Independent journalist Josiah Hesse takes on the religious right in this harrowing memoir of growing up in 1980s-90s Mason City, Iowa. As corporate farming caused the collapse of family farms and evangelical churches were succumbing to what he describes as the destructive corruption of the prosperity gospel, his family disintegrated into a vicious cycle of poverty, shame, guilt, sex, and drugs. He tells this story with earnest intensity, mimicking the cadence of the famous preacher Billy Graham. His narrative is replete with unsavory sexual encounters, violence, and the advent of the Midwestern opioid crisis. Hesse even creates chilling voices for the demons that, to this day, continue to give him nightmares.
Pub Date: Jan. 13, 2026
Duration: 13 hrs, 45 mins
DD ISBN: 9780593947098
Publisher: Random House 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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