Audiobooks narrated by Suzanne Toren

Salty, Not Sweet: A Life in the Food World

"Florence Fabricant—celebrated New York Times food writer for more than 50 years—recounts a life defined by the insatiable search for new dining experiences, tracing the evolution of food and restaurant culture in the United States and abroad, and her instrumental role in revealing it, along the way. “This beautifully written and honest assessment of her years with food is fun to read and important to consider.” —Martha Stewart What is it like to have a front-row seat to the evolution of dining and restaurant culture—in the United States and abroad—for half a century? Few can answer that question, but Florence Fabricant, the beloved and influential food writer for the New York Times, is one who can. And in Salty, Not Sweet, for the first time, she shares her insider's view of the food world and how she came to inhabit it. From early, palate defining food experiences in New York City, and later in France during a formative year abroad, to the dining rooms, kitchens, markets, and wineries that have redefined what it means to eat today, Fabricant paints a vivid picture of a life in the food world. Her earliest experiences, of pickle barrels in the Bronx and pre-theater dinners with her parents, laid the foundation for a life and unexpected career that would span the globe while always finding a home and heartbeat within the dining scene of New York. Beginning at the East Hampton Star before landing at the Times, Fabricant established herself as an endlessly curious diner and reporter, one whose keen sense led her to early coverage of food world titans like Thomas Keller, Martha Stewart, Eric Ripert, Alain Ducasse, Tom Colicchio, and many, many more. Her characteristic prose and sharp wit, familiar to readers of the New York Times for decades, shine through in this exploration of the rise of farm to table cooking, the cult of celebrity chefs, the growth of restaurant groups, the role of the critic, and the evolving way we cook and eat. Throughout, Fabricant gives readers a peek behind the curtain of her own singular tastes and preferences, as well as her wide-ranging travels, experiences with some of the food world’s brightest stars and bold-faced names, the ever-evolving landscape of food in New York, and her own extraordinary life and partnership with her husband of more than 60 years, Richard Fabricant. An accomplished cook, she punctuates each chapter with a relevant recipe. This recounting of a singular life and career will speak to readers in love with food, New York, and the alchemy of a truly great dining experience, beautifully recounted by someone with a palate developed over decades of precise and enthusiastic eating and reportage. “Salty, Not Sweet is elegant, deeply personal, and profoundly moving.” —Eric Ripert, chef and co-owner of Le Bernardin “Her remarkable recall, curiosity, and generosity of spirit make this book feel like an intimate conversation with one of our most trusted guides and rigorous journalists.” —David Rockwell, architect and founder of the Rockwell Group"

Florence Fabricant (Author), Florence Fabricant, Suzanne Toren (Narrator)

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They Poured Fire on Us from the Sky: The Story of Three Lost Boys from Sudan

"The gripping tale of three Sudanese boys who were driven from their homes by civil war and began an epic odyssey of survival, ultimately finding their way to a new life in America. "A moving, beautifully written account, by turns raw and tender." -Los Angeles Times 1987 and 1989, Alepho, Benjamin, and Benson, like tens of thousands of other young boys known as the Lost Boys, took flight from the massacres of Sudan's civil war. They set out in search of refuge with little more than the clothes on their backs and walked nearly one thousand miles, sustained only by the sheer will to live.They Poured Fire on Us From the Sky is a deeply affecting account of that unimaginable journey. With the purity of their child's-eye vision, the three boys recall how they endured hunger, malaria, life-threatening predators, and a war that threatened to overwhelm them. Now updated with a new afterword, They Poured Fire on Us From the Sky is a captivating, timeless portrait of a childhood hurled into wartime and an inspiring story of survival. A Washington Post Best Book of the Year"

Alephonsion Deng, Benjamin Ajak, Benson Deng, Judy A. Bernstein (Author), Murphy Applin, Suzanne Toren (Narrator)

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Eros the Bittersweet: An Essay

"Anne Carson's remarkable first book about the paradoxical nature of romantic love Since it was first published, Eros the Bittersweet, Anne Carson's lyrical meditation on love in ancient Greek literature and philosophy, has established itself as a favorite among an unusually broad audience, including classicists, essayists, poets, and general listeners. Beginning with the poet Sappho's invention of the word 'bittersweet' to describe Eros, Carson's original and beautifully written book is a wide-ranging reflection on the conflicted nature of romantic love, which is both 'miserable' and 'one of the greatest pleasures we have.'"

Anne Carson (Author), Suzanne Toren (Narrator)

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You Can't Catch Us: Lady Bird Johnson's Trailblazing 1964 Campaign Train and the Women Who Rode with Her

"1,682 miles. The First Lady of the United States. One incredible journey. At a time when political candidates' wives were expected to be seen and not heard, Lady Bird Johnson made history as the first presidential spouse to take a leading role on the campaign trail. Her mission: to aid her husband, Lyndon B. Johnson, in his reelection bid. Proud of her southern heritage and of what her husband had done for civil rights, Lady Bird undertook an eight-state whistle-stop tour in October 1964, both to garner votes for Lyndon and to help ease the animosity that arose from the signing of the Civil Rights Act three months earlier. The 'Lady Bird Special,' a custom, nineteen-car train, forged headlong into the powder keg of Southern politics, traveling from Washington DC to New Orleans and making forty-seven stops in only four days. Despite the potential dangers, the First Lady, aided by a team of pioneering women, pressed forward, making speeches, shaking hands, and breaking ground. You Can't Catch Us isn't simply the story of an election campaign. It's the story of a women-led operation and an appeal for understanding and civility. Lady Bird Johnson's monumental journey expanded the role of women in politics and progressed the fight for women's rights—a fight we still continue today. 'Surprising, gripping, and hilarious, this inspiring journey through the American South never derails. Shannon McKenna Schmidt has written a gem of American campaign history. All aboard!'—Margaret McMullan, author of Where the Angels Lived: One Family's Story of Exile, Loss, and Return"

Shannon McKenna Schmidt (Author), Suzanne Toren (Narrator)

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On Both Sides of the Wall: A Resistance Fighter's Firsthand Account of the Warsaw Ghetto

"Vladka Meed, born Feigele Peltel, was just a teenager when the Germans invaded Poland in 1939. Increasingly devastated by the deportation and murder of 300,000 Jews—including her mother, brother, and sister—who were sent from Warsaw to the death camp of Treblinka, she heeded the call for armed resistance, joining the Jewish Fighting Organization (ZOB), established in Warsaw in July 1942. With her typically 'Aryan' looks and fluency in Polish, Vladka could pose as a Gentile, so the ZOB asked her to live on the Aryan side of the wall and serve as a courier. In this role, she smuggled weapons across the wall, helped Jewish children escape from the Ghetto, assisted Jews hiding in the city, and established contact with both Jews in the labor camps and the partisans in the forest. First published in Yiddish by the Educational Committee of the Workmen's Circle in New York in 1948, On Both Sides of the Wall was based on a series of twenty-seven articles Vladka wrote in the Yiddish-language Jewish Daily Forward (Forverts) in 1946–47. In this revised translation, which includes exclusive, new material, Vladka’s son, Dr. Steven D. Meed, captures the vibrancy and passion of his mother's original Yiddish text, preserving the testimony and memory of this valiant woman for a new generation of listeners."

Vladka Meed (Author), Suzanne Toren (Narrator)

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Intimate Audrey: The Authorised Biography

"'I came to realise my mother was a lioness. She was soft and strong at the same time and had the gentlest of hearts.' – Sean Hepburn Ferrer The deeply personal, official biography of Audrey Hepburn, full of untold stories exclusive photos and cherish memories from her son Sean Hepburn Ferrer, one of the people who knew her best. Audrey Hepburn was many things. She was a child survivor of the Second World War. She was a symbol of timeless style. She played a runaway princess, an eccentric socialite and a nun struggling with her faith. But perhaps her greatest contribution to the world was as a selfless humanitarian in the final years of her life. For Sean Hepburn Ferrer, Audrey was also his mother. In INTIMATE AUDREY, he candidly recounts how the shy ‘girl from across the landing’ became the star we remember and love today. Featuring never-before-seen photographs and excerpts from her personal letters, this book is an intimate portrait of Audrey: as an icon, as a mother and as an altruist who drew on her own experience of hunger and suffering to advocate fiercely for children in war-torn countries. Audrey shines in this moving portrait of a mother by her son; a visionary woman who continues to defy all expectations decades after her death."

Sean Hepburn Ferrer, Wendy Holden (Author), Emma Ferrer, Irungu Mutu, Paulie Rojas, Robert Fass, Sara Gordon, Suzanne Toren, Zoleka Vundla (Narrator)

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Antisemitism, an American Tradition

"Jews experienced antisemitism the moment they landed on what would become the United States. When they first arrived in New Amsterdam in 1654, Peter Stuyvesant tried but failed to deport them. As historian Pamela S. Nadell tells in Antisemitism, an American Tradition, this was only antisemitism's beginning on our shores, as negative European stereotypes about Jews rooted into American soil. Compared with the Old World, with its expulsions, Inquisition, ghettos, and Holocaust, America's Jews have a different history—but one where antisemitism, even if it has had fewer dramatic eruptions, is deeply embedded. Jews in America faced restrictions on holding office and getting financial credit. Universities set quotas to limit the number of Jews attending and businesses refused to hire them. Jews endured verbal and physical attacks, and their synagogues and cemeteries, continuing to this day, were vandalized and desecrated. Antisemitism, an American Tradition investigates the depths of this fraught history and its recent manifestations. At a time when prejudice, discrimination, and hate against Jews is flaring across the country, Antisemitism, an American Tradition argues that we must understand the past. This momentous work reveals how antisemitism—and resistance to that hatred—endures, representing not a rupture from America's history, but a centuries-old legacy."

Pamela S. Nadell (Author), Suzanne Toren (Narrator)

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Naked at Our Age: Talking Out Loud About Senior Sex

"The classic guide to sex for seniors, offering real-life stories alongside expert advice "without apology, without shame and with accommodation, levity, humor and joy" (The New York Times)-now updated with a new foreword from the author and new expert tips Joan Price is talking out loud about a subject that is often ignored or ridiculed in our society: later-life sex. In Naked at Our Age, she offers a candid, straight-talking exploration of senior sex in all its colors-the challenges, the disappointments, and the surprises, as well as the delights of love and passion. In this book, real people over fifty-women and men, coupled and single, straight and gay-talk candidly about how their sex lives and relationships have changed with age. No topic related to older sexuality is off-limits. Some are having unsatisfying sex, or no sex at all, and are looking for answers. Price presents their compelling personal stories, followed by wise advice from sex therapists, health professionals, counselors, and sex educators. Naked at Our Age is an entertaining and indispensable guide to the issues of senior sex and relationships. This new edition of the classic, award-winning book includes a new foreword from the author and new tips from experts."

Joan Price (Author), Suzanne Toren (Narrator)

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The Bell Tolls at Traeger Hall

"An abandoned estate encased in stagnant darkness … A haunting legacy intent on silencing all within reach … In 1890, the ominous tolling of the bell announces that death has come to Traeger Hall, leaving orphaned Waverly Pembrooke to piece together the puzzle behind her uncle's and aunt's murders. Bound by the terms of her uncle's eccentric will, Waverly finds herself alone in a manor shrouded by death and questioning the reasons for her uncle's paranoia. A madness hovers over Traeger Hall, and Waverly—as well as the people of nearby Newton Creek—are ill-prepared for the woe that has descended. In present day Newton Creek, whispers of a family curse still cling to the century-old, abandoned property of Traeger Hall. When Jennie Phillips takes possession of the estate after her mother's passing, she is intent on solving the mystery of the Traeger murders. Yet a modern cold case suggests that untimely deaths and mysterious occurrences still plague the property. And as thorny truths surface, Jennie realizes the dark legacy threatens not only the town and the Traeger descendants … but also, chillingly, Jennie herself. Follow two timelines set centuries apart in this clean Gothic suspense tale of unsolved murders, haunting rumors, and a troubling family legacy for readers who crave atmospheric thrillers with multilayered mystery, a hint of romance, and glimmers of hope."

Jaime Jo Wright (Author), Allyson Morgan, Libby McKnight, Suzanne Toren (Narrator)

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Walking the Tideline: Loss and Renewal on the Oregon Coast Trail

"In Walking the Tideline, Caroline Kurtz solo hikes the rugged, beautiful Oregon Coast—an expedition of isolation, adventure, joy, and grief inside the emotional wilderness of finding one's identity after the death of a loved one. In her third memoir, Portland-based author Caroline Kurtz travels the coast of Oregon on foot in her late sixties, tracing the boundary of sand and salt water, rock and forests, carrying her shelter and food as she navigates the edges of solace and resolution after the death of her husband. During her journey, Kurtz grieves as she reflects on her long, and at times rocky, marriage to Mark, whom she had known and loved since she was a teenager in boarding school in Ethiopia. As she navigates the adventures encountered along the trail—leaky tents, hitching rides, chance encounters, and beautiful landscapes—she intertwines the historical events of coastal Oregon with her spiritual experience, giving space for the shattering of an old identity and the planting of a new self, nourished and enlightened by the depths of a profoundly complex and considered life. Kurtz spent her early years in Oregon before her parents moved her and her siblings to remote Ethiopia, where she spent her childhood and teen years, before returning to America for college, where she reunited with and married Mark. The two lived variously in Portland, Ethiopia, and Kenya, and retired to Portland, where Caroline now lives."

Caroline Kurtz (Author), Suzanne Toren (Narrator)

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From the Valley We Rise

"Loyalty during Peril In the heart of war-torn France, Isabelle Seauve's resolve is tested after her father sacrifices his life to protect her involvement in the French Resistance. Heartbroken, Isabelle becomes more dedicated to hiding Jewish children in and near the village of Sisteron despite the growing danger when she discovers a traitor within the Resistance ranks. Truth amid Deception As the shadow of betrayal looms, Isabelle's world collides with that of US Army Chaplain Peter Christensen, who carries emotional scars from his first position in Kentucky and his service in North Africa. Together, they face the brutal reality of war as the second D-Day—the Allied invasion of Provence—unfolds. Bravery through Trial Fifteen-year-old René Amblard narrowly escapes a devastating German attack that claims the lives of his mother and their fellow Maquis fighters. With a Jewish orphan girl at his side, René seeks out his cousin, Isabelle, for refuge while he contemplates revenge. When the bombs of Operation Dragoon begin to fall, this unlikely group of heroes must find freedom in their souls before they can rebuild what has been destroyed."

Elizabeth Musser (Author), Suzanne Toren (Narrator)

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Things in Nature Merely Grow

"WINNER OF THE PULITZER PRIZE FOR MEMOIR 2026 LONGLISTED FOR THE BAILLIE GIFFORD PRIZE FOR NON-FICTION 2025 ‘The best book I have read this year’ DAVID NICHOLLS ‘Masterly … I'm in awe’ SALMAN RUSHDIE ‘Beautiful’ DOUGLAS STUART ‘Extraordinary’ SARAH MOSS ‘A formidable testament to a mother’s love’ SARA COLLINS ‘There is no good way to say this,’ Yiyun Li writes at the beginning of this book. ‘There is no good way to state these facts, which must be acknowledged. My husband and I had two children and lost them both: Vincent in 2017, at sixteen, James in 2024, at nineteen. Both chose suicide, and both died not far from home.’ There is no good way to say this – because words fall short. In this remarkable, defiant work of radical acceptance, Li turns to thinking and searching for words that might hold a place for her son, James. Li does ‘the things that work’: including not just writing but gardening, reading Camus and Wittgenstein, learning the piano, and living thinkingly alongside death. Things in Nature Merely Grow is a testament to Li’s indomitable spirit. Winner of the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Non-Fiction 2026 Longlisted for the National Book Critics Circle Awards 2025 Finalist for the National Book Award for Non-Fiction 2025 ‘To state that this courageous book is a testament to love is an understatement. One is left altered by it’ Observer ‘Unlike any other book I've read … an unforgettable monument to endurance’ Sunday Times ‘A book that has not a single spare word in it … I loved it so much’ Ann Patchett, author of Tom Lake ‘A meditation on living and radical acceptance’ Guardian ‘A memoir unlike others, strange and profound and fiercely determined not to look away’ New York Times ‘One of the most astounding memoirs I have ever read’ Pandora Sykes, author of How Do We Know We're Doing It Right? ‘I will return to it for the rest of my life’ Charlotte Wood, author of Stone Yard Devotional ‘A manifesto of living, not dying’ Sinéad Gleeson, The Week"

Yiyun Li (Author), Suzanne Toren (Narrator)

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Audiobooks Narrated by Suzanne Toren

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