Audiobooks narrated by Rosemary Benson

"Bloomsbury presents Publishing by Gail Godwin, read by Rosemary Benson Publishing is a personal story of a writer’s hunger to be published, the pursuit of that goal, and then the long haul--for Gail Godwin, forty-five years of being a published writer and all that goes with it. A student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1958, Godwin met with Knopf scouts who came to campus every spring in search of new talent. Though her five pages of Windy Peaks were turned down and the novel never completed, she would go on to publish two story collections and fourteen novels, three of which were National Book Award finalists, five of which were New York Times bestsellers. Publishing reflects on the influence of her mother’s writing hopes and accomplishments, and recalls Godwin’s experiences with teachers Kurt Vonnegut and Robert Coover at the Iowa Writers’ Workshop; with John Hawkins, her literary agent for five decades; with John Irving and other luminaries; and with her editors and publishers. Recollecting her long and storied career, Godwin maps the publishing industry over the last fifty years, a time of great upheaval and ingenuity. Her eloquent memoir is illuminated by Frances Halsband’s evocative black-and-white line drawings throughout. There have been memoirs about writing and memoirs about being an editor, but there is no other book quite like Publishing for aspiring writers and book lovers everywhere. P 2014 Audible, Inc. C 2015 Gail Godwin"

Gail Godwin (Author), Rosemary Benson (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Art of Becoming a Citizen: A Memoir

"Bloomsbury presents The Art of Becoming a Citizen by Gail Godwin, read by Rosemary Benson From the three-time National Book Award nominee and New York Times bestselling author Gail Godwin comes an incandescent reflection on past and present that speaks urgently to our current political moment. “He just had the presidency stolen from him.” Gail Godwin first heard these words in November 1960, one of a crush of reporters eagerly awaiting the first postelection meeting between Kennedy and Nixon. Hearing an uncanny echo in the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election, Godwin embarks on a project to reflect on that long-ago moment and offset a mounting pressure of dread about the looming election ahead. In looking back at her life as a young woman—her travels abroad, early marriage, friendships with Kurt Vonnegut and John Irving—juxtaposed with the lead-up to the recent election, she discovers an understory that surprises her. She asks herself, “What, at this late date, did I still want to become?” With urgency and a yearning so many now feel, Godwin’s blend of history and memoir is both inspirational and rousing, encouraging readers to engage in their own reflection on the art and meaning of being a citizen. P 2026 Bloomsbury Publishing PLC C 2026 Gail Godwin"

Gail Godwin (Author), Rosemary Benson (Narrator)

Audiobook

Old School

"From the New York Times bestselling author of The Unteachables comes a hilarious story about a boy who is homeschooled in his grandmother’s retirement community…until he is forced to go to public school. Dexter Foreman is twelve going on eighty. He has lived at The Pines retirement village with his grandmother since he was six years old, and as a result he gets along better with senior citizens than kids his own age. He's homeschooled by the residents up until the day the county’s truancy officer shows up and announces that Dex has to go to a “real” school, to the local middle school. At school, Dex sticks out like a sore thumb. He dresses like a grandpa (and can be just as cranky). His taste in movies and music is decades out of date. Only a few students—like Gianna Greco, a reporter at the school’s newspaper—find him intriguing. For most, he is either a weirdo or a target. Dexter would do anything to return to his old life at The Pines. But when his wish finally seems to be coming true, his old and new worlds collide in a way that surprises everyone—Dexter most of all."

Gordon Korman (Author), Fred Berman, Katie Anvil Rich, Mark Sanderlin, Michael Crouch, Rosemary Benson, Vyvy Nguyen (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Girl With Three Birthdays: An Adopted Daughter’s Memoir of Tiaras, Tough Truths, and Tall Tales

"Patti Eddington always knew she was adopted, and her beloved parents seemed amenable enough to questions—but she never wanted to hurt them by expressing curiosity, so she didn't. The story of her mother cutting off and dying her hair when she was a toddler? She thought it was eccentric and funny, nothing more. When she discovered at fifteen that her birthday wasn't actually her birthday? She believed it when her mother said she'd changed it to protect her from the 'nosy old biddies' who might try to discover her identity. It wasn't until decades later, when a genealogy test led Patti to her biological family (including an aunt with a shocking story) and the discovery of yet another birthday, that she really began to integrate what she thought she knew about her origins. Determined to know the truth, she petitioned a court to unseal records that had been locked up for almost sixty years—and began to put the pieces of her past together, bit by bit. Framed by a brief but poignant 1963 'Report of Investigation' based on a caseworker's one-day visit to Patti's childhood home, The Girl With Three Birthdays tells the story of an adoptee who always believed she was the answer to a couple's seventeen-year journey to become parents, until a manila envelope from a rural county court arrived and caused her to question . . . everything."

Patti Eddington (Author), Rosemary Benson (Narrator)

Audiobook

Gunlore: Firearms, Folkways, and Communities

"Guns are a ubiquitous part of life in the United States. Arguably more pervasive than physical guns is 'gunlore,' which refers to the many folklore genres related to firearms. Gunlore: Firearms, Folkways, and Communities is the first book to engage with the many narratives, rituals, folk-speech, customs, art, and handicraft encompassed by gunlore. Like most expressive cultures, gunlore emerges from specific communities. Groups with a shared interest around firearms may form for many reasons. This collection explores a range of gunlore genres and the 'gunfolk' groups that give rise to them. Contributors examine topics that include the fetishization of firearms, 'Moms Who Carry,' online discussion boards, alternative history cosplay, survivalist communities, gunsmiths and gun craft, and more. Gun owners and gun enthusiasts are one of the largest avocational groups in America. The essays in Gunlore seek to expand our understanding of these communities by looking at the various roles firearms play, have played, and can play in our world. Gunlore, for better or worse, is a powerful and pervasive method of self-expression. In examining the folklore around these controversial and politically charged tools, weapons, and symbols, we can begin to understand the aspects of American culture that will remain prominent for the foreseeable future."

Robert Glenn Howard (Author), Lyle Blaker, Rosemary Benson, Terrence Kidd (Narrator)

Audiobook

Women of Hope: Doctors of the Church

"Throughout the history of the Catholic Church, in her most troubled and turbulent times, God has raised up great saints as beacons of hope in the midst of darkness. Among these great saints, the four women Doctors of the Church stand out as models of courage, wisdom, and trust. Their example and teachings remain with us, are relevant to the challenges of our own day, and urge us on to renewal with unwavering hope. 'Trust shows the way,' wrote Saint Hildegard of Bingen. These words set the courageous standard by which she, Teresa of Ávila, Catherine of Siena, and Thérèse of Lisieux lived. The phrase can be considered the watchword for the Church in every age, and especially in our own. In Women of Hope, Terry Polakovic introduces these amazing women and describes the troubled times in which they lived and persevered. These women remind us that God can work through anyone to bring about his purpose. They prove to us that, as Christians, we can live in confident hope, no matter the circumstances in which we find ourselves."

Terry Polakovic (Author), Rosemary Benson (Narrator)

Audiobook

On Distant Shores

"Lt. Georgiana Taylor has everything she could want. A comfortable boyfriend back home, a loving family, and a challenging job as a flight nurse. But in July 1943, Georgie's cozy life gets decidedly more complicated when she meets pharmacist Sgt. John Hutchinson. Hutch resents the lack of respect he gets as a noncommissioned serviceman and hates how the war keeps him from his fiancée. While Georgie and Hutch share a love of the starry night skies over Sicily, their lives back home are falling apart. Can they weather the hurt and betrayal? Or will the pressures of war destroy the fragile connection they've made? With her signature attention to detail and her talent for bringing characters together, Sarah Sundin pens another exciting tale in her series featuring WWII flight nurses. Fans new and old will find in On Distant Shores the perfect combination of emotion, action, and romance."

Sarah Sundin (Author), Rosemary Benson (Narrator)

Audiobook

In Perfect Time

"Bold, sophisticated, and flirtatious, Army Air Force flight nurse Lt. Kay Jobson collects hearts wherever she flies, leaving men pining in airfields all across Europe. So how can ruggedly handsome C-47 pilot Lt. Roger Cooper be all but immune to her considerable charms? In fact, he seems to do everything he can to avoid her. Still, as they cross the skies between Italy and southern France, evacuating the wounded and delivering paratroopers and supplies, every beat of their hearts draws them closer to where they don't want to go. Can they confront the fears and misunderstandings in their pasts? Sarah Sundin seamlessly weaves together emotion, action, and sweet romance into a tale that transcends time and calls us to believe in the power of love."

Sarah Sundin (Author), Rosemary Benson (Narrator)

Audiobook

A Word Is Not a Sparrow: A Benefit Anthology for Ukraine Relief

"Artists in Ukraine have lost their livelihoods. The Ukraine Audiobook Relief Project was launched to support artists in Ukraine whose lives are threatened because of war. It is a fundamental aspect of war to suppress story, language, and culture. Moved by this crisis of culture, members of PANA (the Professional Audiobook Narrators Association) created this audiobook to raise money for Ukrainian relief. Joined by writers and musicians, we have volunteered our work to show our support for artists living through war. The profits from the sale of this audiobook will provide financial support to the Artists at Risk Connection in Ukraine through PEN America, a non-profit organization that endeavors to safeguard the right to artistic freedom of expression and ensure that artists and cultural professionals everywhere can live and work without fear. We urge you to support humanitarian efforts in Ukraine by supporting its artists. The folk wisdom of Ukraine includes this expression: “A word is not a sparrow … once it flies out, you won’t catch it.' A Word Is Not A Sparrow is a diverse anthology of stories set amid Russian repression through the centuries; personal narrator testimony about the impact in America of immigrant grandparents from Ukraine and elsewhere; powerful fables and allegories that deliver universal messages about displacement, migration, and human connection; and classic Cossack folk tales that are a touchstone of Ukrainian culture. Listen as we let these words fly out around the world. Narrated by PANA member volunteers Barry Abrams, Jennifer Jill Araya, Dave Arlington, Rosemary Benson, Anna Crowe, Claudia Dunn, Andrea Emmes, Gary Furlong, Rebecca Gallagher, Caroline Hewitt, Susan Iannucci, Elizabeth Jasicki, Tom Jordan, Jennifer March, Janet Metzger, Rich Miller, Erin Moon, Sara Morsey, Traci Odom, Sheri Saginor, and Tiffany Williams. Music by Michael Nazaretz & the Samovar Russian Folk Ensemble, Jeff Crompton, Roger French, and Kenny Raskin. Writers include Barry Abrams, Sholem Yankev Abramovitsh, Andrea Emmes and Karen Bogle, Vladislav Davidzon, Christopher Dewees, Thaisa Frank, Teresa Johnson, Alla Kudzieva, Taras Shevchenko, and Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch."

Alla Kudzieva, Andrea Emmes, Barry Abrams, Christopher Dewees, Karen Bogle, Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch, Sholem Yankev Abramovitsh, Taras Shevchenko, Teresa Johnson, Thaisa Frank, Vladislav Davidzon (Author), Anna Crowe, Caroline Hewitt, Claudia Dunn, Dave Arlington, Elizabeth Jasicki, Erin Moon, Gary Furlong, Janet Metzger, Jennifer Jill Araya, Jennifer March, Rebecca Gallagher, Rich Miller, Rosemary Benson, Sara Morsey, Sheri Saginor, Susan Iannucci, Tiffany Williams, Tom Jordan, Traci Odom (Narrator)

Audiobook

Getting to Know Death: A Meditation

"Bloomsbury presents Getting to Know Death by Gail Godwin, read by Rosemary Benson. 'Getting to Know Death could just as easily be called Getting to Know Life. As a meditation, it is both unsentimental and full of wonder. As a piece of writing, it stands beside the best of Godwin’s fiction. Extraordinary.' —Ann Patchett From New York Times-bestselling, three-time National Book Award finalist Gail Godwin, a consideration of what makes for a life well lived—for readers of Oliver Sacks’s Gratitude and Deborah Levy’s Cost of Living. I can't see a way out of this. Things will not necessarily get better. This is my life, but I may not get to do what I want in it. Ingmar Bergman once said that an artist should always have one work between himself and death. When renowned author Gail Godwin tripped and broke her neck while watering the dogwood tree in her garden at age eighty-five, a lifetime of writing and publishing behind her and a half-finished novel in tow, Bergman’s idea quickly unfurled in front of her, forcing her to confront a creative life interrupted. In Getting to Know Death, Godwin shares what spoke to her while in a desperate place. Remembering those she has loved and survived, including a brother and father lost to suicide, and finding meaning in the encounters she has with other patients as she heals, she takes stock of a life toward the end of its long graceful arc, finding her path through the words she has written and the people she has loved. At once beautiful, biting, precise, poetic, and propulsive, Getting to Know Death is her own reckoning with the meaning of a life, the forms of passion that guide it, and how the stories we hold can shape our memories and preserve our selves as we write our own endings."

Gail Godwin (Author), Rosemary Benson (Narrator)

Audiobook

Fatal to Fearless: 12 Steps to Beating Cancer in a Broken Medical System

"Now in paperback, an empowering, soul-baring personal account and guide from a two-time cancer survivor and healthcare disrupter that shows anyone how to deal with a frightening medical diagnosis in America today, providing the knowledge necessary to take ownership of personal wellbeing and maximize the chances of survival. 'Fatal to Fearless is a must-read for patients, caregivers, and practitioners alike seeking to understand how to best navigate the challenges of a cancer diagnosis.' —Clifford A. Hudis, MD, FACP, FASCO, Chief Executive Officer, American Society of Clinical Oncology More than twenty-five years ago, Kathryn Giusti was diagnosed with multiple myeloma at age thirty-seven and given three years to live. With a young child, a happy marriage, and a successful career, Giusti had too much to live for. An “impatient patient,” she overcame her fear and got to work, learning to advocate for her own care. This book is the result of all she’s learned about how to get the best outcome from America’s opaque and sometimes impossible-to-navigate healthcare system. Fatal to Fearless tells the story of how Giusti took on the system and turned it to her advantage not once but twice when she was diagnosed with breast cancer a few years ago. It is a crash course in surviving a grim diagnosis, organized around twelve simple steps, with practical tips for everything from how to build your healthcare team and learning which online sources to trust, to understanding the science and identifying which tests to ask for in the new genomic era and how to access the treatments and studies that could save your life. At its center is a gripping personal story that reveals difficult, yet honest truths about illness, family, friendship, marriage, and the business of medicine. Giusti lays bare her soul as she walks you through the steps for handling any diagnosis and includes insights from medicine’s top insiders on the frontlines of physical and emotional healing and care. Sick people deserve a fighting chance. Giusti’s mission to democratize medicine—and healthcare—has never been more imperative, or more urgent. Hopeful, wise, and packed with hard-won knowledge, this book gives you the concrete tools and inspiration to fear less and live more."

Kathy Giusti (Author), Rosemary Benson (Narrator)

Audiobook

How We Age: The Science of Longevity

"All of us would like to live longer, or to slow the debilitating effects of age. In How We Age, Coleen Murphy shows how recent research on longevity and aging may be bringing us closer to this goal. Murphy, a leading scholar of aging, explains that the study of model systems, particularly simple invertebrate animals, combined with breakthroughs in genomic methods, have allowed scientists to probe the molecular mechanisms of longevity and aging. Understanding the fundamental biological rules that govern aging in model systems provides clues about how we might slow human aging, which could lead in turn to new therapeutics and treatments for age-related disease. Among other vivid examples, Murphy describes research that shows how changing a single gene in the nematode worm C. elegans doubles its lifespan, extending not only the end of life but also the youthful, healthy part of life. Drawing on work in her own lab as well as other recent research, Murphy chronicles the history and current state of the field, explaining longevity's links to reproduction and mating, sensory and cognitive function, inheritances from our ancestors, and the gut microbiome. Written with clarity and wit, How We Age provides a guide to the science: what we know about aging, how we know what we know, and what we can do with this new knowledge."

Coleen T. Murphy (Author), Rosemary Benson (Narrator)

Audiobook

Audiobooks Narrated by Rosemary Benson

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