Audiobooks narrated by Yrsa Daley-Ward

"Brought to you by Penguin. A darkly whimsical debut about women daring to live and create with impunity. Twin sisters Clara and Dempsey have always struggled to relate, their familial bond severed after their mother vanished into the Thames. In adulthood, they are content to be all but estranged, until Clara sees a woman who looks exactly like their mother on the streets of London. The catch: this version of Serene, aged not a day, has enjoyed a childless life. Clara, a celebrity author in desperate need of validation, believes Serene is their mother, while Dempsey, isolated and content to remain so, believes she is a con woman. As they clash over this stranger, the sisters hurtle toward an altercation that threatens their very existence, forcing them to finally confront their pasts--together. In her riveting first foray into fiction, Yrsa Daley-Ward conjures a kaleidoscopic multiverse of daughterhood and mother-want, exploring the sacrifices that Black women must make for self-actualization. The result is a marvel of a debut novel that boldly asks, 'How can it ever, ever be a crime to choose yourself?' © Yrsa Daley-Ward 2025 (P) Penguin Audio 2025"

Yrsa Daley-Ward (Author), Yrsa Daley-Ward (Narrator)

Audiobook

The How: Notes on the Great Work of Meeting Yourself

"Brought to you by Penguin. A treasure trove of inspiration and an invitation for personal renewal from the acclaimed author of bone and The Terrible We still dream though, don't we? We are gifted with a way into ourselves, night after night after night. Yrsa Daley-Ward's words have resonated with hundreds of thousands of readers around the world: through her books of poetry and memoir bone and The Terrible, through her powerful writing for Beyoncé on Black Is King and through her always-illuminating Instagram posts. In The How, Yrsa gently takes readers by the hand, encouraging them to join her as she explores how we can remove our filters, and see and feel more of who we really are behind the preconceived notions of propriety and manners we've accumulated with age. With a mix of short, lyrical musings, immersive poetry and intriguing meditations, The How can be used to start conversations, to prompt writing, to delve deeper - whether you're on your own or with friends, on your feet or writing from the solace of home. 'Lyrical . . . visceral truth is at the heart of her work' i Newspaper © Yrsa Daley-Ward 2021 (P) Penguin Audio 2021"

Yrsa Daley-Ward (Author), Yrsa Daley-Ward (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Lost Spells: An enchanting, beautiful book for lovers of the natural world

"Brought to you by Penguin. As the nights get darker and colder, curl up with voices of hope and renewal - feel the natural world come back to life around you . . . The Lost Spells is an audio treasure, a new collection of 'spells' - acrostic poetry and artwork - by writer Robert Macfarlane and artist Jackie Morris. For those who loved The Lost Words - this is its little sister. Captivatingly read, calling to forest, field, riverbank, ocean and also to the heart, these 'spells' summon back what is often lost from sight and care. From Jay to Jackdaw, Oak to Barn Owl, Silver Birch to Grey Seal, they evoke the special spirit of each plant and creature. Above all, they celebrate a sense of wonder at nature's power to amaze, console and bring joy. Across a bewitching natural soundscape by renowned wildlife recordist Chris Watson, readers Yrsa Daley-Ward, Johnny Flynn and Julie Fowlis bring the magic of both nature and language to listeners in an immersive and unique audio experience. Praise for The Lost Words: 'Gorgeous to look at and to read. Give it to a child to bring back the magic of language' Jeanette Winterson, Guardian 'Breathtaking, magical... Jackie Morris has created something that you could spend all day looking at' New Statesman 'Robert Macfarlane and Jackie Morris have made a thing of astonishing beauty' Observer © Robert Macfarlane, Jackie Morris 2020 (P) Penguin Audio 2020"

Jackie Morris, Robert MacFarlane (Author), Johnny Flynn, Julie Fowlis, Robert Macfarlane, Yrsa Daley-Ward (Narrator)

Audiobook

bone

"Penguin presents the audiobook edition of bone written and read by Yrsa Daley-Ward, with a foreword read by Kiese Laymon. OBSERVER BOOK OF THE YEAR 2017 'You will come away bruised. You will come away bruised but this will give you poetry.' Raw and stark, the poems in Yrsa Daley-Ward's breakthrough collection strip down her reflections on the heart, life, the inner self, coming of age, faith and loss to their essence. They resonate to the core of experience. 'Yrsa's work is like holding the truth in your hands. A glorious living thing' Florence Welch 'One of the must-reads of the year' Rohan Silva, Evening Standard 'yrsa daley-ward's 'bone' is a symphony of breaking and mending. an expert storyteller. of the rarest. and purest kind - daley-ward is uncannily attentive and in tune to the things beneath life. beneath the skin. beneath the weather of the everyday.' nayyirah waheed. author of salt. and nejma 'Sharing is her form of survival ... A powerful collection of a woman facing tumultuous inner and external battles head on, delivered with a hard-hitting directness, yet with inflections of optimism throughout' i-D Magazine"

Yrsa Daley-Ward (Author), Kiese Laymon, Yrsa Daley-Ward (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Terrible

"Penguin presents the audiobook edition of The Terrible written and read by Yrsa Daley-Ward with Howard Daley-Ward as Roo. 'You may not run away from the thing that you are because it comes and comes and comes as sure as you breathe.' This is the story of Yrsa Daley-Ward, and all the things that happened - 'even the Terrible Things (and God, there were Terrible Things)'. It's about her childhood in the north-west of England with her beautiful, careworn mother Marcia, Linford (the man formerly known as Dad, 'half-fun, half-frightening') and her little brother Roo, who sees things written in the stars. It's about growing up and discovering the power and fear of her own sexuality, of pitch grey days of pills and powder and encounters. It's about damage and pain, but also joy. Told with raw intensity, shocking honesty and the poetry of the darkest of fairy tales, The Terrible is a memoir of going under, losing yourself, and finding your voice."

Yrsa Daley-Ward (Author), Howard Daley-Ward, Yrsa Daley-Ward (Narrator)

Audiobook

Audiobooks Narrated by Yrsa Daley-Ward