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Title: Confessions of a Latter-Day Virgin

Subtitle: A Memoir

Author: Nicole Hardy

Narrator: Nicole Hardy

Format: Unabridged

Length: 10 hrs and 33 mins

Language: English

Release date: 08-20-13

Publisher: Brilliance Audio

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 28 votes

Genres: Bios & Memoirs, Personal Memoirs

Publisher's Summary:

When Nicole Hardys eye-opening "Modern Love" column appeared in the New York Times, the response from readers was overwhelming. Hardys essay, which exposed the conflict between being true to herself as a woman and remaining true to her Mormon faith, struck a chord with women coast-to-coast.

Now in her funny, intimate, and thoughtful memoir, Nicole Hardy explores how she came, at the age of 35, to a crossroads regarding her faith and her identity. During her childhood and throughout her 20s, Nicole held absolute conviction in her faith. But as she aged out of the Churchs "singles ward" and entered her 30s, she struggled to merge the life she envisioned for herself with the Mormon ideal of homemaker, wife, and mother.

Confessions of a Latter-Day Virgin chronicles the extraordinary lengths Nicole went to in an attempt to reconcile her human needs with her spiritual life - flying across the country for dates with Mormon men, taking up salsa dancing as a source for physical contact, even moving to Grand Cayman, where the ocean and scuba diving provided some solace. But neither secular pursuits nor church guidance could help Nicole prepare for the dilemma she would eventually face: a crisis of faith that caused her to question everything shed grown up believing.

In the tradition of the memoirs Devotion and Mennonite in a Little Black Dress, Confessions of a Latter-day Virgin is a mesmerizing and wholly relatable account of one womans hard-won mission to find love, acceptance, and happiness - on her own terms.

Members Reviews:

This Book Spoke to Me

As a sex-positive feminist who was raised in the Mormon tradition and learned as a young adult that it wasn't for me, I found this book to be very moving on a personal level. Nicole Hardy does an excellent job of conveying how frustrating a situation it is to be a woman with a prescribed life pattern set before you, not having your life pan out that way through no fault of your own, and being compelled to blaze new trails to self-actualization.

I had a hard time putting this book down, so to speak. I even got teary in a few parts.

Nicole Hardy's writing style and delivery are both articulate and sincere.

Interesting story--GREAT narrator

If you could sum up Confessions of a Latter-Day Virgin in three words, what would they be?

Compassionate, Interesting, Naive. I had compassion for Nicole Hardy while listening to the story, just as she had compassion for her parents, as she knew she would hurt them when she left the LDS and didn't want to hurt them. The book makes the reader think about religion and its role and what the reader himself or herself would do in such a situation. The reason I said "naive" is 1) I think Nicole Hardy is naive about men and relationships, and may have gone through some of the same obstacles even if she hadn't been LDS. 2) Her parents were naive about how unrealistic their expectations were. Everybody isn't able to keep to the upbringing of a sect like that. I had many of the same experiences growing up in another very strict sect that shuns, worse than LDS.

Some of my favorite parts were where Nicole is thinking of responses to the women who act like marital status is the only important thing about a woman.

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Title: The Possibility Dogs

Subtitle: What a Handful of 'Unadoptables' Taught Me about Service, Hope, and Healing

Author: Susannah Charleson

Narrator: Susannah Charleson

Format: Unabridged

Length: 11 hrs and 18 mins

Language: English

Release date: 06-04-13

Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 336 votes

Genres: Bios & Memoirs, Personal Memoirs

Publisher's Summary:

From the author of the critically acclaimed bestseller, Scent of the Missing, comes a heartwarming and inspiring story that shows how dogs can be rescued and can rescue in return.

For her first book, Susannah Charleson was praised for her unique insight into the kinship between humans and dogs, as revealed through canine search and rescue. In The Possibility Dogs Charleson chronicles her journey into the world of psychiatric-service and therapy dogs trained to serve the human mind, a journey that began as a personal one. After a particularly grisly search led to a struggle with PTSD, Charleson credits healing to her partnership with search dog Puzzle. Inspired by that experience and having met dogs formally trained to assist in such crises, Charleson learns to identify abandoned dogs with service potential, often plucking them from shelters at the last minute, and to train them for work beside hurting partners, to whom these second-chance dogs bring intelligence, comfort, and hope.

From black Lab puppy Merlin, once cast away in a garbage bag, who stabilizes his partners panic attacks to Ollie, the blind and deaf terrier who soothes anxious children, to Jake Piper, the starving pit bull mix who goes from abandoned to irreplaceable, The Possibility Dogs illuminates a whole new world of canine potential.

Members Reviews:

Love Given, Love Returned--Tenfold

What do you get when you take into your heart and into your home a dog that doesn't stand a chance? Devotion, Loyalty. Love without end.

And with service dogs, a chance to live a normal life.

So many of us take life for granted, living with occasional compulsions, flare ups of anxiety and fears, every now and then feeling disoriented, but there are those amongst us who are absolutely debilitated by these things. This is old news by now, but this book makes it real, yet again, gives us names, faces, emotions that are touching, and we wind up rooting for people who open their hearts and put their fates in the paws of the service dogs who save them. But really. What I like about this book is that it's such a chicken and the egg deal. Somebody saves the dog? The dog saves somebody else? That somebody continues to care for the dog? The dog continues to care for the person? Where does it begin, where does it end?

It doesn't matter, because it's wonderful, and so filled with hard work, faith, and hope that you wind up thinking about it long after your reading/listening time is over.

My only advice is to listen to it at x1.25 if you find Charleson's narration to drag. Even then, it's kind of slow going. Still, I enjoyed the emotion in her voice, and the tone, just too many pauses for my taste.

Wonderful book, great epilogue. Bravo to animal rescue and trainers!

Rescue is the New Black

For all the efforts my friends and I put into pulling dogs and cats from kill shelters, rounding up foster homes, and lobbying for laws mandating humane treatment and spay/neuter, none of that may be as effective at making the case to stop the mass killing of dogs as this book. With a calm and persuasive authorial voice, Susannah Charleson clearly shows with personal examples what a mostly untapped resource is sitting in our pounds and shelters.

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Title: Climbing the Stairs

Author: Margaret Powell

Narrator: Mary Wells

Format: Unabridged

Length: 4 hrs and 57 mins

Language: English

Release date: 05-13-13

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 32 votes

Genres: Bios & Memoirs, Personal Memoirs

Publisher's Summary:

From the grand houses of Brighton to imposing London mansions, life as a kitchen maid could be exhausting and demoralizing. It's not just being at the beck and call of the people upstairs, when even the children of the family can treat you like dirt, but having to deal with temperamental cooks, starchy butlers, and chauffeurs with a roving eye. Marriage is the only escape, but with one evening off a week Margaret has no time to lose. Between Perce the bus conductor (who brings his mother on dates) and Mr. Hailsham the fishmonger (who looks - and smells - a bit like his wares), her initial prospects are hardly the stuff of dreams. But then she meets Albert; a butcher boy-turned-milkman. Could he be the perfect husband? And can she make the perfect wife when, as she soon discovers, years spent serving others don't prepare you for managing your own life? Soon Margaret begins to wonder - how can someone like her ever improve their station?

Told with her trademark wit and warmth, Climbing the Stairs is a unique, sharp-eyed tale of a time when the idea of masters and servants began to lose its sway, and of a remarkable woman who grasped the opportunities of this brave new world with both hands.

Critic Reviews:

"Margaret Powell was the first person outside my family to introduce me to that world, so near and yet seemingly so far away, where servants and their employers would live their vividly different lives under one roof. Her memories, funny and poignant, angry and charming, haunted me until, many years later, I made my own attempts to capture those people for the camera. I certainly owe her a great debt." (Julian Fellowes)

Members Reviews:

The Antidote To Downton Abbey Snobbery

I admit it. I watched all the episodes of Downton Abbey quite happily. I loved the show. But it quickly becomes apparent that the world Fellowes creates has little in common with the actual world of the period. Fortunately we have Margaret Powell for that. Rather than whitewash the upper classes as good people who rarely do anything wrong, Powell reminds us these were indeed people who happily employed ten year olds. Her own childhood abruptly ended early as she left before attending high school to go work for such people. Powell is brutally accurate about her life as a kitchen maid and cook. She reminds us that terrible working conditions were the norm back then and employers rarely the grateful and considerate people Fellowes would have us believe.

We can only be thankful that her sharp, piercing and accurate voice is allowed to be heard in print.

Excellent social history

Like "Below Stairs", this book is another window into a life that is very different from ours. The narrative is very direct, and comes across as almost uncensored, or at least unvarnished. Margaret reports what happened, not just what makes her look good. There are references to her times "below stairs", but this book focuses on life just before and after she married Albert the Milkman. Among the touching things -- She describes how life got less social and less interesting as television was introduced, both because people stayed home to watch it instead of going to the pub, and then because the tvs invaded the pubs and people watched them instead of talking to each other. There are interesting passages on life in the UK during WW2.

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Title: In the Body of the World

Author: Eve Ensler

Narrator: Eve Ensler

Format: Unabridged

Length: 4 hrs and 15 mins

Language: English

Release date: 04-30-13

Publisher: Macmillan Audio

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 46 votes

Genres: Bios & Memoirs, Personal Memoirs

Publisher's Summary:

From the best-selling author of The Vagina Monologues and one of Newsweeks 150 Women Who Changed the World, a visionary memoir of separation and connection - to the body, the self, and the world

Playwright, author, and activist Eve Ensler has devoted her life to the female body - how to talk about it, how to protect and value it. Yet she spent much of her life disassociated from her own body - a disconnection brought on by her fathers sexual abuse and her mothers remoteness. Because I did not, could not inhabit my body or the Earth, she writes, I could not feel or know their pain.

But Ensler is shocked out of her distance. While working in the Congo, she is shattered to encounter the horrific rape and violence inflicted on the women there. Soon after, she is diagnosed with uterine cancer, and through months of harrowing treatment, she is forced to become first and foremost a body - pricked, punctured, cut, scanned. It is then that all distance is erased. As she connects her own illness to the devastation of the earth, her life force to the resilience of humanity, she is finally, fully - and gratefully - joined to the body of the world. Unflinching, generous, and inspiring, Ensler calls on us all to embody our connection to and responsibility for the world.

Members Reviews:

Beautiful story

This is my new favorite book. It offers new ways to look at negative situations. Eve brings you with her on her journey and you feel the pain and growth she has gone through in her voice.

Made an impression on me

I had to restart this book 3 times. It has a heavy subject but following the story line and the changing back and forth left me a bit confused. I found myself having to rewind to fully understand what was happening. It's ok but I wouldn't recommend.

phenomenal

this was one of the most incredible and powerful books i have ever listened to. Eve is a beautiful power house with so much sensitivity for every moment of life. She is a phenomenal author and narrator. this book made me cry and laugh. I'm inspired to rise, rise, rise..... Thanks you Eve.

A vivid metaphor

The reader is pulled into the depths, examining the meaning of Life and of Death. Eve Ensler reveals how her experiences in her body parallel those that what the World endures. We are all connected and we are all part of the World we live in. Straight talk from the gut and out of Love. That this was read by the author herself enriched the essence of her message.

Scan!

If you could sum up In the Body of the World in three words, what would they be?

Profound, beautiful, and inspiring.

What other book might you compare In the Body of the World to and why?

Jane Fonda's My Life So Far. Another strong female with balls.

Any additional comments?

I am in awe of this woman's courage, strength, and love of life. I feel so privileged, honored and lucky to be a recipient of this awesome gift that this beautiful warrior had the courage to cronicle and narrate for us. She has given me inspiration, validation and guidance to dig deep and not be afraid to face what I encounter along the way, for that is exactly where our truth lies. This is surely one, if not 'the' scariest thing we'll ever do for owerseves, but once a glimpse or a taste is absorbed, it's the only game in town.

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Title: The Boy Kings of Texas

Subtitle: A Memoir

Author: Domingo Martinez

Narrator: Emilio Delgado

Format: Unabridged

Length: 13 hrs and 29 mins

Language: English

Release date: 04-30-13

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 242 votes

Genres: Bios & Memoirs, Personal Memoirs

Publisher's Summary:

Lyrical and gritty, this New York Times best-selling coming-of-age story about a border-town family in Brownsville, Texas, insightfully illuminates a little-understood corner of America.

Domingo Martinez lays bare his interior and exterior worlds as he struggles to make sense of the violent and the ugly, along with the beautiful and the loving, in a Texas border town in the 1980s. Partly a reflection on the culture of machismo and partly an exploration of the authors boyhood spent in his sisters hand-me-down clothes, this book delves into the enduring, complex bond between Martinez and his deeply flawed but fiercely protective older brother, Daniel. It features a cast of memorable characters, including his gun-hoarding former farmhand, Gramma, and the Mimis- two of his older sisters who for a short, glorious time manage to transform themselves from poor Latina adolescents into upper-class white girls. Martinez provides a glimpse into a society where children are traded like commerce, physical altercations routinely solve problems, drugs are rampant, sex is often crude, and people depend on the family witch doctor for advice.

Charming, painful, and enlightening, this book examines the traumas and pleasures of growing up in South Texas and the often terrible consequences when different cultures collide on the banks of a dying river.

Members Reviews:

Impressive debut!

There were times when I had to pause the audio because I was laughing so hard and I didn't want to miss anything. There were also times when I stopped dead in my tracks because of the power and truth in his words. Times when I replayed sections of the audio many times to be sure I had memorized each word correctly.

This story is honest and frank and a hell of a ride. The delivery of Emilio Delgado is spot on. I highly recommend this story to anyone.

Humor, authentic

Great characters, wonderful colorful language, ironic humor this book has it all. The narrator does a great job of interpreting the stories with just enough of a border accent to make you feel it's a great story teller sharing his family experiences.

This book is a real gem - perfect as an audible book.

Lots and lots of f-bombs, but a fascinating story.

I heard a few stories from the book on NPR and decided to try it out. The story was super interesting, but the profanity was so terrible that I thought my ears would bleed. I had to skip over whole sections because of it.

Great narration.

What made the experience of listening to The Boy Kings of Texas the most enjoyable?

The narration of the book and the story line made it hard to put this book down.

It was Okay

I've been pondering what to say about this book for sometime. I'm conflicted because, like the author, I am from Brownsville. On one hand I totally relate to a lot of what was in the book, and on another hand, I'm a little offended by his description of our hometown with such disgust. Like the author, I left Brownsville a long time ago because there was nothing left for me there, I mean I wasn't really going any where at that time and I have a lot of family and friends who still live there. The picture he paints of our hometown comes off as a town full of illiterate, uneducated, drug dealing, pot smoking alcoholics. Now, I get this is HIS story and that is not what life in Brownsville was/is like for everyone who grew up there. I normally devour audiobooks.

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Title: A Vineyard in Napa

Author: Andy Demsky, Doug/Andy Shafer/Demsky

Narrator: Kevin Young

Format: Unabridged

Length: 7 hrs and 48 mins

Language: English

Release date: 03-09-13

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 83 votes

Genres: Bios & Memoirs, Personal Memoirs

Publisher's Summary:

At the age of 47, when he was a successful publishing executive and living with his wife and four children in an affluent Chicago suburb, John Shafer made the surprise announcement that he had purchased a vineyard in the Napa Valley. In 1973, he moved his family to California and, with no knowledge of winemaking, began the journey that would lead him, 30 years later, to own and operate what distinguished wine critic Robert M. Parker, Jr. called "one of the worlds greatest wineries". This book, narrated by Shafers son Doug, is a personal account of how his father turned his midlife dream into a remarkable success story.

Set against the backdrop of Napa Valleys transformation from a rural backwater in the 1970s through its emergence today as one of the top wine regions in the world, the book begins with the winerys shaky start and takes the reader through the father and sons ongoing battles against killer bugs, cellar disasters, local politics, changing consumer tastes, and the volatility of nature itself. Doug Shafer tells the story of his own education, as well as Shafer Vineyards innovative efforts to be environmentally sustainable, its role in spearheading the designation of a Stags Leap American Viticultural Area, and how the wine industry has changed in the contemporary era of custom-crushing and hobbyist winery investors.

Members Reviews:

Great story of one family's growth with California's Wine culture

This is a really interesting story of a family growing along with California through the 70s to today. It's written for both wine nerds and casual drinkers alike. Only a few chapters get rather detailed on California's AVA history but the rest is simple enough for all to understand and enjoy.

Great story!

Great insight on the history of Napa Valley from an iconic winery. Thoroughly enjoyed listening to this.

One of the better historical perspectives

I liked this book, starting this on heels of 'Gallo be thy name,' and having listened to most of the other audiobooks on CA wine currently available (Gallo, Mondavi, Kendall Jackson, etc). It seemed authentic and unpretentious and lent interesting historical perspective on both the region as it emerged into a winemaking powerhouse, the personalities, the changing styles relative to an increasingly sophisticated US consumer. Plus, the book delves into many of the issues related to making quality wine, how they made mistakes yet learned from them as they moved forward. It's definitely not a barn burner book or a cliffhanger listen, but it was definitely worthwhile.

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Title: Falling in Honey

Subtitle: Life and Love on a Greek Island

Author: Jennifer Barclay

Narrator: Lucy Price-Lewis

Format: Unabridged

Length: 7 hrs and 11 mins

Language: English

Release date: 03-04-13

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 12 votes

Genres: Bios & Memoirs, Personal Memoirs

Publisher's Summary:

I came here looking for some kind of happiness. I think it might be the cleverest thing I have ever done. One difficult winter when her love life falls apart (and so does she), Jen decides on Three Gifts to Self. Gift One and Two are reducing her workload and staying away from relationships for a while. Gift Three, the most important, is a month alone on a tiny, wild Greek island. It's a chance to find another kind of contentment: one that comes from the sun and the sea, from the aroma of herbs on the mountains and holding an octopus in your hands.She decides to act on her dream of staying for longer. Because life is too short not to reach out for what makes us happy. But just when everything is falling into place again, the strangest thing happens8c Falling in Honey is an honest, mouth-watering mix of comedy and romance, and an unforgettable journey from heartbreak to happiness.

Jennifer Barclay grew up in a village on the edge of the Pennines and studied at Oxford before moving to Athens; then Canada and France, with travels in Guyana and South Korea, and after a few years back in England ended up in a village again - this time in Greece.

Critic Reviews:

"For anyone who's ever been unlucky - or lucky - in love, this book will make you laugh and cry and then laugh again. Against the backdrop of her idyllic Greek island, Falling in Honey is the story of one woman's odyssey to find happiness with or without the man of her dreams. I didn't want it to end..." (Emma Woolf)

"Made me want to run away to a Greek island." (Helena Frith Powell)

"Captures the gentle pace of island life with great charm. A joy to read." (Harry Bucknall)

Members Reviews:

Taken to a beautiful Greek island......(sigh)

Sometimes we meet people who we are drawn to because they are absolutely delightful. A positive, happy attitude to life. Prepared to make mistakes and learn from rather than being cowed by them. Who celebrates the lives of others and is open to the joy of beautiful places. And who is prepared to assess their life path in a practical independent way and act on what is discovered.

This describes the writer, Jennifer Barclay: I felt as if I had actually met her and listened first hand to the captivating stories in her book Falling in Honey. In it she writes a beautifully descriptive celebration of the Greek island of Tilos, adjacent to the Turkish coast. It is read with energy and evident delight by Lucy Price-Lewis (I want to hear more of her -- she matched the narrative perfectly).

Anyone who has the glorious experience of staying on a Greek island and swimming in the Aegean sea will revisit through this book -- or will find their feet itching. But it's not a travel book, really, it's well, meeting up with a joyous, happy friend.

Furthermore, this is a contemporary work. The writer can continue her non island employment via the internet and when the last words have been spoken, all is not finished because her blog is available to all.

Highly recommended

Awesome, amazing , fantastic.... Love it

This book is awesome, I was there, I was in Tilos enjoying every moment of Jennifers experience. This audio book had me gripped from start to finish.

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Title: Breakfast at Sally's

Subtitle: One Homeless Man's Inspirational Journey

Author: Richard LeMieux

Narrator: Dick Hill

Format: Unabridged

Length: 14 hrs and 9 mins

Language: English

Release date: 02-13-13

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 44 votes

Genres: Bios & Memoirs, Personal Memoirs

Publisher's Summary:

The book reads like a novel... But it has the ring of truth, and an uplifting message that endures. (The New York Times)

Once a happily married businessman, an avid golfer, and the proud owner of several luxury cars and three boats, conservative-minded Richard LeMieux saw his fortune change almost overnight. In this now classic memoir that has touched thousands of readers across the globe, LeMieux describes his descent into homelessness and his struggle to survive personal and economic disaster.

Evicted from his home in 2002 and living with his dog, Willow, in a beat-up old van, LeMieux finds himself penniless and estranged from his family and friends. He dines at the Salvation Army (Sallys), attempts suicide, and is treated at a mental hospital, where he is diagnosed with depression.

Writing on a secondhand manual typewriter, first at a picnic table in a public park, and then wherever he can, LeMieux describes his odyssey and the quirky, diverse, and endearing cast of characters found among the homeless people of Bremerton, Washington, and by extension, everywhere else.

Breakfast at Sallys is a rare inside look at how the other America lives, and how one man, beaten down and alone, was able to reconnect, to find good people, and, ultimately, with their help, to persevere. Updated with an all-new chapter, interviews with the author, a book club guide, and an obituary for Willow.

Editorial Reviews:

A happy husband and successful business owner, author Richard LeMieux suddenly loses it all: luxury cars and rounds of golf give way to homelessness and Salvation Army dinners in this real-life riches-to-rags tale of hardship and redemption. Smoky-tongued baritone Dick Hill performs here with humility and conviction, conjuring shades of the great folk storyteller Utah Phillips, himself no stranger to the rambling life. Living in a van with only his dog Willow for companionship, LeMieux is moved to the brink of suicide. Struggling with depression and unable to find medical help, LeMieux travels from one town to the next, finding a renewed sense of community and purpose amongst the similarly hard-up friends and acquaintances he meets along the way.

Members Reviews:

Compelling look at homelessness

This book is a very engrossing look at homelessness, from the point of view of a man who had everything, lost it all, and somehow regained hope again. His depiction of life on the streets, the network of people - the chance encounters, the long-term relationships - was beautifully rendered. Some portions of this book made me laugh; others made me cry. With beauty, grace, humility, and grit, Richard LeMieux captured my heart and made me question my beliefs about the homeless in my own little slice of Canada.

Dick Hill did a wonderful job with this book, in my opinion. Based on many of the reviews I have read of his performances, this is a narrator many either love or strongly dislike; Breakfast at Sally's is a good book to introduce you to him.

This was not a book I could listen to all in one sitting - at points I was so moved or simply had to stop to digest what I was reading - but it is so well worth your time, money or credit.

Disappointing

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

I just didn't buy into the story.

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Title: May I Be Happy

Subtitle: A Memoir of Love, Yoga, and Changing My Mind

Author: Cyndi Lee

Narrator: Cyndi Lee

Format: Unabridged

Length: 7 hrs and 27 mins

Language: English

Release date: 01-24-13

Publisher: Brilliance Audio

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 39 votes

Genres: Bios & Memoirs, Personal Memoirs

Publisher's Summary:

Inspired by the honesty and vulnerability of her students, Lee embarked on a journey of self-discovery that led her outward - from the sacred sites of the parched Indian countryside to the center of the 2011 earthquake in Japan - and inward, to seek the counsel of knowing women, friends and strangers both.

Author and actress Jamie Lee Curtis; visionary health pioneer Dr. Christiane Northrup; and a founder of the self-help movement, Louise Hay, each have wisdom to impart. Applying the ancient Buddhist practice of loving-kindness meditation - "Normally you do it for others," a sage scholar advises, "but you must do this for yourself right now" - Lee comes to learn that compassion is the only antidote to hate.

With candid, contemplative prose, May I Be Happy gives voice to Lees belief that every life arises, abides, and ultimately dissolves. By becoming her own best student, Lee internalizes the strength, stability, and clarity she imparts in her Buddhist-inspired yoga classes.

Members Reviews:

Great Book ! Even if you don't do yoga!

I really enjoyed this book. Cyndi Lee's voice is pleasant to listen to and the content of the book will resonate with any woman who has looked in the mirror and not liked what she sees. Its great to hear that even a "celebrity" who is a yoga teacher therefore is calm & enlightened, actually has a lot of the same issues as us regular girls. She talks about being on the path to learning to love herself for who she is right now. I learned a lot from this book about how we need to practice that self love and negative thought become ingrained in our minds and it takes courage and practice to let go of those. I'm definitley planning on listening to this book again, something I normally don't do!

Touched a cord in me....

Overall this book really spoke to me in a way I cannot explain.

As for her writing, I found it wandered here and there. It wasn't what I expected. That is not a bad thing but I found myself scratching my head occassionally saying, "How did we get here"....the thread that links the past, present, events, it was there but not easily located.

Nothing in my life has been in any arena similar to this woman. I can only conclude as women we do share a very strong bond. She certainly makes the point of self acceptance. I found this book worth the credit.

Connect w/ "your best friends" thoughts&challenges

Would you listen to May I Be Happy again? Why?

Yes, women (at any age) would find humor and various levels of connection to the author's thoughts, experiences and challenges as a woman with different roles in life...including try to love herself

What was one of the most memorable moments of May I Be Happy?

When she watch herself years back on a video teaching yoga and thinking about all the negative body images she had at the time of the recording. Looking back now she explains how amazing the person she sees that looks beautiful and how silly she would be to think so negatively.

Which scene was your favorite?

her meeting with the meditation teacher and discussing forgiveness. Cindi Lee gave her a face that I know so well when not wanting to easily forgive...just yet.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Her relationship with her husband.

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Title: Magical Journey

Subtitle: An Apprenticeship in Contentment

Author: Katrina Kenison

Narrator: Katrina Kenison

Format: Unabridged

Length: 9 hrs and 58 mins

Language: English

Release date: 01-08-13

Publisher: Hachette Audio

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 17 votes

Genres: Bios & Memoirs, Personal Memoirs

Publisher's Summary:

"No longer indispensable, no longer assured of our old carefully crafted identities, no longer beautiful in the way we were at 20 or 30 or 40, we are hungry and searching nonetheless."

From the author of The Gift of an Ordinary Day, this intimate memoir of loss, self-discovery, and growth will resonate deeply with any woman who has ever mourned the passage of time, questioned her own purpose, or wondered, "Do I have what it takes to create something new in my life?"

With the candor and warmth that have endeared her to readers, Kenison reflects on the inevitable changes wrought by time: the death of a dear friend, children leaving home, recognition of her own physical vulnerability, and surprising shifts in her marriage. She finds solace in the notion that midlife is also a time of unprecedented opportunity for growth as old roles and responsibilities fall away, and unanticipated possibilities appear on the horizon.

More a spiritual journey than a physical one, Kenison's beautifully crafted exploration begins and ends with a home, a life, a marriage. But this metamorphosis proves as demanding as any trek or pilgrimage to distant lands-it will guide and inspire every woman who finds herself asking "What now?"

Members Reviews:

Listen to this!!!!

If you could sum up Magical Journey in three words, what would they be?

Inspiring, honest, lovely

What did you like best about this story?

I loved Katrina's reading of her story and the depth in which she plumbs the hard parts of being a woman, aging gracefully and soaring through this wild, wonderful journey of life.

Have you listened to any of Katrina Kenisons other performances before? How does this one compare?

I haven't listened to her work, but have read everything else and watched the video of her reading from "Gift of an Ordinary Day"

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I had lots of tears with this book, tears of joy, tears of remembering, tears of empathy, tears of sorrow, tears of sharing.

Any additional comments?

I LOVED this book. I enjoyed the reading by Katrina, I savored every minute I listened and I have been telling all my friends about it, imploring them to get either the book or the audio version. It is one I will listen to again and again. By the end of the book I felt like she and I could be friends. I especially loved the parts where she talks about Northampton, MA...the town which has been my home for most of the past thirty years.Don't miss this wonderful book. I especially think it would be great for women in their forties and fifties and their partners.