-
What a Father Leaves
- Narrated by: Roland Merullo
- Length: 43 mins
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Prime members: New to Audible?Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
What a Father Leaves
Buy for $3.95
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Listeners also enjoyed...
-
Breakfast with Buddha
- A Novel
- By: Roland Merullo
- Narrated by: Sean Runnette
- Length: 9 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 4,143
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 3,683
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 3,688
When his sister tricks him into taking her guru on a trip to their childhood home, Otto Ringling, a confirmed skeptic, is not amused. Six days on the road with an enigmatic holy man who answers every question with a riddle is not what he'd planned. But in an effort to westernize his passenger---and amuse himself---he decides to show the monk some "American fun" along the way.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
a thoughtful and often hilarious journey
- By Mary McCarthy on 09-15-11
By: Roland Merullo
-
Vatican Waltz
- A Novel
- By: Roland Merullo
- Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell
- Length: 8 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 138
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 128
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 127
Cynthia Piantedosi lives a quiet, unassuming life with her elderly father just outside of Boston. When she loses her beloved grandmother as a child, her faith takes a turn for the devout, and she begins experiencing what she describes as "spells" - moments of such intense prayer that she loses herself. Uninterested in boys and a social life, she develops a deep friendship with the parish priest, whose ideas are often seen as too provocative by his congregation but who encourages her to explore her spells.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
I enjoyed it until the last page.
- By Pam on 08-15-16
By: Roland Merullo
-
American Savior
- A Novel of Divine Politics
- By: Roland Merullo
- Narrated by: Dion Graham
- Length: 10 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 42
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 40
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 40
Roland Merullo's novel American Savior posits an inspired "what if" scenario: What if Jesus, alarmed at how the earth's most powerful nation has lost its spiritual footing and dismayed at how his own teachings have been distorted - used by politicians and religious zealots to turn love into hatred and faith into a call to arms - returns and announces that he is running for president of the United States?
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Excellent Reading
- By Patti on 12-04-20
By: Roland Merullo
-
The Delight of Being Ordinary
- A Road Trip with the Pope and the Dalai Lama
- By: Roland Merullo
- Narrated by: P. J. Ochlan
- Length: 13 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 390
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 359
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 357
Roland Merullo's playful, eloquent, and life-affirming novel finds the Pope and the Dalai Lama teaming up for an unsanctioned road trip through the Italian countryside to rediscover the everyday joys of life that can seem, even for the two holiest men in the world, unattainable.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Hope this is not the end of the story!
- By LuoL on 10-05-17
By: Roland Merullo
-
Once Night Falls
- By: Roland Merullo
- Narrated by: Angelo Di Loreto
- Length: 10 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 287
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 251
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 250
Italy, 1943. Luca Benedetto has joined the partisans in their fight against the German troops ravaging the shores of his town on Lake Como. While risking his life to free his country, Luca is also struggling to protect Sarah, his Jewish lover who’s hiding in a mountain cabin. As the violent Nazi occupation intensifies, Luca and Sarah fear for more than their own lives.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Joe the Sicilian
- By Carolyn Covello on 12-16-19
By: Roland Merullo
-
From These Broken Streets
- A Novel
- By: Roland Merullo
- Narrated by: Angelo Di Loreto
- Length: 10 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 192
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 174
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 173
Italy, 1943. The Nazi occupation has cemented its grip on the devastated city of Naples. Giuseppe DiPietra, a curator in the National Archives, has a subversive plan to aid the Allies. If he’s discovered, forced labor or swift execution. Lucia Pastone, secretary for the Italian Fascist government, is risking her own life in secret defiance of orders. And Lucia’s father, Aldo, is a black marketeer who draws Giuseppe and Lucia into the underworld - for their protection and to help plant the seeds of resistance.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
I’ve been to Naples and never knew any of this
- By paula wright on 12-30-20
By: Roland Merullo
-
Breakfast with Buddha
- A Novel
- By: Roland Merullo
- Narrated by: Sean Runnette
- Length: 9 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 4,143
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 3,683
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 3,688
When his sister tricks him into taking her guru on a trip to their childhood home, Otto Ringling, a confirmed skeptic, is not amused. Six days on the road with an enigmatic holy man who answers every question with a riddle is not what he'd planned. But in an effort to westernize his passenger---and amuse himself---he decides to show the monk some "American fun" along the way.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
a thoughtful and often hilarious journey
- By Mary McCarthy on 09-15-11
By: Roland Merullo
-
Vatican Waltz
- A Novel
- By: Roland Merullo
- Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell
- Length: 8 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 138
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 128
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 127
Cynthia Piantedosi lives a quiet, unassuming life with her elderly father just outside of Boston. When she loses her beloved grandmother as a child, her faith takes a turn for the devout, and she begins experiencing what she describes as "spells" - moments of such intense prayer that she loses herself. Uninterested in boys and a social life, she develops a deep friendship with the parish priest, whose ideas are often seen as too provocative by his congregation but who encourages her to explore her spells.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
I enjoyed it until the last page.
- By Pam on 08-15-16
By: Roland Merullo
-
American Savior
- A Novel of Divine Politics
- By: Roland Merullo
- Narrated by: Dion Graham
- Length: 10 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 42
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 40
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 40
Roland Merullo's novel American Savior posits an inspired "what if" scenario: What if Jesus, alarmed at how the earth's most powerful nation has lost its spiritual footing and dismayed at how his own teachings have been distorted - used by politicians and religious zealots to turn love into hatred and faith into a call to arms - returns and announces that he is running for president of the United States?
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Excellent Reading
- By Patti on 12-04-20
By: Roland Merullo
-
The Delight of Being Ordinary
- A Road Trip with the Pope and the Dalai Lama
- By: Roland Merullo
- Narrated by: P. J. Ochlan
- Length: 13 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 390
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 359
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 357
Roland Merullo's playful, eloquent, and life-affirming novel finds the Pope and the Dalai Lama teaming up for an unsanctioned road trip through the Italian countryside to rediscover the everyday joys of life that can seem, even for the two holiest men in the world, unattainable.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Hope this is not the end of the story!
- By LuoL on 10-05-17
By: Roland Merullo
-
Once Night Falls
- By: Roland Merullo
- Narrated by: Angelo Di Loreto
- Length: 10 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 287
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 251
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 250
Italy, 1943. Luca Benedetto has joined the partisans in their fight against the German troops ravaging the shores of his town on Lake Como. While risking his life to free his country, Luca is also struggling to protect Sarah, his Jewish lover who’s hiding in a mountain cabin. As the violent Nazi occupation intensifies, Luca and Sarah fear for more than their own lives.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Joe the Sicilian
- By Carolyn Covello on 12-16-19
By: Roland Merullo
-
From These Broken Streets
- A Novel
- By: Roland Merullo
- Narrated by: Angelo Di Loreto
- Length: 10 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 192
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 174
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 173
Italy, 1943. The Nazi occupation has cemented its grip on the devastated city of Naples. Giuseppe DiPietra, a curator in the National Archives, has a subversive plan to aid the Allies. If he’s discovered, forced labor or swift execution. Lucia Pastone, secretary for the Italian Fascist government, is risking her own life in secret defiance of orders. And Lucia’s father, Aldo, is a black marketeer who draws Giuseppe and Lucia into the underworld - for their protection and to help plant the seeds of resistance.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
I’ve been to Naples and never knew any of this
- By paula wright on 12-30-20
By: Roland Merullo
-
Dreams from My Father
- A Story of Race and Inheritance
- By: Barack Obama
- Narrated by: Barack Obama
- Length: 14 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 526
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 455
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 451
In this lyrical, unsentimental, and compelling memoir, the son of a Black African father and a White American mother searches for a workable meaning to his life as a Black American. It begins in New York, where Barack Obama learns that his father - a figure he knows more as a myth than as a man - has been killed in a car accident. This sudden death inspires an emotional odyssey - first to a small town in Kansas, from which he retraces the migration of his mother’s family to Hawaii, and then to Kenya, where he meets the African side of his family.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Powerful
- By Gene R. on 10-26-21
By: Barack Obama
-
My Beloved World
- By: Sonia Sotomayor
- Narrated by: Rita Moreno
- Length: 12 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2,403
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 2,084
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 2,079
The first Hispanic and third woman appointed to the United States Supreme Court, Sonia Sotomayor has become an instant American icon. Now, with a candor and intimacy never undertaken by a sitting Justice, she recounts her life from a Bronx housing project to the federal bench, a journey that offers an inspiring testament to her own extraordinary determination and the power of believing in oneself.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Overcoming proverty via education
- By Jean on 01-17-13
By: Sonia Sotomayor
-
The Plot Against America
- By: Philip Roth
- Narrated by: Ron Silver
- Length: 13 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 3,423
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 3,079
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 3,069
In an astonishing feat of empathy and narrative invention, our most ambitious novelist imagines an alternate version of American history. In 1940 Charles A. Lindbergh, heroic aviator and rabid isolationist, is elected president. Shortly thereafter, he negotiates a cordial "understanding" with Adolf Hitler while the new government embarks on a program of folksy anti-Semitism.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Life is imitating Roth's art
- By Matthew on 08-04-16
By: Philip Roth
-
The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace
- A Brilliant Young Man Who Left Newark for the Ivy League
- By: Jeff Hobbs
- Narrated by: George Newbern
- Length: 13 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2,890
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 2,601
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 2,599
When author Jeff Hobbs arrived at Yale University, he became fast friends with the man who would be his college roommate for four years, Robert Peace. Robert's life was rough from the beginning in the crime-ridden streets of Newark in the 1980s, with his father in jail and his mother earning less than $15,000 a year. But Robert was a brilliant student, and it was supposed to get easier when he was accepted to Yale, where he studied molecular biochemistry and biophysics.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
I've Heard This Before
- By Jami on 07-27-16
By: Jeff Hobbs
-
An American Family
- A Memoir of Hope and Sacrifice
- By: Khizr Khan
- Narrated by: Khizr Khan
- Length: 11 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 160
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 146
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 146
Khizr Khan electrified viewers around the world when he took the stage at the 2016 Democratic National Convention. And when he offered to lend Donald Trump his own much-read and dog-eared pocket Constitution, his gesture perfectly encapsulated the feelings of millions.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Inspirational immigrant memoir
- By Mark on 04-16-18
By: Khizr Khan
-
Growing Up Biden
- A Memoir
- By: Valerie Biden Owens
- Narrated by: Valerie Biden Owens
- Length: 8 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 96
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 88
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 88
A memoir from Joe Biden’s younger sister, trusted confidante, and lifelong campaign manager, Growing Up Biden details Valerie’s decades-long professional career in politics, and the central role she played in her brother’s life as an insightful adviser, an ever-loyal advocate, and a best friend. This memoir, full of candor and warmth, brings listeners into the Biden home and shares stories from growing up in Delaware as the only daughter of the close-knit Irish Catholic family.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Family values and empathy
- By sonia hampton on 06-07-22
-
A Secret Gift
- How One Man's Kindness - and a Trove of Letters - Revealed the Hidden History of the Great Depression
- By: Ted Gup
- Narrated by: Mark Deaking
- Length: 9 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 80
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 61
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 58
An inspiring account of America at its worst - and Americans at their best - woven from the stories of Depression-era families who were helped by gifts from the author's generous and secretive grandfather.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Great for true story, history, genealogy lovers
- By Mark on 12-16-21
By: Ted Gup
-
Between Them
- Remembering My Parents
- By: Richard Ford
- Narrated by: Christian Baskous
- Length: 3 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 87
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 78
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 77
How is it that we come to consider our parents as people with rich and intense lives that include but also exclude us? Richard Ford's parents - Edna, a feisty, pretty Catholic-school girl with a difficult past; and Parker, a sweet-natured, soft-spoken traveling salesman - were rural Arkansans born at the turn of the 20th century. Married in 1928, they lived "alone together" on the road, traveling throughout the South. Eventually they had one child, born late, in 1944.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
I wish Ford had read it himself
- By barbara l. bornstein on 05-11-17
By: Richard Ford
-
Glad Farm
- A Memoir
- By: Catherine Marenghi
- Narrated by: Catherine Marenghi
- Length: 8 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 78
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 71
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 70
Raised in a primitive one-room farmhouse with no indoor plumbing, the fourth of five children, Catherine Marenghi begins her life in poverty and isolation. She leaves home at the age of 17. A decade later, she is a successful journalist with the means to buy her family their first decent house. But the past will not be put to rest so easily. Catherine unravels a web of long-buried family secrets, and a terrible betrayal that robbed her family of the home that was rightfully theirs. And she finally uncovers the story her parents never shared: the gladiolus farm that was once their dream.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A beautiful story of a real family!
- By Jacqueline Spiros on 11-28-23
-
The Beloved World of Sonia Sotomayor
- By: Sonia Sotomayor
- Narrated by: Jaina Lee Ortiz, Sonia Sotomayor
- Length: 9 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 18
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 16
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 16
Sonia Sotomayor, the first Hispanic and third woman appointed to the Supreme Court of the United States, was a young girl when she dared to dream big. Her dream? To become a lawyer and a judge. Sonia did not let the hardships of her background - which included growing up in the rough housing projects of New York City's South Bronx, dealing with juvenile diabetes, coping with parents who argued and fought personal demons, and worrying about money - stand in her way. Always, she believed in herself. Her determination propelled her ever forward.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Heard this in one sitting
- By MamaDskee on 09-28-18
By: Sonia Sotomayor
-
Growing Up
- By: Russell Baker
- Narrated by: Corey M. Snow
- Length: 8 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 138
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 113
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 113
In this heartfelt memoir by the Masterpiece Theatre host, Pulitzer Prize winner, and groundbreaking New York Times columnist, Russell Baker traces his youth in the mountains of rural Virginia. When Baker was only five, his father died. His mother, strong-willed and matriarchal, never looked back. After all, she had three children to raise. These were Depression years, and Mrs. Baker moved her fledgling family to Baltimore. Baker's mother was determined her children would succeed, and we know her regimen worked for Russell.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Authentic and Heart Warming
- By Mark Parsells on 01-17-19
By: Russell Baker
-
George & Barbara Bush
- A Great American Love Story
- By: Ellie LeBlond Sosa, Kelly Anne Chase, George W. Bush - foreword
- Narrated by: Erin Bennett
- Length: 5 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 52
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 49
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 49
"To begin with I was in love and I am in love so that's not hard," Barbara Bush told her granddaughter Ellie LeBlond Sosa. Sosa had asked for the secret to her and President George H.W. Bush's 77-year love affair that withstood World War II separation, a leap of faith into the oil fields of West Texas, the painful loss of a child, a political climb to the highest office, and after the White House, the transition back to a "normal" life. Sosa and co-author Kelly Anne Chase paint the portrait of the enduring relationship of George and Barbara Bush.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A Beautiful, Uplifting Read!
- By Cathi Hughes on 03-18-23
By: Ellie LeBlond Sosa, and others
Publisher's summary
What a Father Leaves is the story of two men, father and son - each stubborn and determined in his own way, each facing the trials of life with a particular determination - and the way they come to understand and respect each other.
This essay and several others can be found in Revere Beach Elegy: A Memoir of Home and Beyond.
Michael Upchurch of the Seattle Times said "Revere Beach Elegy is an autobiography in 10 essays that is sublimely refreshing in its love and generosity. Merullo's prose, as he outlines the worlds he cherishes, has a luminous subtlety that brings alive rich layers of feeling in an immediate intelligible manner. His eye stays intently trained on how we guide ourselves through life."
"Revere Beach Elegy is a smart and moving meditation on social class, boundaries and mobility...and much more," said Ray Suarez of NPR and The Washington Post.
And, the Chicago Tribune had this to say about the memoir, "Merullo has a knack for rendering emotional complexities, paradoxes, or impasses in a mere turn of the phrase."
Related to this topic
-
George & Barbara Bush
- A Great American Love Story
- By: Ellie LeBlond Sosa, Kelly Anne Chase, George W. Bush - foreword
- Narrated by: Erin Bennett
- Length: 5 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 52
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 49
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 49
"To begin with I was in love and I am in love so that's not hard," Barbara Bush told her granddaughter Ellie LeBlond Sosa. Sosa had asked for the secret to her and President George H.W. Bush's 77-year love affair that withstood World War II separation, a leap of faith into the oil fields of West Texas, the painful loss of a child, a political climb to the highest office, and after the White House, the transition back to a "normal" life. Sosa and co-author Kelly Anne Chase paint the portrait of the enduring relationship of George and Barbara Bush.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A Beautiful, Uplifting Read!
- By Cathi Hughes on 03-18-23
By: Ellie LeBlond Sosa, and others
-
Finding Samuel Lowe
- China, Jamaica, Harlem
- By: Paula Williams Madison
- Narrated by: Paula Williams Madison
- Length: 7 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 28
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 23
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 23
Thanks to her spiteful, jealous Jamaican mother, Nell Vera Lowe was cut off from her Chinese father, Samuel, when she was just a baby, after he announced that he was taking a Chinese bride. By the time Nell was old enough to travel to her father's shop in St. Anne's Bay, he'd taken his family back to China, never learning what became of his eldest daughter. Bereft, Nell left Jamaica for New York to start a new life.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Fascinating
- By ayodele higgs on 01-27-16
-
Lady Bird
- A Biography of Mrs. Johnson
- By: Jan Jarboe Russell
- Narrated by: Andrea Gallo
- Length: 16 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 25
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 25
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 25
A revealing biography of Lady Bird Johnson with startling new insights into her marriage to Lyndon Baines Johnson and her unexpectedly strong impact on his presidency. Long obscured by her husband's shadow, Claudia "Lady Bird" Johnson emerges in this first comprehensive biography as a figure of surprising influence and the centering force for LBJ, a man who suffered from extreme mood swings and desperately needed someone to help control his darker impulses.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
Do not waste an audible credit
- By Sandra B. on 10-15-23
-
Daughters of the Flower Fragrant Garden
- Two Sisters Separated by China’s Civil War
- By: Zhuqing Li
- Narrated by: Nancy Wu
- Length: 11 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 77
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 65
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 65
Scions of a once-great southern Chinese family that produced the tutor of the last emperor, Jun and Hong were each other’s best friends until, in their twenties, they were separated at the end of the Chinese Civil War. One became a model Communist, the other a model capitalist. On Taiwan, Jun married a Nationalist general, established a trading company, and emigrated to the United States. On the Communist mainland, Hong built her medical career under a cloud of suspicion about her family and survived two waves of “re-education” before she was acclaimed for her achievements.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Wonderful Story of a Family’s Survival Through Political Change…
- By Marie G. on 04-12-23
By: Zhuqing Li
-
Native Country of the Heart
- A Memoir
- By: Cherríe Moraga
- Narrated by: Cherríe Moraga
- Length: 7 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 55
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 51
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 52
Native Country of the Heart is the writer and activist Cherrie Moraga's love letter to her "unlettered" mother. It begins with her mother, Elvira Isabel Moraga, who as a child, along with her siblings, was hired out by her own father to pick cotton in California's Imperial Valley. The lives of Cherrie and her mother, and of their people, are woven together in a story of critical reflection and deep personal revelation as Moraga charts her own coming to consciousness alongside the heartbreaking story of her mother's decline.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
a must read for all chicanx
- By Rachel Barnett on 04-28-19
By: Cherríe Moraga
-
Reading My Father
- A Memoir
- By: Alexandra Styron
- Narrated by: Alexandra Styron
- Length: 10 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 64
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 40
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 38
Alexandra Styron's parents—the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Sophie’s Choice and his political activist wife, Rose—were, for half a century, leading players on the world’s cultural stage. Alexandra was raised under both the halo of her father’s brilliance and the long shadow of his troubled mind. Reading My Father portrays the epic sweep of an American artist’s life. It is also a tale of filial love, beautifully written with humor, compassion, and grace.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
William Styron Ranks...
- By Douglas on 12-22-13
By: Alexandra Styron
-
George & Barbara Bush
- A Great American Love Story
- By: Ellie LeBlond Sosa, Kelly Anne Chase, George W. Bush - foreword
- Narrated by: Erin Bennett
- Length: 5 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 52
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 49
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 49
"To begin with I was in love and I am in love so that's not hard," Barbara Bush told her granddaughter Ellie LeBlond Sosa. Sosa had asked for the secret to her and President George H.W. Bush's 77-year love affair that withstood World War II separation, a leap of faith into the oil fields of West Texas, the painful loss of a child, a political climb to the highest office, and after the White House, the transition back to a "normal" life. Sosa and co-author Kelly Anne Chase paint the portrait of the enduring relationship of George and Barbara Bush.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A Beautiful, Uplifting Read!
- By Cathi Hughes on 03-18-23
By: Ellie LeBlond Sosa, and others
-
Finding Samuel Lowe
- China, Jamaica, Harlem
- By: Paula Williams Madison
- Narrated by: Paula Williams Madison
- Length: 7 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 28
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 23
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 23
Thanks to her spiteful, jealous Jamaican mother, Nell Vera Lowe was cut off from her Chinese father, Samuel, when she was just a baby, after he announced that he was taking a Chinese bride. By the time Nell was old enough to travel to her father's shop in St. Anne's Bay, he'd taken his family back to China, never learning what became of his eldest daughter. Bereft, Nell left Jamaica for New York to start a new life.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Fascinating
- By ayodele higgs on 01-27-16
-
Lady Bird
- A Biography of Mrs. Johnson
- By: Jan Jarboe Russell
- Narrated by: Andrea Gallo
- Length: 16 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 25
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 25
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 25
A revealing biography of Lady Bird Johnson with startling new insights into her marriage to Lyndon Baines Johnson and her unexpectedly strong impact on his presidency. Long obscured by her husband's shadow, Claudia "Lady Bird" Johnson emerges in this first comprehensive biography as a figure of surprising influence and the centering force for LBJ, a man who suffered from extreme mood swings and desperately needed someone to help control his darker impulses.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
Do not waste an audible credit
- By Sandra B. on 10-15-23
-
Daughters of the Flower Fragrant Garden
- Two Sisters Separated by China’s Civil War
- By: Zhuqing Li
- Narrated by: Nancy Wu
- Length: 11 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 77
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 65
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 65
Scions of a once-great southern Chinese family that produced the tutor of the last emperor, Jun and Hong were each other’s best friends until, in their twenties, they were separated at the end of the Chinese Civil War. One became a model Communist, the other a model capitalist. On Taiwan, Jun married a Nationalist general, established a trading company, and emigrated to the United States. On the Communist mainland, Hong built her medical career under a cloud of suspicion about her family and survived two waves of “re-education” before she was acclaimed for her achievements.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Wonderful Story of a Family’s Survival Through Political Change…
- By Marie G. on 04-12-23
By: Zhuqing Li
-
Native Country of the Heart
- A Memoir
- By: Cherríe Moraga
- Narrated by: Cherríe Moraga
- Length: 7 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 55
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 51
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 52
Native Country of the Heart is the writer and activist Cherrie Moraga's love letter to her "unlettered" mother. It begins with her mother, Elvira Isabel Moraga, who as a child, along with her siblings, was hired out by her own father to pick cotton in California's Imperial Valley. The lives of Cherrie and her mother, and of their people, are woven together in a story of critical reflection and deep personal revelation as Moraga charts her own coming to consciousness alongside the heartbreaking story of her mother's decline.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
a must read for all chicanx
- By Rachel Barnett on 04-28-19
By: Cherríe Moraga
-
Reading My Father
- A Memoir
- By: Alexandra Styron
- Narrated by: Alexandra Styron
- Length: 10 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 64
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 40
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 38
Alexandra Styron's parents—the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Sophie’s Choice and his political activist wife, Rose—were, for half a century, leading players on the world’s cultural stage. Alexandra was raised under both the halo of her father’s brilliance and the long shadow of his troubled mind. Reading My Father portrays the epic sweep of an American artist’s life. It is also a tale of filial love, beautifully written with humor, compassion, and grace.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
William Styron Ranks...
- By Douglas on 12-22-13
By: Alexandra Styron
-
House of Stone
- A Memoir of Home, Family, and a Lost Middle East
- By: Anthony Shadid
- Narrated by: Neil Shah
- Length: 12 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 89
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 79
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 77
When Anthony Shadid—one of four New York Times reporters captured in Libya as the region erupted—was freed, he went home, not to Boston, Beirut, or Oklahoma, where he was raised by his Lebanese American family, but to an ancient estate built by his great-grandfather, a place filled with memories of a lost era when the Middle East was a world of grace, grandeur, and unexpected departures.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Bit depressing
- By Astrid Dahl on 03-17-12
By: Anthony Shadid
-
Sign My Name to Freedom
- A Memoir of a Pioneering Life
- By: Betty Reid Soskin
- Narrated by: Betty Reid Soskin
- Length: 8 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 39
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 33
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 32
In Betty Reid Soskin’s 96 years of living, she has been a witness to a grand sweep of American history. When she was born in 1921, the lynching of African-Americans was a national epidemic, blackface minstrel shows were the most popular American form of entertainment, white women had only just won the right to vote, and most African-Americans in the Deep South could not vote at all. From her great-grandmother, who had been enslaved until her mid-20s, Betty heard stories of slavery and the times of terror and struggle for Black folk that followed.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Everything Stood Out! It Left Me So Enlightened!
- By Judy H. on 01-31-24
-
Dorothy Day: The World Will Be Saved by Beauty
- An Intimate Portrait of My Grandmother
- By: Kate Hennessy
- Narrated by: Randye Kaye
- Length: 13 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 74
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 67
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 67
Dorothy Day (1897-1980) was a prominent Catholic, writer, social activist, and cofounder of a movement dedicated to serving the poorest of the poor. Her life has been revealed through her own writings as well as the work of historians, theologians, and academics. What has been missing until now is a more personal account from the point of view of someone who knew her well.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
Great content.HORRIBLE Narration. Cannot listen.
- By Christian on 04-21-17
By: Kate Hennessy
-
The World According to Fannie Davis
- My Mother's Life in the Detroit Numbers
- By: Bridgett M. Davis
- Narrated by: Bridgett M. Davis
- Length: 10 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 280
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 235
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 233
A daughter's moving homage to an extraordinary parent, The World According to Fannie Davis is also the suspenseful, unforgettable story about the lengths to which a mother will go to "make a way out of no way" to provide a prosperous life for her family - and how those sacrifices resonate over time. This original, timely, and deeply relatable portrait of one American family is essential listening.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Fantastic
- By BK on 02-15-19
-
Franklin and Lucy
- President Roosevelt, Mrs. Rutherfurd, and the Other Remarkable Women in His Life
- By: Joseph E. Persico
- Narrated by: Ted Barker
- Length: 17 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 64
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 52
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 54
Franklin Delano Roosevelt was arguably the greatest figure of the 20th century. While FDR's official circle was predominantly male, it was his relationships with women - particularly with Lucy Mercer Rutherfurd - that most vividly bring to light the human being beneath this towering statesman.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Franklin and Lucy
- By Connie's on 03-06-09
-
Dreams from My Father
- A Story of Race and Inheritance
- By: Barack Obama
- Narrated by: Barack Obama
- Length: 14 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 526
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 455
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 451
In this lyrical, unsentimental, and compelling memoir, the son of a Black African father and a White American mother searches for a workable meaning to his life as a Black American. It begins in New York, where Barack Obama learns that his father - a figure he knows more as a myth than as a man - has been killed in a car accident. This sudden death inspires an emotional odyssey - first to a small town in Kansas, from which he retraces the migration of his mother’s family to Hawaii, and then to Kenya, where he meets the African side of his family.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Powerful
- By Gene R. on 10-26-21
By: Barack Obama
-
Shanda
- A Memoir of Shame and Secrecy
- By: Letty Cottin Pogrebin
- Narrated by: Dina Pearlman
- Length: 14 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 35
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 32
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 32
The word "shanda" is defined as shame or disgrace in Yiddish. This book, Shanda, tells the story of three generations of complicated, intense twentieth-century Jews for whom the desire to fit in and the fear of public humiliation either drove their aspirations or crushed their spirit. In her deeply engaging, astonishingly candid memoir, author and activist Letty Cottin Pogrebin exposes the fiercely-guarded lies and intricate cover-ups woven by dozens of members of her extended family.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Beautifully Written!
- By Adele Aron Greenspun on 01-12-23
-
Sunny's Nights
- Lost and Found at the Bar at the End of the World
- By: Tim Sultan
- Narrated by: Robert Malloch
- Length: 8 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 33
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 29
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 29
Imagine that Alice had walked into a bar instead of falling down the rabbit hole. In the tradition of J. R. Moehringer’s The Tender Bar and the classic reportage of Joseph Mitchell, here is an indelible portrait of what is quite possibly the greatest bar in the world—and the mercurial, magnificent man behind it. The first time he saw Sunny’s Bar, in 1995, Tim Sultan was lost, thirsty for a drink, and intrigued by the single bar sign among the forlorn warehouses lining the Brooklyn waterfront.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Visiting an Era
- By Carolyn on 03-01-16
By: Tim Sultan
-
Where I Was From
- By: Joan Didion
- Narrated by: Gabrielle De Cuir
- Length: 6 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 163
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 139
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 136
In her moving and insightful new book, Joan Didion reassesses parts of her life, her work, her history and ours. A native Californian, Didion applies her scalpel-like intelligence to the state’s ethic of ruthless self-sufficiency in order to examine that ethic’s often tenuous relationship to reality. Combining history and reportage, memoir and literary criticism, Where I Was From explores California’s romances with land and water; its unacknowledged debts to railroads, aerospace, and big government; the disjunction between its code of individualism and its fetish for prisons.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
California belongs to Joan Didion.
- By Darwin8u on 11-04-15
By: Joan Didion
-
A Chance in the World
- An Orphan Boy, a Mysterious Past, and How He Found a Place Called Home
- By: Steve Pemberton
- Narrated by: Steve Pemberton
- Length: 8 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 148
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 128
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 126
A Chance in the World is the unbelievably true story of a wounded and broken boy destined to become a man of resilience, determination, and vision. Through it all, Steve's story teaches us that no matter how broken our past, no matter how great our misfortunes, we have it in us to create a new beginning and to build a place where love awaits.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Good Book
- By Amazon Customer on 08-19-20
By: Steve Pemberton
-
And So It Goes
- Kurt Vonnegut: A Life
- By: Charles J. Shields
- Narrated by: Fred Berman
- Length: 17 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 79
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 73
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 75
New York Times best-selling author and biographer Charles J. Shields crafts this fascinating portrait of literary icon Kurt Vonnegut. The first authorized biography of the influential American writer, And So It Goes examines Vonnegut’s life, from his childhood to his death in 2007, and explores how the author changed the conversation of American literature.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Probably only for die hard Vonnegut fans
- By Watery M on 12-22-12
-
Stories I Tell Myself
- Growing Up with Hunter S. Thompson
- By: Juan F. Thompson
- Narrated by: Juan F. Thompson
- Length: 8 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 296
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 260
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 255
Hunter S. Thompson, "smart hillbilly"; boy of the South; born and bred in Louisville, Kentucky; son of an insurance salesman and a stay-at-home mom; public school-educated; jailed at 17 on a bogus petty robbery charge; member of the US Air Force (airman second class); copy boy for Time; writer for The National Observer; et cetera.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Hunter Remembered
- By Karen Loucks Rinedollar on 03-31-16
By: Juan F. Thompson
What listeners say about What a Father Leaves
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Prayer Lady
- 01-30-16
Not what I expected
I listened to all the "Buddha" books by Roland Merullo. I loved his voice and the ability to speak accents. I was quite shocked at the Boston accent, lack of chapters, and the nature of this book. (My husband purchased it based on the author and reader). This book is the author's memory and thoughts regarding his father. I felt as though I was listening to pages from his diary. His writing is intriguing. I enjoyed listening to the book and appreciate his sharing his family with us. I would recommend this book.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
4 people found this helpful