Audiobooks narrated by Karen Commins

The Brain-Friendly Workplace: Why Talented People Quit and How to Get Them to Stay

We’re currently confronting a once-in-a-century opportunity to create a future of work that’s better for everyone. The corporate standard of extreme hours, sleep deprivation, and nonstop travel is dead. Tomorrow’s successful businesses will be hybrid, flexible, and—as glimpsed in The Brain-Friendly Workplace—optimized for peak performance.

Friederike Fabritius (Author), Drew Commins, Karen Commins (Narrator)

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A Dashie Discovery: A Mobile Groomer Mystery

Hi, I’m Leslie Winters, and when I left Houston for my hometown of Pecan, Texas, I needed a do-over in a big way. So I set up shop in my dad’s old shed and took on clients less likely to run off with now-cheating exes. My pet-grooming business turned out to be a pretty fun way to make ends meet… until I dropped off two tough Pomeranian clients at their home, and found their dead owner waiting for us. Then local law enforcement finds me at the scene, and my dachshund finds the murder weapon right in front of them. Oh, boy! Now I’m out to solve the crime before a certain dreamy detective tries to collar me for the crime. But someone is on my tail, and they’re making it clear they don’t want me to investigate. After a few close shaves, I’m now more determined than ever to solve this case. Can I figure out whodunnit before I wind up in deep do-do or worse?

M Alfano (Author), Karen Commins (Narrator)

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Broken Icarus: The 1933 Chicago World's Fair, the Golden Age of Aviation, and the Rise of Fascism

The 1930s still conjure painful images: the great want of the Depression, and overseas, the exuberant crowds motivated by self-appointed national saviors dressing up old hatreds as new ideas. But there was another story that embodied mankind in that decade. In the same year that both Adolf Hitler and Franklin D. Roosevelt came to power, the city of Chicago staged what was, up to that time, the most forward-looking international exhibition in history. The 1933 World's Fair looked to the future, unabashedly, as one full of glowing promise.No technology loomed larger at the Fair than aviation. And no persons at the Fair captured the public's interest as much as the romantic figures associated with it: Italy's internationally renowned chief of aeronautics, Italo Balbo; German Zeppelin designer and captain, Doctor Hugo Eckener; and the husband-and-wife aeronaut team of Swiss-born Jean Piccard and Chicago-born Jeannette Ridlon Piccard.This golden age of aviation and its high priests and priestesses portended to

David Hanna (Author), Karen Commins (Narrator)

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Snake Eyes: Murder in A Southern Town

By 1966, Hot Springs, Arkansas wasn’t your typical sleepy little Southern town. Once a favorite destination for mobsters like Al Capone and Lucky Luciano, illegal activities continued to lure out-of-state gamblers, flim-flam men, and high rollers to its racetracks, clubs, and bordellos. Still, the town was shaken to its core after a girl was found dead on a nearby ranch. The ranch owner claimed it was an accident. Then the rancher was found to be the killer of another woman – his fourth wife. The story begins when 13-year-old Cathie Ward was found dead after horseback riding at Blacksnake Ranch on the outskirts of Hot Springs, Arkansas. Frank Davis, the owner of the ranch, tells authorities Cathie’s death is an accident. He claims her foot caught in a stirrup and she was dragged to her death despite his pursuit of the runaway horse. People who know the 42-year-old skilled horseman don’t believe his story, and soon rumors of her rape and murder begin swirling around town. The rumors reach a crescendo after Davis viciously guns down his fourth wife and mother-in-law in broad daylight outside of a laundromat. Davis is arrested and charged with first-degree murder. Soon after, Hot Springs authorities re-open the investigation into Cathie Ward’s death. Snake Eyes is the first book to examine this decades-old murder and cover-up, and the only in-depth account of the man who would become the town’s most notorious villain. Featuring personal interviews, crime scene records, court documents, and Davis’ own prison files, author and lifelong Hot Springs resident Bitty Martin reveals the true story for the first time.

Bitty Martin (Author), Karen Commins (Narrator)

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Rilla of Ingleside

Everyone's heart of Anne ... but have you met Rilla? First published in 1921, Rilla of Ingleside is the 8th book in the Anne of Green Gables series. It is WW1 and Canada has entered the war. Young men enthusiastically join up, mothers and sweethearts stay behind and fill the jobs that once were only for men. The Canadian view of the war and the US President is unique and is revealed through thought, conversation and Rilla's diary. Rilla, the youngest Blythe, grows from the vanity that we saw in her in Rainbow Valley into a caring and responsible young woman. Gilbert drives his first car and only married women can vote. Those left behind at Ingleside devotedly follow the news of the war with each victory and defeat. CAST Narrator - Susan Iannucci Susan - Terah Tucker Rilla - Trisha Rose Gertrude Oliver - Jennifer Fournier Cousin Sophia - Karen Commins Also featuring the voices of: Sarah Bacaller. Ted Wenskus, Robin Siegerman, Russell Gold, David Shears, Emma Faye, Susan Marlowe, Scott Cluthe, Marty Krz, Erin Grassie, Ken Foster, Maureen Boutillier and Denis Daly.

L.M. Montgomery (Author), Jennifer Fournier, Karen Commins, Susan Iannucci, Terah Tucker, Trisha Rose (Narrator)

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Away To Me, My Love: A Sheepdog's Tale of Two Lives

Naomi McDonald impulsively buys a shy Border Collie puppy to fulfill her dream of entering the world of sheepherding. However, this puppy, Luke, shows no signs of herding instinct, and a trainer tells her to put him down. At every juncture, Naomi must decide whether to hold onto her dream of entering herding competitions with her beloved dog. Despite her earnest desire to be a part of this new and exciting world, she inadvertently makes an enemy who changes everything. In this true story, Naomi embarks on a predestined journey of love and joy, disappointment and sorrow. With Luke and an array of wise friends she finds the trauma she suffered as a child has given her the strength she needs to overcome the greatest enemy of all: self-doubt and fear.

Naomi Mcdonald (Author), Karen Commins, Tom Berenson (Narrator)

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The Essential Scalia: On the Constitution, the Courts, and the Rule of Law

Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia in his own words: the definitive collection of his opinions, speeches, and articles on the most essential and vexing legal questions, with an intimate foreword by Justice Elena Kagan A justice on the United States Supreme Court for three decades, Antonin Scalia transformed the way that judges, lawyers, and citizens think about the law. The Essential Scalia presents Justice Scalia on his own terms, allowing readers to understand the reasoning and insights that made him one of the most consequential jurists in American history. Known for his forceful intellect and remarkable wit, Scalia mastered the art of writing in a way that both educated and entertained. This comprehensive collection draws from the best of Scalia's opinions, essays, speeches, and testimony to paint a complete and nuanced portrait of his jurisprudence. This compendium addresses the hot-button issues of the times, from abortion and the right to bear arms to marriage, free speech, religious liberty, and so much more. It also presents the justice's wise insights on perennial debates over the structure of government created by our Constitution and the proper methods for interpreting our laws. Brilliant and passionately argued, The Essential Scalia is an indispensable resource for anyone who wants to understand our Constitution, the American legal system, and one of our nation's most influential and highly regarded jurists and thinkers.

Antonin Scalia (Author), Christopher Scalia, Jason Culp, Karen Commins (Narrator)

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Jailed For Freedom

Although half of the population, women were treated as second class citizens in the United States and denied the fundamental right to vote. In 1872, Susan B. Anthony dared to cast her vote in a national election. She was arrested, tried, and convicted of the crime of 'voting without having a lawful right to vote'. Women continuously asked for the vote. They pleaded for it for decades. Some states granted enfranchisement, but Congress could not be persuaded to adopt an amendment guaranteeing women their long-overdue national enfranchisement. Alice Paul, a quiet but compelling leader, learned about militant tactics in England from the Pankhursts. She returned to the United States and led a group of women who became the National Woman's Party in a suffrage parade in Washington, DC. This 1913 parade occurred the day before Woodrow Wilson was inaugurated as president. These determined women pressured Congress and publicly reminded Wilson every day of the suffrage issue until he surrendered. This thrilling, firsthand account from suffragist Doris Stevens details the organized protests that hundreds of courageous women from across the country undertook in DC between 1913 and 1919, as well as the brutal consequences they had to endure. They were ridiculed, persecuted, jailed, beaten, and forcibly fed. Nevertheless, they persisted until they eventually prevailed. Jewel Audiobooks is proud and honored to publish this captivating audiobook in recognition of those remarkable, resilient women and in celebration of the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment to the US Constitution.

Doris Stevens (Author), Karen Commins (Narrator)

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Mary Lincoln: Biography of a Marriage

Many people in history have claimed that Abraham Lincoln never loved Mary Todd Lincoln, and that in fact his love was focused upon Anne Rutledge. They declared that his wife hurt him politically though she drove him to the Presidency, that she embarrassed him financially as well as socially, and inflicted on him the agony of adjustment to her psychopathic personality. Yet, is there any truth to any of these pronouncements? Ruth Painter Randall’s brilliant biography of Mary and Abraham Lincoln sheds new light upon their marriage and dispels the myths that have surrounded it. By analyzing and cross-referencing a massive quantity of material, including long-lost telegrams and letters, Randall has reconstructed what the marriage was truly like and provided a picture of Mary Lincoln without any prejudice or unsupported evidence. This audiobook rehabilitates the reputation of Mary Lincoln and deserves to be listen to by all those who wish to find the truth about the remarkable relationship between Mary and her husband and the impact that she made on him throughout his years in office. Ruth Painter Randall was an American biographer and scholar who focused upon the lives of the Lincoln family. She published this first definitive biography of Mary Lincoln in 1953. Critical Reviews: “This is an important and definitive volume. As its title implies, not only is it a full-length portrait of Mary Todd Lincoln but, in reality, a double biography of Abraham and his hitherto misunderstood and much maligned wife.” (Harry J. Carman, The American Historical Review) 'A passionate defense of Mary Lincoln and a revelation — conclusively documented — of a marriage rooted in unremitting devotion and mutual love.' (Kirkus Reviews)

Ruth Painter Randall (Author), Karen Commins (Narrator)

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So Big

Author Edna Ferber described the story of SO BIG as being about a 'material man, son of his earth-grubbing, idealistic mother.' Left an orphan at 19 years old in the late 1880s, Selina Peake needs to support herself. She leaves the city life she has known to become a teacher in the farming community of High Prairie, IL. Her father had told her that life is an adventure, and one should make the most of it. Selina sees beauty everywhere, including in the fields of cabbages. She has a natural curiosity about farming and oversteps the woman's traditional role by having the audacity to ask the men questions. She soon marries Pervus DeJong, a farmer. Selina eagerly offers suggestions for operational improvements, but Pervus ignores her, preferring to use the unprofitable farming methods employed by his father. Though she suffers many hardships, Selina always remembers the importance of beauty, and she admires those who exercise their creative talents. She tries to instill these views in her son Dirk and fights with her husband over the need for their child to get a full education. Once Dirk finishes college and starts work, will he retain Selina's values? SO BIG was the first book to have the rare distinction of being the best-selling book of the year and win the Pulitzer Prize for fiction.

Edna Ferber (Author), Karen Commins (Narrator)

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Road to Tara: The Life of Margaret Mitchell

Margaret Mitchell was as complex and compelling as her legendary heroine, Scarlett O'Hara, and her story is as dramatic as anything out of her own imagination. Indeed, it is the basis for the legend she created. Gone with the Wind took the American public by storm and went on to become one of the most popular books and motion pictures of all time. The book was a phenomenon whose success has never been equaled, but it shattered Margaret Mitchell's private life. In Road to Tara, Anne Edwards tells the real story of Margaret Mitchell and the extraordinary novel that has become part of our heritage.

Anne Edwards (Author), Karen Commins (Narrator)

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Bly vs Bisland: Beating Phileas Fogg in a Race Around The World

Following the publication of Jules Verne's novel Around the World in Eighty Days in 1873, Americans had an increasing interest in travel. World travel was becoming even easier with the faster steamships of the day. In 1888, Nellie Bly, a feisty, investigative reporter for Joseph Pulitzer's New York World newspaper, pitched a story idea of traveling around the world in 75 days to beat the record achieved by Phileas Fogg, the character in Verne's book. While the editor thought it a great idea, he naturally thought the trip should be made by a man. The idea was shelved for over a year. One day in November 1889, Bly's editor told her the trip against Fogg's time would occur, and she would be the reporter to go - in just two days! She sailed east toward England on 14 November, 1889. The Cosmopolitan was a rival magazine in New York. Not to be outdone by Pulitizer, the Cosmopolitan editors suddenly decided - seemingly within minutes of Bly's departure - to send their own female reporter, Elizabeth Bisland, on a world trip with the intent to return to New York before Bly. Bisland left that evening on a train going west to San Francisco. Both reporters wrote detailed accounts of their journeys. For the first time, their writings have been combined in this book so that a consistent timeline is maintained between both women. The listener can feel the urgency and uniqueness of their travels while fully enjoying the similarities and differences in the authors' styles and their experiences. Who will win the race? Elizabeth Cochrane adopted the name of the Stephen Foster song Nelly Bly as her pen name. This famous song is performed in the credits by noted musicians Vivian and Phil Williams and is used with their gracious permission. You can hear more of their music at VoyagerRecords.com.

Elizabeth Bisland, Nellie Bly (Author), Karen Commins, Melissa Reizian Frank (Narrator)

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Audiobooks Narrated by Karen Commins