Free Audiobooks in Biography & Memoir, Memoirs

Please visit https://thebookvoice.com/podcasts/1/audiobook/698539 to listen full audiobooks. Title: Vegas Concierge: Sex Trafficking, Hip Hop, and Corruption in America Author: Brian Joseph Narrator: Don Hoier, Brian Joseph, Angela Williams Format: Unabridged Audiobook Length: 6 hours 25 minutes Release date: October 1, 2024 Genres: Memoirs Publisher's Summary: Vegas Concierge is the riveting inside story of a decade-long investigation into sex tracking, police corruption, and hip-hop music in Sin City. A layered saga spanning more than a decade, Vegas Concierge moves from the luxury hotel rooms on the Las Vegas Strip to the inner offices of the Las Vegas police and some of Nevada’s biggest news organizations. Using public and private records as well as exclusive first-person accounts from primary sources, this book shows how prostitutes and pimps ply their trade, how law enforcement agencies trip on themselves and their investigations become compromised, and how self-interest corrupts news organizations and the corridors of power. More than anything, this book examines the disregard American society has toward sex tracking victims.'An investigative journalism tour de force on a painful problem that ultimately compels clearer-eyed action—and a page-turner of a book.'—Duff Wilson, investigative reporter and three-time Pulitzer finalist

Please visit https://thebookvoice.com/podcasts/1/audiobook/711746 to listen full audiobooks. Title: Joan: The true story of how I became Britain’s most notorious diamond thief Author: Joan Hannington Narrator: Kim Taylforth Format: Unabridged Audiobook Length: 9 hours 28 minutes Release date: September 26, 2024 Ratings: Ratings of Book: 4 of Total 2 Genres: Memoirs Publisher's Summary: Brought to you by Penguin. Diamonds are a girl's best friend Joan Hannington was the most notorious female figure in London's criminal underworld during the 80s, earning her the nickname 'The Godmother'. With her stunning looks and glamorous wardrobe, Joan was constantly underestimated, but she used this to her advantage and became an undetected mastermind in high-stakes jewellery theft. Often transforming herself into different characters, Joan seamlessly got away with millions of pounds in diamonds. Coming from a violent, loveless childhood, Joan learnt to trust no one but herself. At seventeen, she becomes a mother, but is trapped in a disastrous marriage with a brutal thug. When he goes on the run, Joan seizes the moment to leave her old life. Motivated by her desire to care for her daughter, Joan gets swept up in the exhilarating world of a life of crime and makes some heartbreaking decisions as she sets her sights on a better life. Joan is the true story of her meteoric rise from petty offender to one of Britain's most accomplished diamond thieves, making a success of life by not playing by the rules when the odds seemed stacked against her. ©2024 Joan Hannington (P)2024 Penguin Audio

Please visit https://thebookvoice.com/podcasts/1/audiobook/702345 to listen full audiobooks. Title: The Road Is Good: How a Mother's Strength Became a Daughter's Purpose Author: Uzo Aduba Narrator: Uzo Aduba Format: Unabridged Audiobook Length: 10 hours 9 minutes Release date: September 24, 2024 Ratings: Ratings of Book: 4.5 of Total 2 Ratings of Narrator: 5 of Total 2 Genres: Memoirs Publisher's Summary: A powerful, timely memoir of Black immigrant identity, the story of an unforgettable matriarch, and a unique coming-of-age story by Nigerian American actress Uzo Aduba. The actress Uzo Aduba came of age grappling with a master juggling act: as one of few Black families in their white Massachusetts suburb, she and her siblings were the unexpected presence in whatever school room or sports team they joined. But Aduba was also rooted by a fierce and nonnegotiable sense of belonging and extraordinary worth that stemmed from her mother’s powerful vision for her children, and their connection to generations of family in Nigeria. The alchemy of being out of place yet driven by fearless conviction powered Aduba to success.  The Road Is Good is more than the journey of a young woman determined to survive young adulthood — and to create a workable identity for herself. It is the story of an incredible mother and a testament to matriarchal power. When Aduba’s mother falls ill, the origin of her own power crystallizes and Aduba leaps into a caretaker role, uniquely prepared by the history and tools her mother passed along to become steward of her ancestoral legacy.   Deeply mining her family history—gripping anecdotes her mother, aunts, and uncles shared in passing at family celebrations and her own discoveries through countless auditions in New York and her travels to Nigeria—Aduba pieces together a life story imbued with guiding lessons that are both personal and profoundly universal.

Please visit https://thebookvoice.com/podcasts/1/audiobook/696713 to listen full audiobooks. Title: An American Story: Everyone’s Invited Author: Wilmer Valderrama Narrator: Wilmer Valderrama Format: Unabridged Audiobook Length: 8 hours 0 minutes Release date: September 17, 2024 Ratings: Ratings of Book: 5 of Total 1 Ratings of Narrator: 5 of Total 1 Genres: Memoirs Publisher's Summary: Read by the author. A love letter to America from the pen of actor, producer, immigrant, and activist Wilmer Valderrama. In this timely memoir, Valderrama looks back on his journey from a tiny pueblo in Venezuela to the big city of Los Angeles—how he discovered his calling as an actor and later as a USO Global Ambassador, found work in Hollywood as an unproven Latino actor, and used his determination and success to build a new life for himself, his family, and many others. Raised by two hard working parents as they navigated their family through a rapidly changing country and the rise of Venezuela's controversial former leader Hugo Chavez, Valderrama delves into his family's flight from their home and the challenges of emigrating to the United States. After being cast in a school theatre production, Valderrama knew he had found his calling and began thinking of ways to help support his struggling family. He would attempt the impossible: find work in Hollywood as an unproven Latino actor. Following countless auditions and frequent criticisms of his accent, he created the personality that would eventually land him the role as Fez on That 70s Show.  It catapulted him to stardom. Over the coming years, he would create the smash show, Yo Mamma, voice the lead character in Disney's Encanto, and eventually join the cast of NCIS. But it was through service to others and his first USO trip where Valderrama found his further calling—entertaining and encouraging U.S. troops around the world. The saga of a determined soul, An American Story: Everyone's Invited is an exploration of America through the eyes of a young immigrant from Venezuela who had a dream to change the world, a talent for entertaining, and the resolve to build a new life, taking as many as possible with him on the journey. 'This is my way of showing my love, my gratitude to the country that changed my whole life.' The photo insert can be found in the audiobook companion PDF download.

Please visit https://thebookvoice.com/podcasts/1/audiobook/700734 to listen full audiobooks. Title: On a Move: Philadelphia’s Notorious Bombing and a Native Son’s Lifelong Battle for Justice Author: Mike Africa Jr. Narrator: Mike Africa Jr. Format: Unabridged Audiobook Length: 10 hours 6 minutes Release date: August 6, 2024 Genres: Memoirs Publisher's Summary: The incredible story of MOVE, the revolutionary Black civil liberties group that Philadelphia police bombed in 1985, killing 11 civilians—by one of the few people born into the organization, raised during the bombing's tumultuous aftermath, and entrusted with repairing what was left of his family. ''As necessary and powerful as it is captivating.'' – Michael Harriot, New York Times bestselling author of Black AF History ''Searing and urgent.'' – Bakari Sellers, New York Times bestselling author of My Vanishing Country and The Moment Before police dropped a bomb on a residential neighborhood on May 13, 1985, few people outside Philadelphia were aware that a Black-led civil liberties organization had taken root there. Founded in 1972 by a charismatic ideologue called John Africa, MOVE’s mission was to protect all forms of life from systemic oppression. They drew their ideology from the Black Panther Party and pre-dated animal and environmental rights groups like PETA and Earth First. MOVE emerged in an era when Black Philadelphians suffered under devastating policies brought by the long, doomed war in Vietnam, Mayor Frank Rizzo’s overtly racist police surveillance, and, eventually, President Ronald Reagan's War on Drugs. MOVE members lived together in a collection of West Philadelphia row houses and took the surname Africa out of admiration for the group's founder. But in MOVE's lifestyle, city officials saw threats to their status quo. Their bombing of MOVE homes shocked the nation and made international news. Eleven people were killed, including five children. And the City of Brotherly Love became known as the City That Bombed Itself. Among the children most affected by the bombing was Mike Africa Jr. Born in jail following a police attack on MOVE that led to his parents’ decades-long incarcerations, Mike was six years old and living with his grandmother when MOVE was bombed. In the ensuing years, Mike sought purpose in the ashes left behind. He began learning about the law as a teenager and became adept at speaking and inspiring public support with the help of other MOVE members. In 2018, at age 40, he finally succeeded in getting his parents released from prison. On a Move is one of the most unimaginable stories of injustice and resilience in recent American history. But it is not only one of tragedy. It is about coming-of-age for a young activist, the strong ties of family, and, against all odds, learning how to take indignities on the chin and to work within the very system that created them. At once a harrowing personal account and an impassioned examination of racism and police violence, On a Move testifies to the power of love and hope, in the face of astonishing wrongdoing.

Please visit https://thebookvoice.com/podcasts/1/audiobook/712489 to listen full audiobooks. Title: A Well-Trained Wife: My Escape from Christian Patriarchy Author: Tia Levings Narrator: Tia Levings Format: Unabridged Audiobook Length: 10 hours 54 minutes Release date: August 6, 2024 Ratings: Ratings of Book: 4.38 of Total 16 Ratings of Narrator: 5 of Total 3 Genres: Memoirs Publisher's Summary: This gripping audiobook is a strong choice alongside books about high-demand religion, overcoming odds, and finding inner strength in impossible situations.'—Booklist (Starred Review) This program is read by the author. “Today it hit me when he hit me, blood shaking in my brain. Maybe there wasn’t a savior coming. Maybe it was up to me to save me.” Recruited into the fundamentalist Quiverfull movement as a young wife, Tia Levings learned that being a good Christian meant following a list of additional life principles––a series of secret, special rules to obey. Being a godly and submissive wife in Christian Patriarchy included strict discipline, isolation, and an alternative lifestyle that appeared wholesome to outsiders. Women were to be silent, “keepers of the home.” Tia knew that to their neighbors her family was strange, but she also couldn't risk exposing their secret lifestyle to police, doctors, teachers, or anyone outside of their church. Christians were called in scripture to be “in the world, not of it.” So, she hid in plain sight as years of abuse and pain followed. When Tia realized she was the only one who could protect her children from becoming the next generation of patriarchal men and submissive women, she began to resist and question how they lived. But in the patriarchy, a woman with opinions is in danger, and eventually, Tia faced an urgent and extreme choice: stay and face dire consequences, or flee with her children. Told in a beautiful, honest, and sometimes harrowing voice, A Well-Trained Wife is an unforgettable and timely memoir about a woman's race to save herself and her family and details the ways that extreme views can manifest in a marriage. A Macmillan Audio production from St. Martin’s Press.

Please visit https://thebookvoice.com/podcasts/1/audiobook/706013 to listen full audiobooks. Title: Storm Pegs: A Life Made in Shetland Author: Jen Hadfield Narrator: Jen Hadfield Format: Unabridged Audiobook Length: 10 hours 38 minutes Release date: July 11, 2024 Genres: Memoirs Publisher's Summary: This audio edition is read by the author and was recorded in a remote studio in Shetland. 'Storm Pegs perfectly captures the knotting of language and landscape. I was transported.' - Katherine May, Sunday Times bestselling author of Wintering From the winner of the T.S. Eliot Prize and the Highland Book Prize What if the answer to ‘Where am I?’ is ‘heaven’? In her late twenties, celebrated poet Jen Hadfield moved to the Shetland archipelago to make her life anew. A scattering of islands at the northernmost point of the United Kingdom, frequently cut off from the mainland by storms, Shetland is a place of Vikings and myths, of ancient languages and old customs, of breathtaking landscapes and violent weather. It has long fascinated travellers seeking the edge of the world. On these islands known for their isolation and drama, Hadfield found something more: a place teeming with life, where rare seabirds blow in on Atlantic gales, seals and dolphins visit its beaches, and wild folk festivals carry the residents through long, dark winters. She found a close-knit community, too, of neighbours always willing to lend a boat or build a creel, of women wild-swimming together in the star-spangled winter seas. Over seventeen years, as bright summer nights gave way to storm-lashed winters, she learned new ways to live. In prose as rich and magical as Shetland itself, Hadfield transports us to the islands as a local; introducing us to the remote and beautiful archipelago where she has made her home, and shows us new ways of living at the edge.

Please visit https://thebookvoice.com/podcasts/1/audiobook/712238 to listen full audiobooks. Title: A Thousand Miles From Care: The Hunt for My Brother’s Killer – A Thirty-Year Quest for Justice Author: Steve Johnson Narrator: Steve Johnson Format: Unabridged Audiobook Length: 10 hours 14 minutes Release date: July 4, 2024 Genres: Memoirs Publisher's Summary: Soon to be a MAJOR MOVIE. A gripping and heartbreaking story, A Thousand Miles from Care tells the 30-year quest Steve Johnson undertook to uncover the truth about his brilliant brother’s death. At the entrance of Sydney Harbor, the cliffs rise fourteen stories above the Pacific, like a gigantic skirt made of sandstone. North Head, one of the most memorable cliffs, is a gorgeous place to watch the sunrise. But it’s an unforgiving place to lose your footing. When Steve Johnson’s younger brother Scott went over the edge in 1988, he hit an outcrop on the way down and exploded on the rocks below. A Thousand Miles from Care draws upon the mountain of exclusive materials Steve amassed over his 32-year fight for answers, including sealed court transcripts, police records, interviews with suspects, inquest reports, correspondence with gang members, private investigations, and much else. It utilizes unique details, interview transcripts and insights based on Johnson’s close relationship with authorities and high-ranking New South Wales officials developed over more than three decades. This profoundly impactful book traces the steps Steve Johnson, his family and friends took to solve the mystery of Scott’s alleged suicide, navigating an openly hostile police force and a maze of dead ends, unreliable informants, skinhead gangs, a faked confession, police-connected drug rings, and setbacks at every turn. A Thousand Miles from Care is above all, a love story between two brothers but shared by everyone who worked so long for truth and justice for Scott.

Please visit https://thebookvoice.com/podcasts/1/audiobook/715276 to listen full audiobooks. Title: The Off The Beat: My life as a brown, Muslim woman in the Met Author: Nusrit Mehtab Narrator: Shaheen Khan Format: Unabridged Audiobook Length: 8 hours 36 minutes Release date: July 4, 2024 Genres: Memoirs Publisher's Summary: Brought to you by Penguin. When Nusrit Mehtab joined the Met Police in the late 80s the organisation was rife with racism and misogyny. Officers refused to patrol with her, or even call her by her name. Her attempts to get promoted were met with hostility and ridicule and she was subject to cruel pranks. As the years passed and her seniority grew, Nusrit was dismayed to find that these problems got worse, not better. After 30 years, she finally had enough and left the MET, initiating an employment tribunal against them in the process. Now lecturing new recruits in policing law and criminology, she's confident that we can mould the next generation of officers to create a more inclusive police force, safer for both the officers and the public. Full of gritty and shocking stories from the heart of the organisation, Law and Disorder shines the light on an institution that has lost sight of it’s mission to protect us and pleads the case for a brighter and safer future. ©2024 Nusrit Mehtab (P)2024 Penguin Audio

Please visit https://thebookvoice.com/podcasts/1/audiobook/702310 to listen full audiobooks. Title: Sharing Space: An Astronaut's Guide to Mission, Wonder, and Making Change Author: Cady Coleman Narrator: Cady Coleman Format: Unabridged Audiobook Length: 9 hours 18 minutes Release date: July 2, 2024 Genres: Memoirs Publisher's Summary: Former NASA astronaut Cady Coleman shares the wisdom that helped her overcome the barriers of others’ expectations—and how to work on a team both in close quarters and remotely. In 2010, Cady Coleman boarded a rocket and blasted off into space for her third NASA mission, a six-month expedition to the International Space Station where she was the only woman on her six-person crew. After years spent overcoming obstacles in competitive and elite environments, including grappling with her own doubts and needing to overturn the expectations of others, Coleman became a success story in a role that wasn’t built with her in mind—a mother who is also an astronaut, scientists, Air Force pilot, and leader.  Her determination and her amazing experiences give her a unique perspective on how to set yourself up for success, and on life here on Earth. In Sharing Space, Cady shares counterintuitive insights integral to her success, such as how to leverage insecurities to beat expectations, how to know when to adapt and when to instead press for change, and how to be the glue that holds a disparate team together so it can be shaped to thrive. Illustrated with stories from her life and training, Cady takes readers from meteorite hunting in Antarctica to launching a $1.6 billion telescope into space to the wonder of spending six months living and working in zero gravity. This book will inspire anyone eager to escape a box in which they have been (unfairly) placed or to develop the confidence to succeed, even when they’re not an obvious “fit.”