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Title: Ezra

Subtitle: A Mother's Portrait

Author: Stella Elliston

Narrator: Carrington MacDuffie

Format: Unabridged

Length: 2 hrs and 39 mins

Language: English

Release date: 11-04-13

Publisher: Green River Audio

Genres: Bios & Memoirs, Personal Memoirs

Publisher's Summary:

"For someone who could not talk or see or walk, he made a big splash."

As gifted as he was challenged, this moving, inspiring audiobook tells the story of Ezra and the family that loved him. Born two months premature, Ezra suffered permanent brain damage. His parents ignored the forewarnings of doctors and welcomed their son openheartedly into their lives for the seventeen years they had together. Penned by his courageous mother, Ezra is as much about its narrator as it is about its subject. As Elliston explains, "Ezra and I are inevitably intermingled. Our boundaries blur."

Beyond ensuring that the memory of her beautiful son will continue to glow and help others, Elliston's book is ultimately a reminder of the unparalleled love that exists between a parent and her child.

Read by Carrington MacDuffie.

Members Reviews:

A moving and uplifting tale.

Stella Elliston takes us into the intimacy of her life with a dying son in the crucible of her family (husband and children). It is an uplifting story that necessarily focuses on the gritty reality of Ezra's decline, his pain, a mother's pain, and the challenges he, his parents and siblings face for almost two decades. It is a deeply spiritual account, not in the conventional, but in a broad sense. These are all remarkable people touched deeply by Ezra's gift to them and by the vision of Ezra that is his mother's.

Amazing!

From the moment I opened this book I was profoundly captivated by Stella's journey. There are many emotions I went through while reading. I recommend Ezra: a mothers portrait to anyone that loves to feel what they read. Elliston has the gift of taking you through her experience, emotion by emotion. I laughed and cried while reading about the life of Ezra and how he touched so many. Thank-you for this amazing reading experience.

Family love and commitment

This meaningful book talks about the importance of love and empathy in human relationships. We are all in need of both, and this book provides a roadmap. If you care about family values,, this is the book for you.

Ezra: A Gift to the World

This book is a remarkable testament of a mother's courage and love. Stella Elliston's poignant vignettes of her son's short, but extraordinary life are as evocative as they are inspiring. Ezra, who suffered permanent brain damage at six days old, could not walk, talk, or see. Health issues plagued this lofty soul throughout his seventeen years, yet he was fully embraced by his family, and given infinite care that allowed him to thrive in spite of his tragic circumstance. In return, this boy of wonder gave joy, love, and happiness to the world and everybody he came in contact with. Stella Elliston writes like an artist, and the unforgettable scenes come to life. The descriptions are like sensitive brush strokes - nuanced, subtle, yet rich and sublime. Nobody can read this book without being profoundly moved.

The Importance of Wind

In honest and warm writing, Stella Elliston has created an enduring portrait of her son Ezra. This is not a book about Ezra's limitations. More accurately, it traces all that he gave to the world and those around him. His gift was in a purity of interaction, both with people and with his environment. In this fine book, Stella creates the opportunity for each reader to experience Ezra's vast gifts for themselves.

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Title: The Wordvues of Vern LaCrosse, Vol. 2

Author: Vern LaCrosse

Narrator: Deren Hansen

Format: Unabridged

Length: 1 hr and 2 mins

Language: English

Release date: 11-01-13

Publisher: The Wordvues

Genres: Bios & Memoirs, Personal Memoirs

Publisher's Summary:

Once upon a time - I was in the second grade at the very rural Mission Point one-room schoolhouse near Cataldo, Idaho in 1936. Our truly wonderful young teacher for all 8 grades was Miss Martha Peschel. One morning she announced that an older gentleman, who was a professional Story Teller, would visit us that afternoon. When he arrived he walked to the front of our class and was introduced. He removed his suit coat, smiled broadly and proceeded to say nice words about us, our little school, and our pretty teacher; we thus liked him just fine, even before he began his story.

I can't remember what his story was about, what I do clearly recall is the very strong impression he made on me. Wow! What a job. What a career. What a way to live; just travel from school to school, smile at and talk to kids, get some fun questions, some applause, and an invitation to return. How could life get any better than that? I told my mother all about him and of my intention to emulate this fascinating man. Mom, and later an English teacher in high school, gently explained that my "Hero" was a volunteer, a retired person, who made a few local appearances to amuse and entertain children, and did this as an act of love, not for the money. Nuts! SoI eventually went into business to support my family, to be realistic about my career, and try forgetting about the Story Teller.

Members Reviews:

wordvues of vern lacrosse

i enjoy stories of people growing up and their experiences. and different states and what they endured while growing ujp.

THE WORDVUES OF VERN LACROSSE: VOLUME TWO

Very well written. Makes me feel like I am there. I have always loved good

stories especially about days gone by and that they are true is amazing!

We can learn much about ourselves in reviewing the history of the past.

Great job!

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Title: Bouncing Off Guardrails

Subtitle: Somewhere in Life Between Victorious Triumph and Horrific Annihilation

Author: Axe

Narrator: Ernest "Ernie" Sprance

Format: Unabridged

Length: 8 hrs and 15 mins

Language: English

Release date: 10-31-13

Publisher: Morgan James Publishing

Genres: Bios & Memoirs, Personal Memoirs

Publisher's Summary:

Axe is no saint and burns his candle at both ends with a flame thrower in the center. After bouncing from one guardrail to the other in numerous facets of life, even his .44 magnum can't protect him from the grim reaper as he faces open heart surgery at age thirty-four. When pending demise slams his brakes, this white collar rock star is forced to shake the Etch-a-Sketch of his life. He survives humble and weak, but still alive.

As his health slowly returns, he captures observations, thoughts, and memories that help him to better understand the world and people around him. More important are the internal lessons he learns as he creates an improved version of himself who's healthier and happier, but still a fiend for excitement. The whiskey in Axe's veins is replaced with adrenaline, and pure passions like heavy metal, crunching guitars, and roaring motorcycles are fully realized in his celebration of freedom and life.

Bouncing off Guardrails is a true, inspirational memoir that intelligently and graphically illustrates a drastic transition from a self-destructive underdog to a man gripping every experience by the throat and cherishing it.

Members Reviews:

I can relate somewhat to his life change due to his health issues because I had something like that happen to me

Although I'm much older than Axe, I can relate somewhat to his life change due to his health issues because I had something like that happen to me. It's a big deal to get close to the edge like that, and it can change your whole life. Of course lots of people have big health problems caused by lifestyle, and they don't change at all -- they continue eat, drink, chew, and smoke the wrong stuff like always -- and suffer and die, well it's a free country. THE BOOK IS ABOUT HIM, it's not about cars or motorcycles, it's all about him. He drives motorcycles, serious yuppie stuff, -- bikers 'ride' motorcycles. He is an educated man, but he admits he doesn't read much, (how did that work in his college, didn't work like that in mine, and I went to school in a very conservative southern state), doesn't like watching the news on T.V., etc,, so it's no surprise to me that his observations of our society and politics in the book are, shall we say, may be to the right of center for some people's taste. Like I said, the book is about him. I've read it several times, liked his videos also, wish him the best.

Read this book.

Read this book. This is not reflections of a whining entitled blue-blood, nor the ranting of a political dissident preaching of injustices, nor the intellectual pontification of a ghosted global leader, nor the dreadfully boring angst of a pop idol's attempt at self-actualization. This is an account of a man, an everyday kind of guy, meeting everyday kind of challenges and joys, feeling everyday kind of pleasures and sadness, written in everyday kind of language, each thread familiar to a reader but woven together into a fabric to that which his own. - singularly distinct.

Writing a review on what essentially is the personal "diary" of a man I know casually is thorny, but I will forge ahead.

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Title: A Modern Military Mother

Subtitle: Tales from the domestic frontline

Author: Clare Macnaughton

Narrator: Clare Macnaughton

Format: Unabridged

Length: 1 hr and 56 mins

Language: English

Release date: 10-31-13

Publisher: Strathmore Publishing Ltd

Genres: Bios & Memoirs, Personal Memoirs

Publisher's Summary:

A Modern Military Mother - Tales from the Domestic Frontline is about the life, reflections and rants of military wife Clare Macnaughton. Sometimes funny, sometimes sad and sometimes crazy, this is a quick and easy listen,with Clare herself reading her account of life on the domestic frontline.

MeetHagar, the Chinook-flying husband frequently on secret missions in Afghan, and the children, a son, The Grenade, and, a daughter, The Menace.Listen to accounts of the handbag-bashing, bake-offs and backstabbing that conceal the isolated and unpleasant truth of the life for wives and girlfriends, the long celibate months alone with the kids waiting for news from the war zone, and Hagars return, when, addicted to the high-octane thrill of combat, he is in need of action at home. This is a roller-coaster ride of laughs and home truths that will keep you on the edge of your seat.

Critic Reviews:

"Our lives pale into insignificance and the army does feel like your husband's mistress. Let's hope this book starts to change the attitude. Well done." (Amazon reader)

"I downloaded it on my i-Pad ... that was two and a half hours ago! I could not put the book/i-Pad down (I even agreed to a whole Easter egg for my daughter's breakfast!). This is one of the best, funniest and honest books I have read in a long time! A definitive must for all Forces wives!" (Amazon reader)

"A great insight to the domestic front of a military mum that I could really relate to. Clare has managed to articulate with good humour how I also feel about being a feminist military wife, but [she is] far more brave and bold in having the balls to publish it despite a lot of criticism."(Amazon reader)

"I read this book in less than two hours and I'm waiting for the next one. It should remind us that behind those who serve in uniform there are those who serve on the domestic front: sometimes that's hard, sometimes it's great. This is a highly personal, interesting and entertaining read." (Amazon reader)

Members Reviews:

Not Your Average Military Spouse

I'm not a military wife but if I was I imagine I might be as outspoken, honest and direct as Clare.

This book is a great read. It opens the reader's eyes to what life is like at home for a milspouse with kids to raise, a job to finish, and all of the little things the rest of us take for granted every day. And it's all done with one parent home most of the time. It can be hard to read if you think today's military wives should stay home and create an idyllic world for the deployed husband to return to. Is there such a place anymore? Not in the U.S. and not in the U.K.

The material for the book comes from Clare's blog which she still writes today. It is written in the open minded, free spirited and direct way she speaks. It's funny, heartbreaking, heart warming and the plain truth. A must read for new military spouses or anyone who wants to know how a military wife manages life whilst her husband is deployed. We need more books like this one.

A fresh and honest collection...

This is a fresh and honest collection of edited blog posts from Clare Macnaughton's blog, "A Modern Military Mother".

The military spouse community overflows with writers who romanticize military life.

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Title: Hijacked Luxury Limo

Author: Pineapple Sam

Narrator: Sule Greg Wilson

Format: Unabridged

Length: 57 mins

Language: English

Release date: 10-28-13

Publisher: Raven Audio Books

Genres: Bios & Memoirs, Personal Memoirs

Publisher's Summary:

Sam's day starts out as yet another business trip stuck in a hotel. This seemingly normal night turns into a wild ride. This story proves that the world can change in a moment. Sam climbs into a limo, moments later he is in a fight for his life. A life and death situation is the last thing Sam expected when he arrived at the Hotel in Chicago. The most exciting thing on his agenda for the evening is having dinner at the famous restaurant Ditka's. Needing to kill time before his reservation, Sam is drawn into the baseball card convention being held in the hotel conference center. Anyone will appreciate the testimony to the fact that life can change at a moment's notice. This story is a thrilling listen guaranteed to help you see the opportunities awaiting you in the oddest of places.

Members Reviews:

I almost enjoyed it

It started off fine and I was really getting into the book. Then it happened.....vulgar language just ruined the whole book. Too bad this type of distasteful language couldn't be left out. I decided not to read anymore. So very disappointing as I am from West Kauai.

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Title: Going to the Mainland

Author: Pineapple Sam

Narrator: Sule Greg Wilson

Format: Unabridged

Length: 1 hr and 10 mins

Language: English

Release date: 10-28-13

Publisher: Raven Audio Books

Genres: Bios & Memoirs, Personal Memoirs

Publisher's Summary:

Learning there is a different way of doing things doesn't come easy. Pineapple Sam learns through following his dreams and heading for the US mainland that the grass is not always greener on the other side. He finds new friends and even a few enemies while he tries to live life a bit differently. Learning new talents in the world of the cowboy give him some great experiences to share and a sense of what it is like for other people in the world.

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Title: Does God Cause Everything?

Author: Norman L. Fjelstad Ph.D.

Narrator: Norman Fjelstad

Format: Unabridged

Length: 4 hrs and 33 mins

Language: English

Release date: 10-28-13

Publisher: Norman Fjelstad

Ratings: 1 of 5 out of 1 votes

Genres: Bios & Memoirs, Personal Memoirs

Publisher's Summary:

Fjelstad shares his life as a "baby boomer" struggling to search for answers to several questions. Does God cause everything to happen, intervene on our behalf and interact with us personally? Fjelstad struggled through the challenges of a dysfunctional family as a boy, financial hardship and employment rejection as a young man and a medical diagnosis of acute cancer at age 32 with six months to live.

Fjelstad's story is one we can relate to from our own struggles and in our own attempt to discover what he discovered after a lifetime of study, research and personal experience. The factual reality of this autobiography provides insight into the decision making process Fjelstad used as he made life changing decisions and to answer the most important question, is God really there and what does that mean to all of us on this planet if He is?

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Title: On the Roll Again

Author: Tom Ufert

Narrator: John Esposito

Format: Unabridged

Length: 44 mins

Language: English

Release date: 10-25-13

Publisher: Tom Ufert

Genres: Bios & Memoirs, Personal Memoirs

Publisher's Summary:

A collection of inspirational quotes by disabled, HIV, MS toting charity-fundraiser and ex-politician Tom Ufert.

Tom shares the quotes that helped him through his darkest hours. Some are his own, some are from well known faces, some are from the unknown. Join Tom as he attempts to put a smile on your face.

Tom Ufert is the best-selling author of Adversity Builds Character. A tell-all memoir that takes the reader through the harsh realities of life, death and sexual identity. The book was widely praised as one of the most honest and indepth memoirs of 2012.

Tom Ufert currently lives in Texas with his partner Lester.

Members Reviews:

It's a mind-opening read

Tom Ufertâs book âOn The Roll Againâ is an interesting mixture of thought-provoking quotes, old wisdom, which we still have to rediscover every day, and quotes from famous philosophers, religious leaders, politicians and others.

While many of his own quotes from his book âAdversity Builds Characterâ are not for the faint of heart, it is precisely that kind of thinking, which allows a society to move ahead. We cannot turn a blind eye on situations, which we might not understand, because all of us have to live together.

At the beginning of his book Ufert promises us:

âThese tidbits of humor, sarcasm, social criticism, political insight, and literary philosophy are all meant to afford the reader with a probing perspective of the heart and soul that is Author Tom Ufert.â

He does not disappoint. His quotes:

âI DONâT âSTANDâ FOR HANDICAP JOKES!â [Tom Ufert]

and

âANOTHER ADVANTAGE OF BEING IN A WHEELCHAIRâ I DONâT HAVE TO WAIT IN LINE FOR THE BATHROOM!â [Tom Ufert]

point at what a handicapped person has to go through every day, as outspoken as anybody could possibly say it.

On top having Multiple Sclerosis, Ufert also has an incomplete spinal fracture from a car accident, and is HIV positive. Add to that that he was an LBJ Congressional Intern, a White House Fellow Nominee, a Rotary International Graduate Fellow studying East Asian political affairs at Australian National University, served on eleven political campaigns, was a U.S. Congressional Constituency Aide, and received his double BA in political science and history from Centenary College of Louisiana, and you get the interesting mix of thoughts found in his book.

There were surprises for me, like a quote by Charles De Gaulle, in a letter quoted by Clement Attlee in his Twilight of Empire (1962)

âPolitics are too serious a matter to be left to the politicians.â

Who would have thought that Charles De Gaulle of all people could have written this?

The book also lists quotes by Shakespeare, Hegel, Hugo, Disraeli, and The Bible, which hit home.

Most moving however was Ufertâs own recognition:

âWisdom after many years of living and interacting with others teaches us that we are rarely disappointed in people themselves, but rather in our mistaken expectations of how we want them to be.â [Tom Ufert, Adversity Builds Character]

Ufert has added a chapter from âAdversity Builds Characterâ at the end of this, his book âOn The Roll Againâ. Reading it, we, the readers, can only wonder, how we would react, would we be in such a situation. I could not help but admire Ufert, who, in his own words, decided to âfight like hell to rewrite my destiny.â His book is a mind-opening read.

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Title: The Nine Musketeers

Author: Bill Bernico

Narrator: Richard Henzel

Format: Unabridged

Length: 7 hrs and 37 mins

Language: English

Release date: 09-24-13

Publisher: Downwind Publications

Genres: Bios & Memoirs, Personal Memoirs

Publisher's Summary:

I've written more than 250 short stories, but this is my only full-length audiobook.

Most people who've listened to it think it's a work of fiction from a guy with a fantastic imagination, but actually it's not fiction at all. I tell those people that it's "95% truth with 5% embellishment for humor's sake."

This autobiography covers more than 50 years, from the time I was four and was run over by a car and dragged along a Chicago street, to the present day. If there had to be a central theme, it would be the story of growing up in a dysfunctional family with nine children during the 50s and 60s. As the cover text suggests, we were not, "All for one and one for all."

We were more like, "Every man for himself." Some stories will make you laugh, some may make you cry, others will make you cringe and thank your lucky stars that you grew up in a "normal" environment, whatever normal is. And yet others of you will identify with my plight and say, "Been there, done that."

Members Reviews:

good

Read all the multi-packs and shorts packs long ago, since 2012. The author has gotten better with age/practice. I've read almost all of the Cooper stories (up to 230) and several of Mr. Bernico's short stories and none have disappointed me. They're great for a coffee break or a few minutes to relax.

Eye Opening

As a mother of young children, this book made me think hard about what I give or do not give to them. Often times I wonder if I am too harsh, or spending enough quality time. Then I read this book and I see that my kids really have it made. How tough it must have been to live in a family such as this one, but also think of all the characters it built as well. Very well written and hard to put down! Even though I felt bad for the "burns" kids, it was written with a great sense of humor.

The Nine Musketeers

This was a great read! Brought back so many memories: .25 cent a week allowance, leather straps, the jingle-jangle of the ice cream truck, shaving, dating, music --- amazed me that with nine kids they could afford the ice cream truck. We only had 2 and couldn't afford it! .....a very good soothing, happy, entertaining, comical (in parts) read! All of today's teenagers and adults should read it!

Bill appears to be as bad as the mother he decries

Bill appears to be as bad as the mother he decries as unfeeling, disengaged, uninvolved, and emotionally abusive. He knocks a girl up when she is eighteen and then jeers at her for being a mama's girl. The girl was barely more than a kid herself when she got pregnant. Of course she wanted to be close to her mother. They had their baby, and the next thing you know, Bill decided he didn't want to be married anymore and hopped on his motorcycle for California, taking what was probably the last $300 in the house with him. Apparently he didn't give much thought to child support because he got arrested for nonsupport as soon as he arrived back home after shacking up with various girls in California.

He was remorseful that he had to go to jail, but only remorseful enough to say that he decided it was bad enough that he'd never get in trouble again.

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Title: Ventriloquism, Fatherhood and Bunny Buttons

Subtitle: An Autobiography, Book One, Volume 1

Author: Darren Griffin

Narrator: Darren Griffin

Format: Unabridged

Length: 1 hr and 47 mins

Language: English

Release date: 09-24-13

Publisher: Griffin Talent LLC

Genres: Bios & Memoirs, Personal Memoirs

Publisher's Summary:

A comedic look at the life of Darren Griffin, from the mad rush of his delivery (the driver being totally lost), to the evil of his first bicycle. From getting stuck in the toilet in preschool, to getting stuck in a chicken coop in Alaska.

In college Darren was drawn into a hilarious situation involving pirate radio. This is the first volume of a true story that never stops entertaining.

Members Reviews:

Pleasantly surprising read!

This book was hilarious, yet heartfelt. Darren has definitely led an interesting life, and it shows in the pages of this book. It'll surprise you!