Narrator Renee Raudman is engaging through the ups and downs of the author’s difficult childhood in rural Maine, where she grew up the youngest of nine children in a dysfunctional family. Taking solace in her books and her animals, Peppe had to overcome many obstacles to arrive at a place of contentment in her life. Raudman affects a voice full of wonder for Peppe’s childhood self, an impatient and disapproving tone for her harried mother, and a subtly wheedling tone for an older man with a prurient interest in the preteen Helen. These vocal characterizations help to distinguish the various characters, which is useful since the author opted not to use most people’s names but rather to assign them complicated nicknames. This narrative device at times becomes repetitive and distracting. Nonetheless, Raudman's varied tones help to keep the story afloat.
Pub Date: Feb. 4, 2014
Duration: 10 hrs
Publisher: Blackstone 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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