“Wait for Me,” the March 2026 book club pick from Read With Jenna, is a unique literary experience that blends the power of song lyrics and melodies into its narrative. The audiobook edition allows listeners to not only read the story but also hear the music that plays a central role in the novel’s emotional core.
The story follows two folk singers, separated by decades, whose lives intertwine through the shared love of music. Marijohn Shaw, who grew up listening to the songs of Elle Harlow, a once-famous folk singer who mysteriously disappeared, finds herself drawn into the world of music. As she pursues her own career, the connection between her and Elle deepens, creating a powerful bond that transcends time.
When Amy Jo Burns was writing the character of Elle, she found herself inspired by fragments of lyrical phrases that seemed to emerge naturally. “I don’t know what happened here. This isn’t a book. It isn’t anything,” she recalls thinking at first. “Then I realized I was writing song lyrics.”
This realization led to the creation of original songs that are now part of the audiobook experience. The production includes full musical compositions based on Burns’ lyrics, with music composed by Mark Sanderlin, who also performs the songs. Gail Shalan, an award-winning audiobook narrator, brings Marijohn to life, while Patti Murin, known for her role as Anna in the Broadway production of “Frozen,” voices Elle.
In a video shared by Macmillan.audio, Burns reacts to hearing one of her own songs come to life. “I have to pause. It’s just incredible,” she says, overcome with emotion. “There couldn’t be something better for Elle.”
Macmillan audio producer Ally Demeter, who studied to become a music producer, was excited to take on this project. “This was kind of like my love for books and music coming together as one, and being able to make that for the listeners is just honestly a dream come true,” she explains.
Sanderlin, who had never before worked on such an intricate project, found the challenge both exciting and rewarding. “Most of the time, when I’ve been asked to sing in audiobooks, it’s been either public domain songs or something made up on the fly,” he says. “Instead, I was able to compose entire original songs.”
To get started, Sanderlin looked at a playlist Burns created and felt an immediate connection to her influences — Patsy Cline, Johnny Cash, and Dolly Parton. “I got the playlist, and I went, ‘Oh, this is all the stuff that I used to listen to in my dad’s truck growing up. I know exactly how to do this.’ Taking some of those influences and then applying them to the music was really a fun challenge for me,” he says.
While composing, Sanderlin would play the demos on walks around New York and refine the melodies. Then, he would send the clips to Demeter. “I would just get goosebumps right away, like, this is incredible. I can’t believe this is happening for our audiobook,” Demeter remembers thinking.
Once the songs were completed, Murin, Shalan, and Sanderlin spent a day recording over 30 portions of music. Tiny details from the book influenced the music’s texture. For example, Murin requested that the music be adjusted down a step to better match the way Elle’s voice is described in the book, according to Sanderlin.
Demeter says she “always reads reviews” and has been overwhelmed by the positive response to the final product. “Many people say the music ‘brings the story to life.’ They just can’t believe that this is happening in an audiobook. And it just shows that we need to keep pushing forward with the creative medium and just make audiobooks stand out,” she says.
But it was Burns’ reaction that affirmed “she did her job right,” Demeter says. “She was so thankful and appreciative and said, ‘It couldn’t have been anything more.’ She was so thankful that we cared so much about the characters in the book and the music in the book.”
For now, the “Wait for Me” soundtrack exists only in the audiobook — for listeners, that is. “I’ll still sometimes get the song stuck in my head, because they’re just so good,” Demeter says. “I have them on my computer, so if I’m ever needing Elle Harlow or Marijohn Shaw, I can just click their song and listen.”
