Home » Grieving and Catharsis: A Gift from Matthew P. Woerner

Calling this hour-long audio drama from Matthew P. Woerner titled “A Gift” a cathartic grieving process that tugs at your heartstrings would be accurate. In terms of a number rating, it’s easy to quantify, especially with the new rating system. The more qualitative aspects are harder to spot behind the teary eyes and whimpering sounds coming from the listener.

Music, SFX and Emotional Manipulation of Grieving

The plot is a Christmas miracle story about grieving. It’s primarily two people talking without much in the way of sound design. The exception is Remy the dog, but he gets a pass for having such a cute bark SFX, but also not overdone. The music can be a bit overpowering both in volume and in the manipulation of emotions. It’s not very subtle, like getting hit in the head with a brick.

Buy 1 Story about Grieving, Get One 50% Off?

This audio drama isn’t available for free on podcast platforms. Instead, it’s available on Amazon Music (affiliate link), Spotify, Apple Music and Dramafy. The last of those is new to me. You can also buy it on iTunes, but it’s $9.99 for an hour-long show that you can stream on most platforms for free. If there are ads in the free version, I did not encounter them due to using Apple Music as my listening platform.

10 dollars is probably asking a bit much for something you’ll probably want to listen to only once—unless you do it via streaming. Not because it’s bad, but because the emotions it evokes are so strong. Unfortunately, you’ll probably get strange looks from people if you’re out and about. If you know someone who thinks they’ve gotten over the death of a loved one by forgetting everything their loved one stood for and believed in, maybe buy this for them.

The ending goes on a bit too long after the catharsis, introducing an entirely new character and situation for them in a more concise way and letting the waterworks happen one more time. One thing is for certain, Matthew P. Woerner knows how to elicit emotions in an almost calculatory way, leaving the listener to drop their guard only to strike in an unexpected way.

9/10 Stars

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