Author David Leite narrates this idiosyncratic and sometimes infuriating audiobook about his experiences growing up, falling in love, and finding his niche in work. An award-winning food writer and early podcaster, he reads his story in a kind of self-indulgent, sometimes self-satisfied, manner that somehow exorcises his battle with what he describes as Bipolar 2. His life has been a series of challenges marked by manic highs and lows. The memoir traces Leite's struggles to earn a degree and accept being gay, and, most importantly, to understand his illness. Much is left to the listener to parse as he both reveals and conceals. It's clear that the lived experience of mental illness is exceptionally difficult to share in an audiobook or on the page.
Pub Date: April 11, 2017
Duration: 12 hrs
DD ISBN: 9780062660657
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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