Life in Every Breath: Ester Blenda; Reporter, Adventurer, Pioneer

Laura Jennings’s expressive narration pairs perfectly with Swedish journalist Bremmer’s gracefully written debut, a fascinating portrait of fellow Swede Ester Blenda Nordström, the pioneering journalist who became a household name in 1914 after posing as a farm maid to document the poor working conditions and pay in rural Sweden. At a time when women journalists were rare, Nordström traveled internationally to uncover interesting stories, often borrowing money from family and friends to finance her journeys. Jennings vividly evokes Nordström’s adventures, including working as a nomadic teacher to the Indigenous Sámi of Lapland, campaigning for civilian aid in civil war-torn Finland, and marrying a man she didn’t love in order to accompany him on a Siberian scientific expedition. Listeners will be moved as Jennings emphatically narrates Nordström’s struggles with fame and alcohol addiction and her joy and heartbreak over her lifelong secret love affair with Carin Wærn Frisell, when same-sex love back then was labeled both a crime and a mental disorder.