Hi, I'm Lovar Burton and this is Lovar Burton Reads.

In every episode I handpick a different piece of fiction and read it to you.

The only thing these stories have in common is that I love them and I hope you do too.

And I am thrilled to share an amazing story with you today.

It was recorded in front of a live audience with live musical accompaniment in San Francisco.

It's a story by Charlie Jane Anders.

Charlie Jane is an award-winning science fiction and speculative fiction writer.

She was also the co-founder of the science fiction site I-09.

Her latest novel, All the Birds in the Sky, has won a bunch of awards including a nebula,

a Crawford and the Locust Award.

And I must say I looked out with an amazing musical accompaniment provided by the keyboardist

Anthony Ferraro.

Anthony is a classically trained pianist who now plays with his own group called Astronauts,

etc.

He also tours playing keyboards with Toro E. Moa.

And stay tuned after this story ends for my on-stage conversation with Charlie Jane Anders.

Now today's story is from Charlie Jane's collection entitled Six Months, Three Days, Five

Others.

It's called As Good as New.

And because I don't want to spoil too much of this for you, all I'm going to tell you

is this.

When our story begins, we find our protagonist, Marisol, in a very unusual predicament.

...