Ask Me Again

Returning from her first deployment since surviving a near-fatal attack in Afghanistan, US Army surgeon Sabine Fleischer thought the hardest part was behind her. But PTSD has a way of surfacing on its own terms, and what Sabine has been quietly suppressing now threatens everything she has built with Rebecca Keane, her girlfriend and former commanding officer. Set against the backdrop of military life transitioning to civilian reality, E.J. Noyes's Golden Crown Literary Award winner explores how two people who love each other still struggle to bridge the distance that trauma creates.

Abby Craden brings quiet intensity to both women, navigating the emotional restraint of military culture alongside moments of raw vulnerability without ever tipping into melodrama. Her measured pacing gives Noyes's dialogue room to breathe, making the silences between characters as meaningful as the words. At just under ten hours, the runtime feels earned rather than padded, and the audiobook format heightens the story's emotional interiority in ways the page alone cannot replicate.