Alan Lightman challenges listeners to step away from the electronic to-do lists found in our in-boxes or on our voicemails. His slightly raspy voice and purposeful advice urge us to move away from days filled to the brim with things to do and towards hours spent wandering in markets or in nature. Lightman comes across as a wise elder, like your hipster grandfather or great-uncle, who doles out advice in direct, measured pieces, dismantling your counterarguments along the way. His deliberate, precise delivery makes his message more emphatic. Can you spend 10 minutes alone--without your phone? Lightman's audiobook comes across like a life-coaching exercise, and his challenges will linger long after you've stopped listening.
Pub Date: 2018
Duration: 2 hrs, 30 mins
DD ISBN: 9781508256984
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Three acclaimed podcasters share a collection of wisdom from their own experiences and those of the 118 mostly female luminaries they interviewed. Their stories all involve adversity: self-doubt, oppression, and the challenges of family, workplace, and personal relationships. Drawn from people in diverse fields, the compact quotations fit nicely into 20 types of life challenges. The three authors narrate their own stories and those of some of the people they interviewed. Other interviewees narrate their own stories. While listeners will need to adapt to the rapidly changing progression of narrators, the deeply felt lessons from such a diverse group of people are powerful evidence that we can face the worst by affirming our inner strengths and redefining how we approach what life throws at us.
Pub Date: 2025
Duration: 12 hrs
DD ISBN: 9798217077632
Publisher: Random House Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Philanthropist Melinda French Gates, a woman of significant personal and financial means and privilege, deftly writes and narrates this relatively brief reflection on life's transitions. Gates focuses on the days that follow a series of catastrophic events. The ex-wife of Microsoft Founder Bill Gates provides a helpful, consistent, upbeat text and audio performance. Her warm tone and measured pacing are employed in discussing matters such as divorce, loss of a loved one, becoming a parent and grandparent, and, perhaps most painfully, her departure from the philanthropic Gates Foundation. Value, she says, can be found in doing your best; that's all you can do because there is no perfection. Therapy and setting one's own agenda are also presented boldly.
Pub Date: 2025
Duration: 3 hrs, 45 mins
DD ISBN: 9781250388896
Publisher: Macmillan Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
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