Rebecca Lowman beautifully blurs the line between author and narrator in her performance of this memoir of an unconventional childhood in 1960s Los Angeles. Writer Kathryn Harrison was raised by her eccentric grandparents, and this loving tribute is largely a collection of stories of their lives before they immigrated to America, where they met. Lowman infuses her delivery with the wonder and delight the author clearly felt when she first heard about these long-ago adventures such as her grandmother's eight-day train trips from the Orient to Paris and her grandfather's fur-trapping scheme in the wilds of Alaska. Lowman's voice is more somber, however, when describing the family's dwindling finances and the author's rocky relationship with her often-absent mother. The print edition of this moving memoir includes family photographs.
Pub Date: Oct. 2, 2018
Duration: 6 hrs, 30 mins
DD ISBN: 9780525638100
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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