General Audiobooks | Science & Technology

The Boy with the Perpetual Nervousness: A Memoir

Raised in a small town in the north of England known primarily for its cotton mills, football team, and its deep roots in the "Respectable Working Class," Graham Caveney armed himself against the confusing nature of adolescence with a thick accent, a copy of Kafka, and a record collection including the likes of the Buzzcocks and Joy Division. All three provided him the opportunity to escape, even if just in mind, beyond his small-town borders. But, when those passions are noticed and preyed upon by a mentor, everything changes. Now, as an adult, Caveney attempts to reconcile his past and present, coming to grips with both the challenges and wonder of adolescence, music, and literature. By turns angry, despairing, beautifully written, shockingly funny, and ultimately redemptive, The Boy with Perpetual Nervousness is a tribute to the power of the arts-and a startling, original memoir that "feels as if it had to be written, and demands to be read" (the Guardian UK). Contains mature themes.

Graham Caveney (Author), Jonathan Cowley (Narrator)

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Proud: My Fight for an Unlikely American Dream

From young outsider to national hero, a timeless, uniquely American tale of hard work, determination, and resilience.Growing up in New Jersey as the only African American Muslim in hijab in town, at school, and on the playing fields, Ibtihaj Muhammad always had to find her own way. When she discovered fencing, a sport traditionally reserved for the wealthy and white, once again she had to defy expectations and make a place for herself in a sport she grew to love. Even though Ibtihaj would start fencing later than most, at 13 years old her talent was undeniable. From winning state championships with her high school team to three-time All-America selections at Duke University, Ibtihaj was poised for success, but the fencing community wasn't ready to welcome her with open arms.Ibtihaj Muhammad's path to Olympic greatness has been marked with opposition and near-debilitating challenges because of her race, religion, and gender. As the only woman of color and the only religious minority on the U.S. women's saber team, once again Ibtihaj had to push past stereotypes, misconceptions, and negativity to find her own path to success and Olympic glory. Proud is the inspiring story of how Ibtihaj rose above it all with grace and compassion. She provides an unflinching and honest portrayal of how she managed to stay true to herself and still play by the rules. A coming-of-age story, a hero's journey, and a moving memoir from one of the nation's most influential athletes, Proud will leave you cheering. **Contact Customer Service for Additional Material**

Ibtihaj Muhammad, Lori Tharps (Author), Ibtihaj Muhammad (Narrator)

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Eat Cake. Be Brave

My name is Melissa Radke, and there is a very real chance you have no idea who I am or why I wrote a book. But admit it, you're curious! Even though millions of people seem to like watching my videos bemoaning the trials of parenting, marriage, French braiding, faith, and living life as an anti-aging female, you may still be wondering who let me write a book. I mean, books are written by people who have been interviewed by Gayle King and say things like, "You see, Gayle, I was having a root canal and I literally died in the chair. I saw heaven. Also, when I came back to earth I could speak Mandarin." Yeah, that didn't happen to me. No Mandarin. Though I have been known to break out in song! (My voice was once described as a "ray of light in a dark world" . . . but I think my dad was being a little dramatic.) Although if Gayle King were to ever ask me I would tell her: "I wrote this book between taking my kids to the local pool and picking out flip-flops at Old Navy, and the only metaphysical moment I experienced came right after I looked directly into one of those mirrors with 10x magnification." I wrote this book because when I turned 41 I made a decision to be brave. To live brave -bolder and freer. You see, I thought our lives were supposed to change when we turned 40...but mine didn't. Yet every piece of it changed when I turned 41; when I set out to prove that it wasn't too late for me, that careless words wouldn't stunt me and rejection would not stop me. And maybe, just maybe, it will take you reading about the journey I took to finding my sense of self-worth in order for you to rightfully believe in yours. This book is about how all the years of my life led up to the one that changed it. So, cut a big slice and raise a fork... Here's to bravery. Here's to courage. Here's to cake. (And not the crappy kind, like carrot.) **Contact Customer Service for Additional Material**

Melissa Radke (Author), Author (Narrator)

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It'll Be Fine: A True Story

While the conduit of this book is a genuine love story, a more important tale lies within it. This is the real, unfiltered story of how I discovered the woman inside me who knows what she's TRULY worth; whose said worth doesn't come from her outward appearance, accomplishments, or other human beings. It's about finally learning how to love myself enough to renounce poisonous people, thoughts, habits, and situations. It's my journey of bringing to light the overlooked corner of my heart that life had sneakily shut down, the piece of me that desires to help others, that isn't afraid to put some of my most vulnerable (and sometimes ugly) thoughts out there in the hope that someone else might learn from my mistakes. It's about unearthing the version of me courageous enough to write and share this remarkably raw and heartfelt story.

Rebecca Rose (Author), Em Eldridge (Narrator)

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Don't Worry, He Won't Get Far on Foot

In 1972, at the age of 21, John Callahan was involved in a car crash that severed his spine and made him a quadriplegic. A heavy drinker since the age of 12 (alcohol had played a role in his crash), the accident could have been the beginning of a downward spiral. Instead, it sparked a personal transformation. After extensive physical therapy, he was eventually able to grasp a pen in his right hand and make rudimentary drawings. By 1978, Callahan had sworn off drinking for good, and begun to draw cartoons. Over the next three decades, until his death in 2010, Callahan would become one of the nation's most beloved-and at times polarizing-cartoonists. His work, which shows off a wacky and sometimes warped sense of humor, pokes fun at social conventions and pushes boundaries. One cartoon features Christ at the cross with a thought bubble reading "T.G.I.F." In another, three sheriffs on horseback approach an empty wheelchair in the desert. "Don't worry," one sheriff says to another, "He won't get far on foot." Don't Worry, He Won't Get Far on Foot recounts Callahan's life story, from the harrowing to the hilarious.

John Callahan (Author), Joe Barrett (Narrator)

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Lush: A Memoir

"For those of us wrestling with demons-and who isn't?-Lush is a solace as powerful as red wine." -CLAIRE DEDERER, bestselling author of Love and Trouble: A Midlife Reckoning When Kerry Cohen reached her early forties, she realized she had a drinking problem-just enough to blur the edges of her life that had become a monotony of working, carpooling the kids to school, and everyday distractions. What she also realized was that she wasn't the only one. Lush is a gripping memoir that examines Kerry's struggles with alcohol, a struggle that a rising number of middle-aged women are facing today, as alcohol dependency among females drastically increases. A wonderfully poignant and relatable follow-up to her bestselling memoir Loose Girl, Lush follows Kerry as she attempts to rediscover the awe in her life, leaving mistakes, regrets, and the bottle behind her.

Kerry Cohen (Author), Allyson Ryan (Narrator)

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Through a Window: My Thirty Years with the Chimpanzees of Gombe

In her classic, In the Shadow of Man, Jane Goodall wrote of her first ten years at Gombe. In Through a Window she continues the story, painting a more complete and vivid portrait of our closest relatives. On the shores of Lake Tanganyika, Gombe is a community where the principal residents are chimpanzees. Through Goodall's eyes we watch young Figan's relentless rise to power and old Mike's crushing defeat. We learn how one mother rears her children to succeed and another dooms hers to failure. We witness horrifying murders, touching moments of affection, joyous births, and wrenching deaths. As Goodall compellingly tells the story of this intimately intertwined community, we are shown human emotions stripped to their essence. In the mirror of chimpanzee life, we see ourselves reflected.

Jane Goodall (Author), Pearl Hewitt (Narrator)

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Undivided: Coming Out, Becoming Whole, and Living Free from Shame

Vicky Beeching, called “arguably the most influential Christian of her generation” in The Guardian, began writing songs for the church in her teens. By the time she reached her early thirties, Vicky was a household name in churches on both sides of the pond. Recording multiple albums and singing in America’s largest megachurches, her music was used weekly around the globe and translated into numerous languages. But this poster girl for evangelical Christianity lived with a debilitating inner battle: she was gay. The tens of thousands of traditional Christians she sang in front of were unanimous in their view – they staunchly opposed same-sex relationships and saw homosexuality as a grievous sin. Vicky knew if she ever spoke up about her identity it would cost her everything. Faced with a major health crisis, at the age of thirty-five she decided to tell the world that she was gay. As a result, all hell broke loose. She lost her music career and livelihood, faced threats and vitriol from traditionalists, developed further health issues from the immense stress, and had to rebuild her life almost from scratch. But despite losing so much she gained far more: she was finally able to live from a place of wholeness, vulnerability, and authenticity. She finally found peace. What’s more, Vicky became a champion for others, fighting for LGBT equality in the church and in the corporate sector. Her courageous work is creating change in the US and the UK, as she urges people to celebrate diversity, live authentically, and become undivided.

Vicky Beeching (Author), Billie Fulford-Brown (Narrator)

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Hawaii's Story by Hawaii's Queen

In 1893, Liliuokalani, the Queen of Hawaii, was deposed and five years later her nation became an incorporated territory of the United States. Published shortly after these momentous events, her book Hawaii's Story by Hawaii's Queen is an incredibly personal history of the islands that she was born to rule. Liliuokalani covers from her birth in 1838 through the reigns of her forebears to her own turbulent time as Queen of the Hawaiian Islands. Written to explain to the world the injustice of her situation and to reclaim the sovereignty which she had lost, the Chicago Daily Tribune claimed that "no scholar or lawyer could have state[d] it more effectively." But despite her persuasive prose Hawaii never again regained its independence or its monarchy. Hawaii's Story by Hawaii's Queen is a fascinating history of one of the United States of America's smallest but most unique states as it was going through significant change at the turn of the twentieth century. Queen Liliuokalani was the last reigning monarch of the kingdom of Hawaii. She ascended the throne in January of 1891, upon the death of her brother, King David Kalakaua. For years after her overthrow, the Queen sought redress in the Congress and courts of the United States, but her efforts failed. Her autobiographical history Hawaii's Story by Hawaii's Queen is the only work by a Hawaiian monarch and provides insight into her fight to regain her throne and life on Hawaii during the late-nineteenth century.

Lili'uokalani, Lili‘uokalani, Null Lili'uokalani (Author), Emily Woo Zeller (Narrator)

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Lover Come Back: An Unbelievable But True Love Story

Scott Hildreth is a married father of six children. He is a bestselling romance author who has published over fifty novels, half of which have been number one bestsellers. His journey to his current existence, however, wasn't an easy one. At one point, he had it all: a house on the hill, a wife, three children, and a career in construction management. After becoming the focus of an ATF investigation, he was arrested for a crime he didn't commit. His fight on the U.S. Supreme Court steps ended in a loss, and he went to federal prison. In doing so, he lost his wife, contact with his children, and his home. After serving his time in prison, he returned to work and reunited with the men in his motorcycle club. Once again on top of the world, but lacking trust in society-and women in general-his only relationship was with his motorcycle. Three years later, he was jobless, carless, penniless, and holding an eviction notice. Inspired by a woman he met at a donut shop, he took a chance at a career he had no formal training in-being an author. Fueled by nothing more than his love for her, he climbed to the top of his industry, and hasn't looked back since. Lover Come Back is a true-but often unbelievable-tale of loss, sacrifice, second chances, and, ultimately, love. It takes the listener from the courtroom to the lush beaches of Naples, Florida, where Scott and his family currently reside. The journey is gut-wrenching, comedic, hard to believe, and heartwarming. In the end, it is a love story that will leave you believing in second chances and first loves. Contains mature themes.

Scott Hildreth (Author), Aaron Shedlock, Carly Robins (Narrator)

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Notes on a Nervous Planet

The world is messing with our minds. Rates of stress and anxiety are rising. A fast, nervous planet is creating fast and nervous lives. We are more connected, yet feel more alone. And we are encouraged to worry about everything from world politics to our body mass index. - How can we stay sane on a planet that makes us mad? - How do we stay human in a technological world? - How do we feel happy when we are encouraged to be anxious? After experiencing years of anxiety and panic attacks, these questions became urgent matters of life and death for Matt Haig. And he began to look for the link between what he felt and the world around him. Notes on a Nervous Planet is a personal and vital look at how to feel happy, human and whole in the 21st century.

Matt Haig (Author), Matt Haig (Narrator)

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The Anti-Cool Girl

Brutal, brave, hilarious -- a full-frontal memoir about surviving the very worst that life can throw at you. Rosie Waterland has never been cool. Growing up in housing commission, Rosie was cursed with a near perfect, beautiful older sister who dressed like Mariah Carey on a Best & Less budget while Rosie was still struggling with various toilet mishaps. She soon realised that she was the Doug Pitt to her sister's Brad, and that cool was not going to be her currency in this life. But that was only one of the problems Rosie faced. With two addicts for parents, she grew up amidst rehab stays, AA meetings, overdoses, narrow escapes from drug dealers and a merry-go-round of dodgy boyfriends in her mother's life. Rosie watched as her dad passed out/was arrested/vomited, and had to talk her mum out of killing herself. As an adult, trying to come to grips with her less than conventional childhood, Rosie navigated her way through eating disorders, nude acting roles, mental health issues and awkward Tinder dates. Then she had an epiphany: to stop pretending to be who she wasn't and embrace her true self -- a girl who loved drinking wine in her underpants on Sunday nights -- and become an Anti-Cool Girl. An irrepressible, blackly comic memoir, Rosie Waterland's story is a clarion call for Anti-Cool Girls everywhere. 'Individual, wounded, brilliant and hilarious' Sydney Morning Herald 'If Augusten Burroughs and Lena Dunham abandoned their child in an Australian housing estate, she'd write this heartbreaking, hilarious book. It made me laugh uproariously, then feel terrible for her, then laugh all over again. Sorry, Rosie.' Dominic Knight, The Chaser 'Hilarious, wise, gutsy, clear-eyed, devastating and uplifting. It's a marvel.' Richard Glover The Anti Cool Girl was shortlisted for the 2016 Indie Book Awards and for the 2016 ABIA Awards for Biography of the Year, and also shortlisted for the 2017 Russell Prize for Humour Writing. She was also the Winner of the 2016 ABIA Awards People's Choice for the Matt Richell Award for New Writer of the Year

Rosie Waterland (Author), Caroline Lee (Narrator)

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General Audiobooks in Science & Technology