Narrator Renée Raudman honors every step that 40-year-old Carrie Host takes while coping with her rare, and generally lethal, carcinoid cancer. Raudman's delivery is halting as Host doubles over with pain that no doctor can identify. Her tone shifts to one of panic when Host hears her frightening diagnosis, leaves her three children for an operation in another city, and meets terrifying situations that make her feel adrift in a boat that's been swept into a rushing river. But Host searches for the positive in her situation, and Raudman sounds whispery and tender as the author expresses gratitude for "angels" who support her and for her husband's constancy. In the face of continued depressing developments, Raudman projects teary frustration. Happily, the voices of both author and narrator strengthen as Host begins to laugh and hope again, and to recount the startling perceptions she's learned from cancer.
Pub Date: Feb. 4, 2009
Duration: 10 hrs
Publisher: Tantor Media
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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