Best-Selling Full Audiobooks in Biography & Memoir, Memoirs

Please visit https://thebookvoice.com/podcasts/1/audiobook/551256 to listen full audiobooks. Title: Silk Author: Shaun Burgoyne Narrator: Tamblyn Lord Format: Unabridged Audiobook Length: 8 hours 30 minutes Release date: January 5, 2022 Genres: Memoirs Publisher's Summary: Shaun Burgoyne - inspirational footballer, leader of his people, devoted family man - is one of the most respected players in AFL history, on and off the field. The man they call 'Silk' was the ultimate team player - versatile, highly skilled and hard at the contest, with an enviable reputation for being able to stand up in big moments. Burgoyne is a proud Indigenous man, with a football pedigree that is a story in itself. Starting with his father's time at the Koonibba Roosters, the oldest surviving Indigenous footy club in Australia, the Burgoyne name is directly linked to Gavin Wanganeen, Eddie Betts, Graham Johncock and many other AFL stars. In his 400-plus games, Burgoyne had only two coaches. He reveals the tough love dished out by Port Adelaide coach Mark 'Choco' Williams, and the left-field techniques of legendary Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson. He shares how he changed from star midfielder to role player, a move that enabled him to overcome injuries and become one of the best impact players the game has seen. Burgoyne's story isn't just about winning four premierships and becoming the Indigenous games record holder. He experienced the ugliness of racist taunts, from growing up in Port Lincoln to bearing witness to the fallout of Adam Goodes' public stance on racism. The way Burgoyne sees it, we can't change history but we must learn from it, and work towards reconciliation, to a position of mutual respect and understanding. This modest champion shares what he has learnt to show others what is possible when you seize opportunities, are willing to put in the work and surround yourself with the right people - family, friends, teammates, mentors - who will inspire, support and guide you every step of the way.

Please visit https://thebookvoice.com/podcasts/1/audiobook/547375 to listen full audiobooks. Title: The Unbreakable Boy: A Father's Fear, a Son's Courage, and a Story of Unconditional Love Author: Scott Michael Lerette Narrator: Stu Gray Format: Unabridged Audiobook Length: 5 hours 45 minutes Release date: January 4, 2022 Genres: Memoirs Publisher's Summary: The Unbreakable Boy is a raucously tender story of a teenage boy who joyfully embraces life's tragedies and triumphs--and an inspiring story of how his father was transformed through their journey together. Like any other teenage boy, Austin loves pizza, movies, dancing, and girls. But unlike most other eighteen-year-olds, he has a rare brittle bone disease, was locked in a mental ward as a child, and is autistic. Yet Austin doesn't let any of that stop him from embracing life. His is a world where suffering a broken back is a minor inconvenience and the quest for the ultimate strawberry shake just might be the best day of his life. Austin's journey dares us to believe that - miracles are possible; - hope does spring eternal; and - we can find joyous moments to celebrate every day. Written with remarkable candor by Austin's father, Scott, and New York Times bestselling author Susy Flory, The Unbreakable Boy weaves the beautiful and often humorous tale of how Austin teaches his father--and everyone else he encounters--to have faith in God and trust that one day life's messes will all make sense. Family photos and further resources are available in the audiobook companion PDF download

Please visit https://thebookvoice.com/podcasts/1/audiobook/547454 to listen full audiobooks. Title: Unthinkable: Trauma, Truth, and the Trials of American Democracy Author: Jamie Raskin Narrator: Jamie Raskin Format: Unabridged Audiobook Length: 15 hours 8 minutes Release date: January 4, 2022 Ratings: Ratings of Book: 4.52 of Total 31 Ratings of Narrator: 5 of Total 9 Genres: Memoirs Publisher's Summary: A #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER. In this searing memoir, Congressman Jamie Raskin tells the story of the forty-five days at the start of 2021 that permanently changed his life—and his family’s—as he confronted the painful loss of his son to suicide, lived through the violent insurrection in our nation’s Capitol, and led the impeachment effort to hold President Trump accountable for inciting the political violence.  On December 31, 2020, Tommy Raskin, the only son of Maryland Congressman Jamie Raskin, tragically took his own life after a long struggle with depression. Seven days later on January 6, Congressman Raskin returned to Congress to help certify the 2020 Presidential election results, when violent insurrectionists led by right wing extremist groups stormed the U.S. Capitol hoping to hand four more years of power to President Donald Trump. As our reeling nation mourned the deaths of numerous people and lamented the injuries of more than 140 police officers hurt in the attack, Congressman Raskin, a Constitutional law professor, was called upon to put aside his overwhelming grief—both personal and professional—and lead the impeachment effort against President Trump for inciting the violence. Together this nine-member team of House impeachment managers riveted a nation still in anguish, putting on an unprecedented Senate trial that produced the most bipartisan Presidential impeachment vote in American history.  Now for the first time, Congressman Raskin discusses this unimaginable convergence of personal and public trauma, detailing how the painful loss of his son and the power of Tommy’s convictions fueled the Congressman’s work in the aftermath of modern democracy’s darkest day. Going inside Congress on January 6, he recounts the horror of that day, a day that he and other Democrats had spent months preparing for under the correct assumption that they would encounter an attempted electoral coup—not against a President but for one. And yet, on January 6, he faced the one thing he had failed to anticipate: mass political violence designed to block Biden’s election. With an inside account of leading the team prosecuting President Trump in the Senate, Congressman Raskin shares never before told stories of just how close we came to losing our democracy that fateful day and lays out the methodical prosecution that convinced Democrats and Republicans alike of Trump’s responsibility for inciting insurrectionary violence against our government.  Through it all, he reckons with the loss of his brilliant, remarkable son, a Harvard Law student whose values and memory continually inspired the Congressman to confront the dark impulses unleashed by Donald Trump. At turns, a moving story of a father coping with his pain and a revealing examination of holding President Trump accountable for the violence he fomented, this book is a vital reminder of the ongoing struggle for the soul of American democracy and the perseverance that our Constitution demands from us all.

Please visit https://thebookvoice.com/podcasts/1/audiobook/552319 to listen full audiobooks. Title: The Last Letter: A Father's Struggle, A Daughter's Quest and the Long Shadow of the Holocaust Author: Karen Baum Gordon Narrator: Christa Lewis Format: Unabridged Audiobook Length: 9 hours 33 minutes Release date: December 28, 2021 Genres: Memoirs Publisher's Summary: Born a German Jew in 1915, Rudy Baum was eighty-six years old when he sealed the garage door of his Dallas home, turned on the car ignition, and tried to end his life. After confronting her father's attempted suicide, Karen Baum Gordon, Rudy's daughter, began a sincere effort to understand the sequence of events that led her father to that dreadful day in 2002. What she found were hidden scars of generational struggles reaching back to the camps and ghettos of the Third Reich. In The Last Letter: A Father's Struggle, a Daughter's Quest, and the Long Shadow of the Holocaust, Gordon explores not only her father's life story, but also the stories and events that shaped the lives of her grandparents—two Holocaust victims that Rudy tried in vain to save in the late 1930s and early years of World War II. This investigation of her family's history is grounded in eighty-eight letters written mostly by Julie Baum, Rudy's mother and Karen's grandmother, to Rudy between November 1936 and October 1941. In five parts, Gordon examines pieces of these well-worn, handwritten letters and other archival documents in order to discover what her family experienced during the Nazi period and the psychological impact that reverberated from it in the generations that followed. Contains mature themes.

Please visit https://thebookvoice.com/podcasts/1/audiobook/555670 to listen full audiobooks. Title: Bright Lights, Prairie Dust: Reflections on Life, Loss, and Love from Little House's Ma Author: Karen Grassle Narrator: Karen Grassle Format: Unabridged Audiobook Length: 13 hours 50 minutes Release date: December 28, 2021 Ratings: Ratings of Book: 5 of Total 2 Ratings of Narrator: 5 of Total 1 Genres: Memoirs Publisher's Summary: Karen Grassle, the beloved actress who played Ma on Little House on the Prairie, grew up at the edge of the Pacific Ocean in a family where love was plentiful but alcohol wreaked havoc. In this candid memoir, Grassle reveals her journey to succeed as an actress even as she struggles to overcome depression, combat her own dependence on alcohol, and find true love. With humor and hard-won wisdom, Grassle takes listeners on an inspiring journey through the political turmoil on '60s campuses, on to studies with some of the most celebrated artists at the famed London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts, and ultimately behind the curtains of Broadway stages and storied Hollywood sets. In these pages, readers meet actors and directors who have captivated us on screen and stage as they fall in love, betray and befriend, and don costumes only to reveal themselves. We know Karen Grassle best as the proud prairie woman Caroline Ingalls, with her quiet strength and devotion to family, but this memoir introduces readers to the complex, funny, rebellious, and soulful woman who, in addition to being the force behind those many strong women she played, fought passionately—as a writer, producer, and activist—on behalf of equal rights for women. Raw, emotional, and tender, Bright Lights celebrates and honors womanhood, in all its complexity.

Please visit https://thebookvoice.com/podcasts/1/audiobook/550660 to listen full audiobooks. Title: The First 50 Author: Natascia Tornetta-Mallin Narrator: Jean Ann Douglass Format: Unabridged Audiobook Length: 11 hours 37 minutes Release date: December 14, 2021 Genres: Memoirs Publisher's Summary: A proudly humanist portrayal of sexual impulse and impropriety in the City of Angels, The First 50 is a chronological recapitulation of fifty erotic encounters that take place between the ages of thirteen and thirty-three. Columbine, 9/11, The Iraq War, and The Great Recession set the stage as a young woman navigates the ambient decadence that has long defined Los Angeles. From hot tubs in Santa Monica mansions to bar bathrooms on Venice street corners, this book inverts Bret Easton Ellis's Less Than Zero by replacing Gen X ennui with a Millennial zest for living. Meet 'The First 50,' but not the last . . .

Please visit https://thebookvoice.com/podcasts/1/audiobook/550699 to listen full audiobooks. Title: Uneven Justice: The Plot to Sink Galleon Author: Raj Rajaratnam Narrator: Asa Siegel Format: Unabridged Audiobook Length: 13 hours 3 minutes Release date: December 14, 2021 Ratings: Ratings of Book: 5 of Total 1 Ratings of Narrator: 5 of Total 1 Genres: Memoirs Publisher's Summary: Raj Rajaratnam, the respected founder of the iconic hedge fund Galleon Group, which managed seven billion and employed 180 people in its heyday, chose to go to trial rather than concede to a false narrative concocted by ambitious prosecutors looking for a scapegoat for the 2008 financial crisis. Naively perhaps, Rajaratnam had expected to get a fair hearing in court. As an immigrant who had achieved tremendous success in his adopted country, he trusted the system. He had not anticipated prosecutorial overreach—inspired by political ambition—FBI fabrications, judicial compliance, and lies told under oath by cooperating witnesses. In the end, Rajaratnam was convicted and sentenced to eleven years in prison. He served seven and a half. Meanwhile, not a single senior bank executive responsible for the financial crisis was even charged. Uneven Justice is the story of his bewildering and confounding prosecution by forces who, quite frankly, were looking for bigger game. When Rajaratnam refused to support the narrative that would make that happen, he and the Galleon Group became collateral damage. A must-listen cautionary tale with implications for us all, Uneven Justice is an eye-opening lesson in the vagaries of justice when an unscrupulous prosecutor is calling the shots.

Please visit https://thebookvoice.com/podcasts/1/audiobook/553152 to listen full audiobooks. Title: Daughter of Gloriavale: My Life in a Religious Cult Author: Lilia Tarawa Narrator: Sarah Mollo-Christensen Format: Unabridged Audiobook Length: 9 hours 10 minutes Release date: December 14, 2021 Ratings: Ratings of Book: 4.5 of Total 2 Ratings of Narrator: 5 of Total 1 Genres: Memoirs Publisher's Summary: In this personal account, Lilia Tarawa exposes the shocking secrets of the cult, with its rigid rules and oppressive control of women. She describes her fear when her family questioned Gloriavale's beliefs and practices. When her parents fled with their children, Lilia was forced to make a desperate choice: to stay or to leave. No matter what she chose, she would lose people she loved. In the outside world, Lilia struggled. Would she be damned to hell for leaving? How would she learn to navigate this strange place called 'the world'? And would she ever find out the truth about the criminal convictions against her grandfather?

Please visit https://thebookvoice.com/podcasts/1/audiobook/554701 to listen full audiobooks. Title: Adickted with Andy Dick Author: Andy Dick Narrator: Andy Dick Format: Unabridged Audiobook Length: 7 hours 14 minutes Release date: December 14, 2021 Genres: Memoirs Publisher's Summary: This audio original includes ten must-listen podcast episodes from comedian and actor Andy Dick. Contains mature themes.

Please visit https://thebookvoice.com/podcasts/1/audiobook/548327 to listen full audiobooks. Title: [Spanish] - Memoria por correspondencia Author: Emma Reyes Narrator: Carmenza González Format: Abridged Audiobook Length: 4 hours 41 minutes Release date: December 9, 2021 Genres: Memoirs Publisher's Summary: 'Memoria por correspondencia ha tocado el corazón de los lectores por muchas razones: por su frescura, por su capacidad de revelar un mundo sin caer en el costumbrismo y por la sabia medida de sus palabras. Pero, ante todo porque sus páginas son hondamente humanas y poéticas.' —Piedad Bonnet 'Un relato digno de Dickens (…) Un nuevo clásico, un libro duro y entrañable destinado a perdurar.' —Darío Jaramillo Agudelo 'Emma Reyes es alguien que ha sabido pasar el sentido trágico de la vida por el tamiz adecuado para transformarlo en el regocijo trágico de la prosa.' —Leila Guerriero Mediante veintitrés cartas dirigidas a su amigo y confidente Germán Arciniegas, Emma Reyes asumió el arduo ejercicio de narrar los giros y adversidades que vivió durante su infancia. Estos textos, escritos entre 1969 y 1997, son una conmovedora mezcla de inocencia y serenidad ante la tragedia, y articulan magistralmente un relato personal que evoca el duro contexto de la Colombia de la segunda y tercera décadas del siglo xx. Cuando el libro de Emma Reyes se publicó por primera vez, me contrarió ver que los lectores entregaban su entusiasmo unánime a la obra de una escritora que, convenientemente para la misoginia nacional, cumplía con las condiciones de estar muerta, de no haber sido escritora y de haber sido autora de una literatura supuestamente carente de artificio, lo cual correspondía a la fantasía de una escritura femenina como discurso «al natural». Se trataba, además, de una mujer que escribía su vida en respuesta a un hombre. El obispo recriminador de Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz y el confesor de Santa Teresa reencarnaban en el igualmente patriarcal Germán Arciniegas, a quien iban dirigidas —y por cuya iniciativa se habían escrito— las cartas que contenían la infancia. Todavía siento malestar ante esa custodia y ante el condescendiente viático de Arciniegas (ante la calificación de «inteligentísima» que dedica a Emma en el artículo que se publica con este libro), pero me interesa el abrigo que proporciona la carta —dirigida a un destinatario individual, a un lector conocido y querido— para que la memoria anterior a la memoria —la escritura de la desnudez— pueda surgir, extenderse, inventarse, encontrarse y comunicarse; me interesa cómo el oído del amigo se impone sobre los ojos imaginarios de los lectores inciertos —y también cómo al fin estos ojos (los de la lectora) se sobreponen a aquel oído—. (Del prólogo de Carolina Sanín a la edición de Memoria por correspondencia de Laguna Libros)