Audiobooks narrated by Kymberly Dakin

Extraordinary Groups: How Ordinary Teams Achieve Amazing Results

Why are some teams described in such exceptional terms, while most are not? Bellman and Ryan argue that people instinctively sense when a group experience is something special, something different from the ordinary, something that surpasses their expectations in a positive, remarkable, and hard-to-describe way. These extraordinary groups achieve outstanding results and their members--individually or collectively--experience a profound shift in how they see their world. They are transformed. However large or small, visible or intangible, such transformative shifts happen because the group experience satisfies core needs that members intuitively bring to any group they join. Bellman and Ryan's study suggests there are six needs, forming three pairs related to one's self, the group, and the world in which the group exists. These six elements combine in what the authors describe as the Group Needs model: Acceptance of self while moving toward one's Potential A Bond with others that grows while pursuing a common Purpose Understanding the Reality of the world while collectively making an Impact Whether at work, at home, or in the community, when a group experience meets two or more of these needs, it will stand out for the members of the team. Based on extensive research and filled with examples from amazing groups, Extraordinary Groups presents the Group Needs Model to help anyone nurture extraordinary experiences in their groups and achieve outstanding results. This book is a timely resource for anyone who leads groups including HR and OD professionals, managers, executives, nonprofit managers and directors, virtual teams leaders, and trainers.

Geoffrey M. Bellman, Kathleen D. Ryan (Author), Kymberly Dakin (Narrator)

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Runaway: Stories

The incomparable Alice Munro’s bestselling and rapturously acclaimed Runaway is a book of extraordinary stories about women of all ages and circumstances—and about love and its infinite betrayals and surprises. The runaway of the title story is a young woman who is incapable of leaving her husband. In “Passion,” a country girl emerging into the larger world via a job in a resort hotel discovers, in a single moment of insight, the limits and lies of passion. Three stories concern a woman named Juliet—in the first, she escapes from teaching at a girls’ school into a wild love affair; in the second, she returns with her child to the home of her parents, whose marriage she finally begins to examine; and in the last, her vanished child turns up caught in the grip of a religious cult. In these and other stories, Alice Munro’s understanding of the people about whom she writes makes their lives as real as our own. “Dakin, who also narrated Munro’s last story collection, Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage, works successfully in a narrow band of vocals and tones, grasping that these are stories of voice and of distance, in which motive and outcome often remain mysterious, and in which evenness of delivery is part of the drama of the telling.”--AudioFile

Alice Munro (Author), Kymberly Dakin (Narrator)

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The Cleansed: A Postapocalyptic Adventure of Our Times, Season 1

Fifteen years after the fallout of a massive energy crisis, steadfast homesteaders in rural Maine slog through an off-grid life. This bucolic existence is turned upside-down when John Prophet, a soldier still fighting an unwinnable war, arrives with word of a powerful military force setting up in the ashes of old New York. His message falls on deaf ears except for those of two youths, Maria and Luke, who buck their parents' wishes and set off on a journey filled with grim survivalists, rugged characters, religious maniacs, and dangers of nature that have grown up in this strange land. In what was once New York, life is a tenuous and desperate thing, and the arrival of a military force that offers safety at the expense of freedom is welcomed with open arms. Yet this regime is only the beginning of the troubles in this region. Out of the West, a man comes announcing a great holy war that is to come, and from within the ranks of the military regime comes a man who will stop at nothing to take control of their weapons to sacrifice to his dark God. This lush "mind movie" features over thirty actors, was recorded on locations throughout southern Maine, and features an original score and the production talents of award-winning producer Fred Greenhalgh. Called "epic" by BBC Radio 4 Producer John Dryden, this audio theater production is sure to thrill. "A huge achievement...Epic! A fabulous mix that takes you by the throat. In so much drama it's just about the voices. Here you connect with the sheer physical effort. You can sense the actors sweating."-John Dryden, award-winning director for BBC Radio 4

Frederick Greenhalgh (Author), A Full Cast, Adam Araujo, Andrew Sawyer, Brent Askari, Burke Brimmer, Chris Newcomb, Cole Amorello, Daniel Noel, Dave Marshall, Dylan Chestnutt, Erik Moody, Gary Dixon, Gary Hauger, Ian Carlsen, James Herrera, Janice Gardner, Johnny Speckman, Kate Gurney, Kymberly Dakin, Nat Angstrom, Nate Speckman, Paul Drinan, Pg Lorusso, Philip Hobby, Pope Brock, Reggie Hodges, Richard Mac, Susan Reilly, William Dufris (Narrator)

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Lives of the Pirates

The pirates of legend sailed the seven seas, exercised a salty vocabulary, and pursued lives full of swordplay and adventure. But what was life like for the real pirates of history? What odd animals did William Dampier have on board? Why did Grace O'Malley cut off her hair? And which pirate liked to wear pajamas on deck? Through the spyglass of the seafaring, Kathleen Krull and Kathryn Hewitt return to their acclaimed series of collective biographies, complete with fascinating facts and sly characters. From the notorious to the forgotten, Lives of the Pirates digs up the treasure buried in pirate history--perfect for scurvy dogs and curious readers of all ages.

Kathleen Krull, Kathryn Hewitt (Author), Kymberly Dakin, Ray Childs, Various Readers (Narrator)

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Bad Day for Pretty: A Crime Novel

Sophie Littlefield (Author), Kym Dakin, Kymberly Dakin (Narrator)

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A Bad Day for Sorry

Sophie Littlefield (Author), Kym Dakin, Kymberly Dakin (Narrator)

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Stand-In Groom

With a rare blend of humor, erotic tension, and dead-on emotional truth, New York Times bestselling author Suzanne Brockmann weaves this delightful romance of a man and woman brought together by chance, bound by choice, and in trouble deeper than they realize. Like a knight in a fairy tale, he appeared from out of nowhere and rescued her at the last moment. Now, sizing up the man who’d saved her purse and driven off her attackers, aspiring Boston entrepreneur Chelsea Spencer considered that this good-looking stranger could fit another role—not to mention a tuxedo—equally well. By the end of the week, Chelsea was scheduled to get married as a condition for earning the inheritance necessary to save her fledgling business. There was only one problem: She was short a groom. Johnny Anziano would have been satisfied with a date, but the woman he’d dashed in to save during a street mugging had proposed much more than that. For two weeks’ “work,” he’d earn $75,000 and a luxurious tropical island vacation. By saying a simple, meaningless “I do,” he could save Chelsea one more time. But this time they were facing something a lot more dangerous than a gang of street thugs—their attraction for each other. “One of the funniest and sexiest honeymoon scenes you'll ever read.”--Amazon.com, editorial review

Suzanne Brockmann (Author), Kymberly Dakin (Narrator)

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The Wildwater Walking Club

When Noreen takes a buyout and gets dumped by a boyfriend in one fell swoop, she finds herself with nothing but time to notice everything that's missing in her life. Tess is the teacher next door, who thought she'd be spending the summer with her college-bound daughter, but now that daughter isn't speaking to her. The Wildwater Walking Club is complete when they meet Rosie, the dutiful daughter who moved onto her parents' lavender farm after her mother died-and dragged her family with her. As the Wildwater women walk and talk, and talk and walk, they tally their steps, share their secrets, and let life take them in some new and surprising directions. Throw in a road trip to Seattle for a lavender festival, a career coaching group filled with unemployed Boomers, a clothesline controversy that could only happen in the "burbs," plenty of romantic twists and turns, and a quirky multigenerational cast of supporting characters, and the result is pure Claire Cook-fun, fast, and totally fabulous.

Claire Cook (Author), Kymberly Dakin (Narrator)

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Seeking Peace

In Seeking Peace, bestselling author Mary Pipher turns her attention inward, and with her characteristic honesty, humility, and humanity, explores the lessons of her own life: as a daughter, a mother, a wife, a therapist, and a seeker. She spent her childhood in small towns in the Midwest, the bookworm daughter of a doctor mother and a restless, jack-of-all-trades father. Her parents were often absent, and she was the caretaker for her siblings. She built an identity around being a good sister and the family nurturer. As a grown woman, Pipher found joy and fulfillment as a mother, wife, and therapist, doing what she most enjoyed: learning about the world and helping others. But after the astonishing success of Reviving Ophelia, she found herself overwhelmed by the new demands on her time and attention. In 2002, Pipher experienced a meltdown. Her life on the road and in the public eye had taken its toll on her emotional, mental, and physical well-being. She felt fragile, isolated, and empty. Trying to find a quieter, more peaceful life that would carry her toward greater self-acceptance and joy, she began the hard work of slowing down, crafting a new identity, and discovering the inner tranquility she'd yearned for all her life. In this candid and moving telling of her own remarkable story, Pipher reveals truths about our very human search for happiness and love.

Mary PhD Pipher (Author), Kymberly Dakin (Narrator)

Audiobook

Still Life

Beautiful, happily married, and the owner of a successful interior design business, Casey Marshall couldn't be more content with her life, until a car slams into her at almost fifty miles an hour, breaking nearly every bone in her body and plunging her into a coma. Lying in her hospital bed, Casey realizes that although she is unable to see or communicate, she can hear everything. She quickly discovers that her friends aren't necessarily the people she thought them to be - and that her accident might not have been an accident at all. As she struggles to break free from her living death, she begins to wonder if what lies ahead could be even worse. "It is Fielding's ability to get under the skin of her characters - and her readers - that has made her such a dependably bestselling author," says the Calgary Herald. Smart, suspenseful, and overwhelmingly addictive, Still Life is a novel her fans won't soon forget. "Fielding is a masterful writer." - Romantic Times Book Club

Joy Fielding (Author), Kymberly Dakin (Narrator)

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Life’s a Beach

Life's a bit of a beach these days for Ginger Walsh, who’s single at forty-one and living back home in the family FROG (finished room over garage). Geri, her BlackBerry-obsessed sister, is also nearly off the deep end about her pending fiftieth birthday (and might just drag Ginger with her). Toss in a dumpster-picking father, a Kama Sutra T-shirt –wearing mother, a movie crew come to town with a very cute gaffer, an on-again, off-again glassblower boyfriend, plus a couple of Red Hat realtors, and hilarity ensues. “Dive into this gleefully quirky coming-of-age story centered on…a forty-one-year-old. With the help of her hippie parents, Boyfriend the cat, and a shark-crazy movie crew, Ginger Walsh is finally growing up—and there’s no escaping a few growing pains.”--Redbook

Claire Cook (Author), Kymberly Dakin (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Virgin of Small Plains

On the night of the decade's worst blizzard, a local farm boy discovers the naked body of a beautiful young woman in the snow. Seventeen years later, the Virgin of Small Plains has become a local myth. Strange miracles have visited those who faithfully tend to her grave and Small Plains becomes a haven for those hoping the Virgin will cure them. But soon strange and sinister events unfold. What really happened seventeen years ago? And why are some of the town’s leading citizens so determined that the truth remain buried? “Just like real life, this novel is full of joy, desire, heartbreak, tragedy—and, above all else, hope.”--Barnes & Noble, editorial review

Nancy Pickard (Author), Kymberly Dakin (Narrator)

Audiobook

Audiobooks Narrated by Kymberly Dakin