Choose any audiobook from over 180,000 titles... yours to keep with a free trial.
Search Suggestions
Audie Award Finalist, Classic, 2014
Born to a poor couple who were tenant farmers on a plantation in Mississippi, Anne Moody lived through some of the most dangerous days of the pre-civil rights era in the South. The week before she began high school came the news of Emmet Till's lynching. Before then, she had "known the fear of hunger, hell, and the Devil. But now there was…the fear of being killed just because I was black." In that moment was born the passion for freedom and justice that would change her life.
An all-A student whose dream of going to college is realized when she wins a basketball scholarship, she finally dares to join the NAACP in her junior year. Through the NAACP and later through CORE and SNCC she has first-hand experience of the demonstrations and sit-ins that were the mainstay of the civil rights movement, and the arrests and jailings, the shotguns, fire hoses, police dogs, billy clubs, and deadly force that were used to destroy it.
A deeply personal story but also a portrait of a turning point in our nation's destiny, this autobiography lets us see history in the making, through the eyes of one of the footsoldiers in the civil rights movement.
"Simply one of the best, Anne Moody's autobiography is an eloquent, moving testimonial to... Courage." (Chicago Tribune)
We've sent an email with your order details. Order ID #:
Listen on the Audible app or these devices.
Launch Audible App-or-
Download Free Audible AppTo access this title, visit your library in the app or on the desktop website.
Listen on the Audible app or these devices.
Launch Audible App-or-
Download Free Audible AppAudible does not currently have the rights to sell this title in your country.
Please consider another book.
Continue BrowsingPlease add a payment method to continue.
Add a Payment MethodPlease edit your payment details or add a new card.
If the problem persists, contact customer service at (888) 283-5051
Review My Payment MethodIf the problem persists, contact customer service at (888) 283-5051
Please select a default credit card to continue.
Select Credit CardIt looks like you've already used the specified payment method for a free trial.
Please contact customer service if you think we have made a mistake. (888) 283-5051
Start Your $14.95 MembershipIf the problem persists, contact customer service at (888) 283-5051
If the problem persists, contact customer service at (888) 283-5051
A Gripping, Visceral Account of 1960's Reality
There were many times during this story when I froze in place, put my hand over my mouth, and felt my eyes well with tears...but don't mistake it for some sort of a 'sappy sob story.'
This is one of the best credits I've ever spent. I couldn't take my headphones off! I even turned off my phone, so I wouldn't be disturbed. There is not one single boring word. The entire story is alive - pulling you in, triggering emotions you didn't even know you had, forcing you to experience an ugly part of American history, and opening your eyes to the true, dirty reality of racism.
The narrator is fantastic - I cannot praise her enough. She reads it like it's her own personal story. Her voice is smooth and pleasant and displays a brilliant full spectrum of emotions. I could listen to her all day and never get tired.
You will NOT regret this selection.
- Philomena
Meh. Interesting and unique persective, BUT....
While the historical perspective is excellent and insightful, I struggled a lot with disliking the protagonist. Anne Moody spends an inordinate amount of time telling us how she was the prettiest, the smartest, the best basketball player on the team, was wanted by all the boys, and so on ad nauseam. She is temperamental, irritable, and critical with almost everyone and everything in her life. Her mother, her father, her stepmother, teachers, coaches, principals, deans, fellow Civil Rights workers, etc.
Her very obvious vanity and how she speaks very disparagingly about almost everyone. Her bragging and negativity are such a large part of her writing that it is very distracting.
I liked the narration and thought it was well done.
Meh. I guess. It is good to have a better grasp of the events that took place and how hard Civil Rights workers worked toward change and how frustrating and dangerous it was for them.
- Tanya Easley
