Nothing is off-limits in author/narrator Bassey Ikpi's unflinching look at her life as a poet, performer, woman, mother, and child. Her years as a spoken-word poet and performer are evident in the creation of this smooth listening experience. Ikpi is completely in control of her wide-ranging memoir as it switches between levity and seriousness. Listeners will laugh along when this daughter of Nigerian immigrants recounts aspects of her youth. Later, Ikpi's story and her delivery style take on more serious tones as she describes the stress of a very public breakdown. Listeners will applaud her bravery as the chapters build a series of self-revelatory snippets about the ups and downs of balancing mental illness and creative impulses. M.R. 2020 Audies Finalist © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine
Pub Date: Aug. 20, 2019
Duration: 7 hrs, 15 mins
DD ISBN: 9780062894786
Publisher: Harper Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
James Michener tells the real stories behind the man and his books. The recording is read with skill and consistency although the reader does little to enhance the robust, larger-than-life incidents related in the book. Due to the first-person narrative format, there is no opportunity for the narrator to change his voice. This makes some chapters monotonous as they go on and on in the typical Michener style. The listener may also become confused because the stories are not told chronologically. This is not a great choice for the audio format, but Michener fans may stick with it to the end.
Pub Date: N/A
Duration: 22 hrs
Publisher: Books on Tape
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
In a quest for a sense of inner contentment and self-worth, Gloria Steinem brings the reader on a journey of investigation and discovery. Steinem reads the text herself in a straightforward and friendly, but not intimate, presentation which is so easy to listen to it invites repetition--thus ensuring the painless relearning of the lessons of the book. It's difficult to tell from the reading that this audiobook is abridged; each section can stand alone. Nonetheless, the listener wished the book were unabridged. Steinem left me wanting to learn more.
Pub Date: N/A
Duration: 3 hrs
Publisher: Dove Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
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