Stream Popular Free Audiobooks in Biography & Memoir, Memoirs

Please visit https://thebookvoice.com/podcasts/1/audiobook/539757 to listen full audiobooks. Title: Tasha: A Son's Memoir Author: Brian Morton Narrator: Sean Patrick Hopkins Format: Unabridged Audiobook Length: 4 hours 26 minutes Release date: April 12, 2022 Ratings: Ratings of Book: 5 of Total 1 Genres: Memoirs Publisher's Summary: A Washington Post Best Nonfiction Book of the Year In the spirit of Fierce Attachments and The End of Your Life Book Club, acclaimed novelist Brian Morton delivers a “superb” (Maureen Corrigan, Fresh Air), darkly funny memoir of his mother’s vibrant life and the many ways in which their tight, tumultuous relationship was refashioned in her twilight years. Tasha Morton is a force of nature: a brilliant educator who’s left her mark on generations of students—and also a whirlwind of a mother, intrusive, chaotic, oppressively devoted, and irrepressible. For decades, her son Brian has kept her at a self-protective distance, but when her health begins to fail, he knows it’s time to assume responsibility for her care. Even so, he’s not prepared for what awaits him, as her refusal to accept her own fragility leads to a series of epic outbursts and altercations that are sometimes frightening, sometimes wildly comic, and sometimes both. Clear-eyed, “deeply stirring” (Dani Shapiro, The New York Times Book Review), and brimming with dark humor, Tasha is both a vivid account of an unforgettable woman and a stark look at the impossible task of caring for an elderly parent in a country whose unofficial motto is “you’re on your own.”

Please visit https://thebookvoice.com/podcasts/1/audiobook/533025 to listen full audiobooks. Title: Life on the Rocks: Building a Future for Coral Reefs Author: Juli Berwald Narrator: Juli Berwald Format: Unabridged Audiobook Length: 10 hours 52 minutes Release date: April 5, 2022 Genres: Memoirs Publisher's Summary: FINALIST FOR THE L.A. TIMES BOOK PRIZE NAMED A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR BY THE NEW YORKER AND BOOKLIST The story of the urgent fight to save coral reefs, and why it matters to us all Coral reefs are a microcosm of our planet: extraordinarily diverse, deeply interconnected, and full of wonders. When they’re thriving, these fairy gardens hidden beneath the ocean’s surface burst with color and life. They sustain bountiful ecosystems and protect vulnerable coasts. Corals themselves are evolutionary marvels that build elaborate limestone formations from their collective skeletons, broker symbiotic relationships with algae, and manufacture their own fluorescent sunblock. But corals across the planet are in the middle of an unprecedented die-off, beset by warming oceans, pollution, damage by humans, and a devastating pandemic. Juli Berwald fell in love with coral reefs as a marine biology student, entranced by their beauty and complexity. Alarmed by their peril, she traveled the world to discover how to prevent their loss. She met scientists and activists operating in emergency mode, doing everything they can think of to prevent coral reefs from disappearing forever. She was so amazed by the ingenuity of these last-ditch efforts that she joined in rescue missions, unexpected partnerships, and risky experiments, and helped rebuild reefs with rebar and zip ties. Life on the Rocks is an inspiring, lucid, meditative ode to the reefs and the undaunted scientists working to save them against almost impossible odds. As she also attempts to help her daughter in her struggle with mental illness, Berwald explores what it means to keep fighting a battle whose outcome is uncertain. She contemplates the inevitable grief of climate change and the beauty of small victories.

Please visit https://thebookvoice.com/podcasts/1/audiobook/531101 to listen full audiobooks. Title: Easy Beauty Author: Chloé Cooper Jones Narrator: Chloé Cooper Jones Format: Unabridged Audiobook Length: 10 hours 37 minutes Release date: April 5, 2022 Ratings: Ratings of Book: 5 of Total 1 Ratings of Narrator: 4 of Total 1 Genres: Memoirs Publisher's Summary: Finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Memoir or Autobiography A New York Times Notable Book of 2022 * Vulture’s #1 Memoir of 2022 * A Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, USA TODAY, Time, BuzzFeed, Publishers Weekly, Booklist, and New York Public Library Best Book of the Year * One of Oprah Daily’s 33 Memoirs That Changed a Generation From Chloé Cooper Jones—Pulitzer Prize finalist, philosophy professor, Whiting Creative Nonfiction Grant recipient—an “exquisite” (Oprah Daily) and groundbreaking memoir about disability, motherhood, and the search for a new way of seeing and being seen. “I am in a bar in Brooklyn, listening to two men, my friends, discuss whether my life is worth living.” So begins Chloé Cooper Jones’s bold, revealing account of moving through the world in a body that looks different than most. Jones learned early on to factor “pain calculations” into every plan, every situation. Born with a rare congenital condition called sacral agenesis which affects both her stature and gait, her pain is physical. But there is also the pain of being judged and pitied for her appearance, of being dismissed as “less than.” The way she has been seen—or not seen—has informed her lens on the world her entire life. She resisted this reality by excelling academically and retreating to “the neutral room in her mind” until it passed. But after unexpectedly becoming a mother (in violation of unspoken social taboos about the disabled body), something in her shifts, and Jones sets off on a journey across the globe, reclaiming the spaces she’d been denied, and denied herself. From the bars and domestic spaces of her life in Brooklyn to sculpture gardens in Rome; from film festivals in Utah to a Beyoncé concert in Milan; from a tennis tournament in California to the Killing Fields of Phnom Penh, Jones weaves memory, observation, experience, and aesthetic philosophy to probe the myths underlying our standards of beauty and desirability and interrogates her own complicity in upholding those myths. “Bold, honest, and superbly well-written” (Andre Aciman, author of Call Me By Your Name) Easy Beauty is the rare memoir that has the power to make you see the world, and your place in it, with new eyes.

Please visit https://thebookvoice.com/podcasts/1/audiobook/537160 to listen full audiobooks. Title: Chaos Theory: Finding Meaning in the Madness, One Bad Decision at a Time Author: Leah Mcsweeney Narrator: Leah Mcsweeney Format: Unabridged Audiobook Length: 4 hours 50 minutes Release date: April 5, 2022 Genres: Memoirs Publisher's Summary: The Real Housewives of New York City star, fashion-industry pioneer, entrepreneur, and mom Leah McSweeney breaks through the chaos of battling addiction, igniting the streetwear world, and disrupting reality television—all while being unapologetically, unrelentingly herself. If there’s one thing Leah McSweeney knows for sure, it’s that life never quite gives you what you expect. Her road to success as an entrepreneur and Real Housewives breakout star has been paved with unexpected chances, soul-crushing challenges, and, for too long, chaos.   Now Leah shares her unique philosophy of Chaos Theory and how key moments in our lives can lead us to paths we never imagined. With unparalleled grit, resilience, and a take-no-prisoners attitude, Leah shares her story of finding her way by pushing back against the conventions of society, against the status quo of the fashion industry, and against the limitations of her own self-worth to create a wild, unconventional, and beautiful life.  From her years spent partying in the drug-fueled New York City club scene to getting sober, having a baby, and investing the settlement money from an NYPD assault to launch her business--Leah has learned to throw a punch and keep her fists up. In Chaos Theory, her raw, candid storytelling offers inspiration and insight for embracing life’s unexpected turns and finding meaning in the chaos.

Please visit https://thebookvoice.com/podcasts/1/audiobook/544608 to listen full audiobooks. Title: Nowhere for Very Long: The Unexpected Road to an Unconventional Life Author: Brianna Madia Narrator: Brianna Madia Format: Unabridged Audiobook Length: 6 hours 31 minutes Release date: April 5, 2022 Ratings: Ratings of Book: 4.27 of Total 93 Ratings of Narrator: 4.44 of Total 18 Genres: Memoirs Publisher's Summary: Narrated by Brianna Madia In this beautifully written, vividly detailed memoir, a young woman chronicles her adventures traveling across the deserts of the American West in an orange van named Bertha and reflects on an unconventional approach to life A woman defined by motion, Brianna Madia bought a beat-up bright orange van, filled it with her two dogs Bucket and Dagwood, and headed into the canyons of Utah with her husband. Nowhere for Very Long is her deeply felt, immaculately told story of exploration—of the world outside and the spirit within. However, pursuing a life of intention isn’t always what it seems. In fact, at times it was downright boring, exhausting, and even desperate—when Bertha overheated and she was forced to pull over on a lonely stretch of South Dakota highway; when the weather was bitterly cold and her water jugs froze beneath her as she slept in the parking lot of her office; when she worried about money, her marriage, and the looming question mark of her future. But Brianna was committed to living a life true to herself, come what may, and that made all the difference. Nowhere for Very Long is the true story of a woman learning and unlearning, from backroads to breakdowns, from married to solo, and finally, from lost to found to lost again . . . this time, on purpose.

Please visit https://thebookvoice.com/podcasts/1/audiobook/530517 to listen full audiobooks. Title: Ancestor Trouble: A Reckoning and a Reconciliation Author: Maud Newton Narrator: Catherine Taber Format: Unabridged Audiobook Length: 11 hours 13 minutes Release date: March 29, 2022 Ratings: Ratings of Book: 3.33 of Total 3 Genres: Memoirs Publisher's Summary: An acclaimed writer goes searching for the truth about her wildly unconventional Southern family—and finds that our obsession with ancestors opens up new ways of seeing ourselves. “A roadmap for all of us who long to understand, at the deepest level, where we come from.”—Dani Shapiro, author of Inheritance ONE OF THE MOST ANTICIPATED BOOKS OF 2022—Oprah Daily, Time, Esquire, The Millions, The Week, Thrillist, She Reads, Lit Hub, BookPage Maud Newton’s ancestors have vexed and fascinated her since she was a girl. Her mother’s father, who came of age in Texas during the Great Depression, was said to have married thirteen times and been shot by one of his wives. Her mother’s grandfather killed a man with a hay hook and died in an institution. Mental illness and religious fanaticism percolated through Maud’s maternal lines back to an ancestor accused of being a witch in Puritan-era Massachusetts. Maud’s father, an aerospace engineer turned lawyer, was an educated man who extolled the virtues of slavery and obsessed over the “purity” of his family bloodline, which he traced back to the Revolutionary War. He tried in vain to control Maud’s mother, a whirlwind of charisma and passion given to feverish projects: thirty rescue cats, and a church in the family’s living room where she performed exorcisms. Their divorce, when it came, was a relief. Still, the meeting of her parents’ lines in Maud inspired an anxiety that she could not shake, a fear that she would replicate their damage. She saw similar anxieties in the lives of friends, in the works of writers and artists she admired. As obsessive in her own way as her parents, Maud researched her genealogy—her grandfather’s marriages, the accused witch, her ancestors’ roles in slavery and genocide—and sought family secrets through her DNA. But immersed in census archives and cousin matches, she yearned for deeper truths. Her journey took her into the realms of genetics, epigenetics, and the debates over intergenerational trauma. She mulled over modernity’s dismissal of ancestors along with psychoanalytic and spiritual traditions that center them. Searching, moving, and inspiring, Ancestor Trouble is one writer’s attempt to use genealogy—a once-niche hobby that has grown into a multi-billion-dollar industry—to expose the secrets and contradictions of her own ancestors, and to argue for the transformational possibilities that reckoning with our ancestors offers all of us. *Includes a downloadable PFD of the family trees from the book

Please visit https://thebookvoice.com/podcasts/1/audiobook/531089 to listen full audiobooks. Title: American Reboot: An Idealist's Guide to Getting Big Things Done Author: Will Hurd Narrator: Will Hurd Format: Unabridged Audiobook Length: 8 hours 47 minutes Release date: March 29, 2022 Ratings: Ratings of Book: 3 of Total 2 Ratings of Narrator: 2 of Total 1 Genres: Memoirs Publisher's Summary: From former US Congressman and CIA Officer Will Hurd, a “how-to guide with a prescription for getting the nation on the right footing” (Politico) and “a clarion call for a major political pivot” (San Antonio Report) rooted in the timeless ideals of bipartisanship, inclusivity, and democratic values. “Hurd has the biography and the charisma and the God-given political chops to put the Republican Party—and the rest of the country—on notice.” —THE ATLANTIC It’s getting harder to get big things done in America. The gears of our democracy have been mucked up by political nonsense. To meet the era-defining challenges of the 21st century, our country needs a reboot. In American Reboot, Hurd, called “the future of the GOP” by Politico, provides a “detailed blueprint” (Robert M. Gates, Secretary of Defense, 2006–2011) for America grounded by what Hurd calls pragmatic idealism—a concept forged from enduring American values to achieve what is actually achievable. Hurd takes on five seismic problems facing a country in crisis: the Republican Party’s failure to present a principled vision for the future; the lack of honest leadership in Washington, DC; income inequality that threatens the livelihood of millions of Americans; US economic and military dominance that is no longer guaranteed; and how technological change in the next thirty years will make the advancements of the last thirty years look trivial. Hurd has seen these challenges up close. A child of interracial parents in South Texas, Hurd survived the back alleys of dangerous places as a CIA officer. He carried that experience into three terms in Congress, where he was, for a time, the House’s only Black Republican, representing a seventy-one percent Latino swing district in Texas that runs along 820 miles of the US-Mexico border. As a cyber security executive and innovation crusader, Hurd has worked with entrepreneurs on the cutting edge of technology to anticipate the shockwaves of the future. Hurd, who the Houston Chronicles calls “a refreshing contract to the panderers, petty demagogues, and political provocateurs who reign these days,” draws on his remarkable experience to present “a call to Americans to consider the most contentious issues of our times more holistically” (The Atlantic). He outlines how the Republican party can look like America by appealing to the middle, not the edges. He maps out how leaders should inspire rather than fearmonger. He forges a domestic policy based on the idea that prosperity should be a product of empowering people, not the government. He articulates a foreign policy where our enemies fear us and our friends love us. And lastly, he charts a forceful path forward for America’s technological future. We all know we can do better. It’s time to hit “ctrl alt del” and start the American Reboot.

Please visit https://thebookvoice.com/podcasts/1/audiobook/531081 to listen full audiobooks. Title: Pillow Talk: What's Wrong with My Sewing? Author: Craig Conover Narrator: Craig Conover Format: Unabridged Audiobook Length: 7 hours 32 minutes Release date: March 29, 2022 Ratings: Ratings of Book: 3.67 of Total 3 Ratings of Narrator: 5 of Total 1 Genres: Memoirs Publisher's Summary: Perfect for fans of One Day You’ll Thank Me and Capital Gaines, the star of Southern Charm and cofounder and CMO of Sewing Down South reveals how he turned his passion for sewing into a profitable enterprise and a fulfilling life, while also taking us behind-the-scenes of one of Bravo’s most popular shows. As a young boy sitting at a sewing machine in home economics class, Craig Conover had no idea that this hobby would one day change his life for the better. Growing up in Delaware, Conover experienced cruel bullying and suffered from severe anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder. But while law school in Charleston seemed to provide the direction he needed, Conover spent years searching for meaning and passion in life. The chance to become a cast member on Bravo’s Southern Charm promised to provide that. Though the show gave Conover a shot at fame and fortune, it also offered destructive temptations that fed his insecurities. As the show increased in popularity, he sank deeper into self-doubt. Unable to take control of his life, Conover quickly lost his job, his girlfriend, and his motivation. Then, at his lowest point, Conover turned to his passion—sewing—and slowly pulled himself out of the spiral. A chance phone call from an old friend gave Conover the support he needed to turn his hobby into a business. Soon after, Sewing Down South was born and became an overnight success, with Conover launching a multi-state “Pillow Party Tour,” being featured on HSN, and opening a retail store in downtown Charleston. Now, Conover reveals the full story of the drama that swirled around him on the show—both on screen and off—and how it led to the founding of Sewing Down South. He also talks about how he was able to turn his passion into his work and reclaim the direction of his life and what lessons we can learn from his experience.

Please visit https://thebookvoice.com/podcasts/1/audiobook/532085 to listen full audiobooks. Title: Every Good Boy Does Fine: A Love Story, in Music Lessons Author: Jeremy Denk Narrator: Jeremy Denk Format: Unabridged Audiobook Length: 13 hours 16 minutes Release date: March 22, 2022 Ratings: Ratings of Book: 5 of Total 2 Ratings of Narrator: 5 of Total 1 Genres: Memoirs Publisher's Summary: NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A beautifully written, witty memoir that is also an immersive exploration of classical music—its power, its meanings, and what it can teach us about ourselves—from the MacArthur “Genius” Grant–winning pianist LONGLISTED FOR THE ANDREW CARNEGIE MEDAL • “Jeremy Denk has written a love letter to the music, and especially to the music teachers, in his life.”—Conrad Tao, pianist and composer ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: The New Yorker In Every Good Boy Does Fine, renowned pianist Jeremy Denk traces an implausible journey. His life is already a little tough as a precocious, temperamental six-year-old piano prodigy in New Jersey, and then a family meltdown forces a move to New Mexico. There, Denk must please a new taskmaster, an embittered but devoted professor, while navigating junior high school. At sixteen he escapes to college in Ohio, only to encounter a bewildering new cast of music teachers, both kind and cruel. After many humiliations and a few triumphs, he ultimately finds his way as a world-touring pianist, a MacArthur “Genius,” and a frequent performer at Carnegie Hall. Many classical music memoirs focus on famous musicians and professional accomplishments, but this book focuses on the everyday: neighborhood teacher, high school orchestra, local conductor. There are few writers capable of so deeply illuminating the trials of artistic practice—hours of daily repetition, mystifying advice, pressure from parents and teachers. But under all this struggle is a love letter to the act of teaching. In lively, endlessly imaginative prose, Denk dives deeply into the pieces and composers that have shaped him—Bach, Mozart, and Brahms, among others—and offers lessons on melody, harmony, and rhythm. How do melodies work? Why is harmony such a mystery to most people? Why are teachers so obsessed with the metronome? In Every Good Boy Does Fine, Denk shares the most meaningful lessons of his life, and tries to repay a debt to his teachers. He also reminds us that we must never stop asking questions about music and its purposes: consolation, an armor against disillusionment, pure pleasure, a diversion, a refuge, and a vehicle for empathy.

Please visit https://thebookvoice.com/podcasts/1/audiobook/543834 to listen full audiobooks. Title: Between the Mountain and the Sky: A Mother’s Story of Love, Loss, Healing, and Hope Author: Maggie Doyne Narrator: Maggie Doyne Format: Unabridged Audiobook Length: 7 hours 55 minutes Release date: March 22, 2022 Ratings: Ratings of Book: 5 of Total 3 Ratings of Narrator: 5 of Total 1 Genres: Memoirs Publisher's Summary: Read by the author. Between the Mountain and the Sky shows us the goodness that is possible when a single person--regardless of age--takes action to help another and, in the process, changes the lives of hundreds.  Maggie’s story begins in suburban New Jersey, in a comfortable middle-class family that supports her decision to travel the world during a gap year before starting college. During her travels, the trajectory of her life alters when she has a surprise encounter with a Nepali girl breaking rocks in a quarry. Maggie decides to invest her life savings of five thousand dollars to buy a piece of land and open a children’s home in Nepal. That home becomes Kopila Valley Children’s Home, and eventually, the nonprofit Maggie launches, the BlinkNow Foundation, also starts the Kopila Valley School, which provides tuition-free education for more than four hundred students. Maggie and BlinkNow’s work have been recognized around the world for their innovative, sustainable work. However, this book isn’t a how-to for fledging philanthropists or nonprofit founders--it’s a coming-of-age story about a young woman suspended between two worlds, as well as the love, loss, healing, and hope she experiences along the way. And Maggie’s inspiring, intimate tale shows an important truth: the power to change the world exists within all of us.