Memoir Audiobooks | Biography & Memoir

Balcony Over Jerusalem: A Middle East Memoir - Israel, Palestine and Beyond

An intimate account of the Israel-Palestine conflict and beyond, from one of Australia's most experienced foreign correspondents. Now updated with a foreword by Stan Grant and a new author's note. 'Lyons knows if you stand with the suffering, you're closer to the truth' Stan Grant, award-winning journalist and bestselling author 'A penetrating analysis of power with empathy for the human story' Sarah Ferguson, presenter of 7.30 Leading Australian journalist John Lyons takes readers on a fascinating personal journey through the wonders and dangers of the Middle East. In this updated edition, Lyons draws from his years living in Jerusalem to give context to the devastating war between Israel and Palestinians in Gaza and gives readers a behind-the-scenes look at the Israeli occupation of the West Bank. Having reported on the Middle East for three decades, Lyons has interviewed everyone from senior Israeli military and intelligence figures to key leaders from Hezbollah and Hamas. He's witnessed the brutal Iranian Revolutionary Guard up close, was kidnapped by Egyptian soldiers, and was one of the last foreign journalists in Iran during the violent crackdown on the 'Green Revolution'. He's confronted Hamas officials about why they fire rockets into Israel and Israeli soldiers about why they fire tear gas at Palestinian schoolchildren. Beyond the politics and headlines, Lyons explains the Middle East through everyday life and experiences: his son's school, the markets, and the conversations with friends on their balcony overlooking it all. Through Lyons' incisive reporting, you will develop an empathetic understanding of what brought us to this tragic impasse - and where it's headed next.

John Lyons (Author), Peter Houghton (Narrator)

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Gold from Iron: A Humble Beginning, Olympic Dreams, and the Power in Getting Back Up

A daring and improbable story of Olympic gold from blue-collar origins Every summer in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, Nick Baumgartner went to work pouring concrete, taking on the harsh physical conditions of the construction trade to support his professional snowboarding dreams come winter. To limit travel time while he trained for the Olympics an hour and a half away from home, he lived out of a crusty, old construction van, parked anywhere he could find a spot. And in 2022, after seventeen years of failure—all the crashes, injuries, and personal setbacks—he won Olympic gold at forty years old, becoming the oldest Olympic snowboard medalist in history. In this candid and affable memoir, Baumgartner details his journey from a one-stoplight town to the podium in Beijing. Tales of crisscrossing the globe on the racing circuit and competing in four Olympic Games sit comfortably alongside Baumgartner’s reflections as a single parent and his affectionate portrayal of Iron River, Michigan, the community that raised him. More than just a sports story, Gold from Iron is a tale of massive dreams, constant sacrifice, and the lessons that can be learned racing down an ice-covered course on a carbon fiber board.

Nick Baumgartner (Author), Dan Bittner (Narrator)

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The Sign of Jonas

Begun five years after he entered the Abbey of Our Lady of Gethsemani, The Sign of Jonas is an extraordinary view of Merton's life in a Trappist monastery, and it serves also as a spiritual log recording the deep meaning and increasing sureness he felt in his vocation: the growth of a mind that finds in its contracted physical world new intellectual and spiritual dimensions.

Thomas Merton (Author), Tom Mcelroy (Narrator)

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Lotus Girl: My Life at the Crossroads of Buddhism and America

The daughter of an artist, Helen Tworkov grew up in the heady climate of the New York School of Abstract Expressionism; yet from an early age, she questioned the value of Western cultural norms. At the age of twenty-two, she set off for Japan, then traveled through Cambodia, India, and eventually to Tibetan refugee camps in Nepal. Set against the arresting cultural backdrop of the sixties and their legacy, this intimate self-portrait depicts Tworkov's search for a true home as she interacts with renowned artists and spiritual luminaries including the Dalai Lama, Pema Chödrön, Joseph Goldstein, Bernie Glassman, Charles Mingus, Elizabeth Murray, and Richard Serra. Interweaving experience, research, and revelation, Helen Tworkov explores the relationship between Buddhist wisdom and American values, presenting a wholly unique look at the developing landscape of Buddhism in the West. Lotus Girl offers insight not only into Tworkov's own search for the truth but also into the ways each of us can better understand and transform ourselves.

Helen Tworkov (Author), Helen Tworkov (Narrator)

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Becoming Story: A Journey Among Seasons, Places, Trees, and Ancestors

A gently powerful memoir about deepening your relationship with your homeland. For the first time in more than twenty-five years, Greg Sarris-whose novels are esteemed alongside those of Louise Erdrich and Stephen Graham Jones-presents a book about his own life. In Becoming Story he asks: What does it mean to be truly connected to the place you call home-to walk where innumerable generations of your ancestors have walked? And what does it mean when you dedicate your life to making that connection even deeper? Moving between his childhood and the present day, Sarris creates a kaleidoscopic narrative about the forces that shaped his early years and his eventual work as a tribal leader. He considers the deep past, historical traumas, and possible futures of his homeland. His acclaimed storytelling skills are in top form here, and he charts his journey in prose that is humorous, searching, and profound. Described as 'jewellike' by the San Francisco Chronicle, Becoming Story is also a gently powerful guide in the art of belonging to the place where you live.

Greg Sarris (Author), Lyle Blaker (Narrator)

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Heidi Across America: One Woman's Journey on a Bicycle through the Heartland

A memoir of homecoming – Heidi Across America is a gritty story of how opening our hearts to others enables us to open our hearts to ourselves and love what we find there. In the summer of 2010, Heidi Beierle had just finished her first year of graduate studies in community and regional planning and decided to pedal her bicycle solo from her home on the west coast across rural America to the Preserving the Historic Road conference in Washington, D.C. What started as a research trip turned into an intimately physical and psychological encounter with self and nationhood. Heidi was 35 at the time and didn’t love much about herself except her ability to endure grueling physical undertakings. She viewed her journey as an opportunity to fix her failures and insufficiencies. There were also some research questions she wanted to explore: Why do people live in small towns and what do they like about it? Did a bicyclist like herself bring economic benefit to the small towns she visited? What could communities do to support or invite cyclists to stay in their towns? What could cyclists do to support the communities? Along the way, she was surprised by the kindness of strangers and the emotional pinch of traveling through Wyoming where she grew up. Her journey led her through the Plains and into the Ozarks where the heat climbed to agonizing temperatures and every pedal stroke in the heat felt one closer to death. By the time she completed the trip, Heidi discovered a newfound compassion for herself and a growing love for her country. Strangers opened their hearts to her and in turn, she opened her heart to herself. And her questions began to change and mirror things many Americans are asking themselves today: How can I be okay in my own skin? What does it mean to be enough? How do I satisfy my desire to travel without harming the planet? What does it mean to love America? For many young people, it is a rite of passage to light out on an adventure to see the world and expose themselves to new experiences, but we don’t often talk about how Americans seeing America can open us to the diversity, awe, and wonder available right here in our nation. Heidi Across America offers a journey to self-love, empathy, consideration for others, and respect for the spirit of place as pathways to find connection and home.

Heidi Beierle (Author), Morgan Hallett (Narrator)

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Breakthrough: How to Think Like a Scientist, Learn How to Fail and Embrace the Unknown

Brought to you by Penguin. Science helps us to understand ourselves in a world where we often feel like strangers - but what we know about the world around us, what has already been explored and discovered is only half of science's story. Unexplained will explore the frontier between what we do and don't know about the world: where knowledge meets mystery, complexity overwhelms certainty, and the vastness of our universe unspools the logic of science's established laws. Dr Camilla Pang will teach you to embrace the beauty in the unexplained and fall in love with the search for unknown answers. Camilla will look at some of the biggest mysteries facing science today, and more importantly, how some of the best scientists in the world are exploring them. Their approaches to scientific observation, hypothesis, exploration, troubleshooting and discovery can teach us valuable lessons about the mysteries of our own lives. There's a scientist hidden inside all of us, an explorer who wants to harness what motivates us, explore the grey areas in our lives and understand how our world - beset by new technology and ubiquitous information - is constantly changing. We can all learn something from the spirit of exploration and discovery that science demands. Its greatest gift to us is not formulae, not techniques and laws, but enabling the urge to discover that makes us truly human. ©2024 Camilla Pang (P)2024 Penguin Audio

Camilla Pang (Author), Dr Camilla Pang, TBD (Narrator)

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Love, Mom: Inspiring Stories Celebrating Motherhood

From Fox News medical contributor Dr. Nicole Saphier, comes an inspiring collection of powerful first-person stories celebrating motherhood, from Fox News personalities and extraordinary moms around America. Unmatched and unwavering, mothers are the embodiment of selfless, pure, and unconditional love. But so often, the sacrifices and triumphs of motherhood go unrecognized. Now, in Love, Mom, Fox News medical contributor and mom of three, Dr. Nicole Saphier, shines a light on the power of a mother’s love, with inspiring first-person stories from moms in the Fox News family. For Dr. Saphier—who was just a teenager when she gave birth to her first son—motherhood was a transformative responsibility. Like so many moms featured in this book, Dr. Saphier’s story is an inspiration for what it means to be there for your child, no matter where you are in life. With contributions from Fox News anchors and contributors such as Ainsley Earhardt, Rachel Campos-Duffy, Kayleigh McEnany, Janice Dean, Martha MacCallum, Sandra Smith, and Carley Shimkus, this collection will touch the hearts of mothers—and anyone who has experienced a mother’s love—from all walks of life. In Love, Mom, Dr. Saphier interviews mothers about their greatest challenges, with powerful stories and insightful reflections about young motherhood, miscarriage, ovarian cancer, mixed race children, postpartum depression, domestic violence, adoption, blended families, and more. Ultimately, Love, Mom is a celebration of motherhood and reminds us that a mother’s strength and love is an extraordinary gift.

Nicole Saphier (Author), Ainsley Earhardt, Carley Shimkus, Janice Dean, Jennifer Griffin, Marguerite Gavin, Nicole Saphier, Rachel Campos-Duffy, Sandra Smith (Narrator)

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Loving Natalee: A Mother's Testament of Hope and Faith

In May of 2005, Beth Holloway received the worst phone call a parent can imagine. Her beautiful daughter, Natalee, had vanished without a trace in Aruba during her high school senior class trip. Four years later, Beth Holloway steps forward to tell the story of her daughter's disappearance and her own harrowing ordeal—and her never-ending belief in the power of faith that gave her hope against all odds. When Natalee went missing, her photograph was splashed across newspaper front pages and television screens from coast to coast. Desperate for clues to the whereabouts of the lost eighteen-year-old, Beth searched relentlessly with the help of a dedicated army of volunteers, encountering roadblocks, obstacles, and misinformation at every step—and unbearable questions that had no answers. Loving Natalee is a shocking, tragic, yet poignant chronicle of an unthinkable event and its aftermath—and the inspiring true story of a mother's strength, courage, devotion, and unwavering love.

Beth Holloway (Author), Beth Holloway, Suehyla El-Attar Young (Narrator)

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Wild Chorus: Finding Harmony with Whales, Wolves, and Other Animals

In Wild Chorus, award-winning author Brenda Peterson draws on her lifelong relationship with animals to explore the wisdom we humans can glean from them. Looking beyond the companionship we enjoy with domesticated animals, Peterson explores how wild animals can become our guides and fellow travelers, helping us navigate the stresses of daily life and a rapidly changing planet. From beluga whales to wolves, raccoons to bears, elk to herons, the stories in this collection offer insights into the intricacies of animals' intuitive communication, compassionate attention, and peaceful adaptation. Featuring vivid, visionary stories, Wild Chorus reveals a world filled with inspiring lessons of kinship, connection, and living in the present. Join Peterson on an incredible journey as she speaks for animals as both an artist and an activist to discover the power of learning from the natural world.

Brenda Peterson (Author), Kate Coventry (Narrator)

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Where to Nest

After college getting her dream job in New York City, Kristen Van Nest thought she had everything a modern millennial was supposed to want: a sexy zip code, a boyfriend, and a corporate job. But instead of feeling content, she soon realized she had no idea who she was and what made her happy. Naturally, she did what any sane person would do: hopped on a plane and spent the rest of her twenties living abroad and traveling the world in search of love, adventure, and new and exciting places to eat bread. By stripping away the cultural norms and expectations she grew up with in the US, Kristen rebuilt from scratch a new identity, sense of self, and life purpose that ultimately led her to move to Los Angeles to pursue comedy. Through living in Luxembourg on a Fulbright Scholarship and then in China for three years working for a wine importer, she takes us across the globe on her adventures—including nearly being murdered by a lover while skiing in Switzerland, navigating Greece during a banking crisis, and visiting Thailand during a government coup—all while struggling to find belonging. Where to Nest is a story for anyone who needs a good laugh, travel ideas, and inspiration for ways to add more joy into their lives.

Kristen Van Nest (Author), Kristen Van Nest (Narrator)

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Dear Mom and Dad: A Letter About Family, Memory, and the America We Once Knew

Written with dignity and grace in the form of a letter to her parents, Ronald and Nancy Reagan, Dear Mom and Dad is that surprisingly poignant work that succeeds not only as a memoir but as a moving account that will inspire listeners to recall their own childhoods in a totally new light. Eager to retell the narrative of her own family and her coming-of-age, Patti Davis casts aside misperceptions that defined her in the past. Far from being the enfant terrible, Dear Mom and Dad reveals young Patti as a sensitive child, who was not able to be the public person her family demanded. Davis casts an empathetic yet honest eye on her parents-on her father, the eternal lifeguard, who saved seventy-seven people, yet failed to create a coherent AIDS policy, and her mother, who never escaped her own tortured youth. What comes across are Davis's burnished skills as a writer. Even as she unravels her mother's highly edited persona, and her father's loving but distant personality, Davis remains steadfast in her artistic expression, as she melds irony, comedy, and tragedy with dreamlike memories of an ever-present past. Dear Mom and Dad, with its account of her father's Alzheimer's and her mother's end-of-life struggles, becomes an account of forgiveness, reaching levels of redemption rarely found in contemporary memoirs.

Patti Davis (Author), Emily Sutton-Smith (Narrator)

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Memoir Audiobooks in Biography & Memoir