara dashed through the crowded mall littered with strollers clumsy toddlers teenagers and elderly mall walkers she zipped around a kiosk advertising LaChapelle’s new summer dress line and hat campaign her team spent months coordinating and then she skirted around a middle-aged couple sipping Starbucks coffees she pushed onward tossing an apology over her shoulder and drawing a deep breath in to stave off the beginning pangs of a headache the sugary scent of waffle cones in the distance colliding with the flashing lights of the carousel and the wailing screams of an upset child caused her temples to throb the spree toward the escalator ended on a giant sigh when her heels pressed against the first step toward her climb to a victory she hoped to bring back to her team she placed her laptop case on the step above her and then she combed her fingers through the ends of her faded amber hair to untangle it she leaned her head backwards to take in the sight of pastel eggs decorated with glittery lines and circles hanging from the light fixtures they sparkled in twirled and they reminded her that the Cadbury mini eggs she favoured so much would once again be luring her into gaining another ten pounds before summer she’d wolf them down every last morsel of their chocolaty Center after her meeting that morning she would visit the Rite Aid near Sears and treat herself to some she’d buy an eyeliner notepad or pen and sneak the bag into the sail because of her addiction by the end of Easter season she always had a ridiculous collection of big ballpoint pens spiral notebooks and liners in every imaginable color as she approached the top of the escalator her cell chimed she bent over and dug it out of the front pocket of her case as she rose something pulled at her waist in a blink the escalator stares while flattening out at the top began to swallow the bottom of her long skirt no no no no she screamed pulling back on it the escalator devoured its edges and wouldn’t let go the cackles coming from the upper landing motivated Sara to fight the angry teeth of the escalator she clung to her plush Italian wool knit skirt but the escalator needle did further into its gluttonous clutch next thing she knew the escalator groaned on a final churn when an older woman holding the hand of a toddler pushed the emergency shutoff button Sara’s $200 je gel skirt lay murdered on top of her red Ginny shoe heels leaving her exposed in all her nakedness to a crowd gathering around her like drooling vultures on feeding day of all the days not to wear undies but godforsaken things had tortured her with a wedgie from Hell on the drive over to the mall she crossed her arms in front of her exposed who hah nice ass a boy called out while pointing his smartphone at her she stared in horror at the phone put that away yet she shouted pointing her finger at him right now put it away he continued capturing her shame nudging his friend to do the same stop stop filming when they didn’t listen she cried please please stop she scanned the upper landing for someone reasonable she spotted a middle-aged man covering his mouth in shock please stop them she begged he sprang into action rushing toward them meanwhile the older woman picked up the toddler and headed up the escalator wrestling one arm at a time out of her jacket when she landed next to Sara she handed it to her you poor thing take it I’m here to buy myself a new one anyway so it’s yours mortified Sara gripped the jacket and backed up against the escalators glass supports the hoots and hollers echoed deeper against the cavernous pitched ceilings and endless open mouth so shocked stupefied onlookers branding her with their GOx points and mockery thank you she said wrapping it around her waist thank you so much no thank you as necessary Sara spun around looking for shelter from the mobs snapping photos of her sacrificing all for the sake of finding shelter she abandoned her favorite skirt and fled tossing her cell into her laptop case and wrapping the life-saving jacket tighter around her waist her cell kept dinging she gallops like a fool all the way to the parking garage she pushed through its double doors and in all her disgrace landed in its orange glow panting and sweating her phone rang again beeping out its annoying tune in perfect sync with her heels a moment later back in the safety and comfort of the front seat of her Lexus she brushed her hair back behind her ears then in one controlled and smooth attempt she composed her next inhale and exhale she pointed her eyes to her passenger seat to her new black undies that crawled way too far up into her butt to be worn into an important meeting she narrowed her eyes at them angry at their impractical beauty she reached into her back seat for her bug out bag Sara prepared and practical would not let a little chaos destroy her plans she would put on her spare outfit marching to the mall as if she owned it and get the job done a moment later she slipped into her comfortable sensible pair of white undies and a gray pencil scourge that matched her red blouse and shoes then she searched the pocket of her laptop case for her cell five missed calls from her best friend Frenchy bypassing her she dialed the VP of merchandising at La Chapelle it’s Sarah Destin and I’m in the parking garage I’m sorry but I’m running late I ran into a traffic jam are you still available to meet take your time we’ll see you when you get here just like that everything fell back into its rightful place undisturbed and smoothed over she blew out a sharp breath and thought about the pictures and videos the crowd took of her as soon as she finished with her meeting she’d call her assistant Sam and ask him to locate and remove any that popped up on social media if anyone could help her Sam could she pushed on the door handle then toyed with calling Frenchie back a quick call always turned into an hour especially when it had been so long since their last chat reluctantly she pinged her back I saw you called a lot she added is everything all right are you terribly busy just a little preoccupied at the moment she said rehashing that hellish detour would cost her too many extra minutes I need your help Sarah pressed her forehead against the window looking ahead to the malls entrance trying on her most patient tone she said with I’m having a surprise 60th birthday party for Johnny and his twin sister Maureen and I’m in over my head at 47 Frenchy was smack dab in the middle age wise between her husband Johnny and Sarah yet when it came to planning Sarah seemed to be the most sensible of the three just keep it simple Sarah said no I want this to be the party of all parties for Johnny we only have two months to plan it I need your creative brain specifically for the invites I want him to be unique you know something special I’ll need him in like five days though please tell me you can do it the base from a passing car boomed causing the concrete supports to moan her best friend had no idea the height of the work pile on her plate she also had no clue that in the next week she’d have to rise at 1:00 in the morning just to get through the things she put off from the week before email me what you want them to say and I’ll get it done oh you’re the best kiddo Sarah smiled at the reference despite having turned 35 a few months before oh and mark your calendar for May 23rd she said of course I’m gonna try to get Maureen’s daughter Jolene to come too she lives on an island in the Caribbean and hasn’t visited in years so I’m not sure if I’ll be able to make it happen but I’ll try do you remember her from my wedding sarah lifted her forehead from the window recalling the memory of Jolene Sarah had stepped on her toe while dancing the electric slide and then Jolene winked at her that wink had traveled from the tip of her head to the middle of her thighs Jolene that name shifted her lips into an instant’s smile that was ten years ago my friend hon lucky to remember that today’s Tuesday well actually it’s Wednesday which brings me to my next question Sara did her lip vying for more patience what’s that instead of emailing you the details for the invites come over for dinner on Thursday I’ll be dining with little Toni on corn dogs we can go over the details then Johnny won’t be here so we can be silly just like old times old times before Sara got her promotion she could have used some time with Frenchie’s five-year-old step grandson Toni always had a way of simplifying everything one little flash of his smile brightened the world but her work pile can I take a rain check on the corndog and Tony this is a tough week if you email the invite details I can rush them back to you if it’s too much trouble no Sara cut her off on a strained sigh email them I can do it what’s wrong Frenchy asked you sound like you’re panting like you’re stressed everything good everything’s fine Sara pulled at the door handle climbing out of the front seat it’s just another day at the office you have been listening to book clips check out the show notes for the synopsis and by links for this book if you are interested in showcasing your novel then check out the show notes for more information
