As she watched her mother succumb to Alzheimer's, the author, a journalist, did not know how to care for her. Afterward, she immersed herself in research and became a resident assistant at a state-of-the-art Alzheimer's facility. This is Kessler's account of her work there and her memories of her experiences with her mother. Ruth Ann Phimister leads us through this strange medical territory, combining facts, memories, and anecdotes that describe Kessler's journey to discover the people locked inside this disease. As the author charts her growing compassion for the residents and uncovers clues to their personalities, she also describes those who do the relentless work of aiding them. Phimister's voice calms listeners as the author finds gifts to minister to the residents and to herself.
Pub Date: Feb. 4, 2007
Duration: 10 hrs
Publisher: Recorded Books Inc.
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Griffiths narrates her poetic memoir, marked by two traumatic life events, with precision. Griffiths' emotive narration takes measure of the joys and sorrows she experiences in tender moments spent with her best friend, Kamilah Aisha Moon, a talented poet, as they share a deep connection and support each other's work. Despair comes on "the best and worst day" of her life, when Aisha dies on the same day that Griffiths weds author Salman Rushdie. Despite her own marital bliss, Griffiths is consumed by an overwhelming grief, and it has only begun to subside a year later when Rushdie is stabbed, nearly fatally. Again, Griffiths is plunged into depression. This story of love and loss is as strong in emotion as it is in poignant imagery and lyricism.
Pub Date: Jan. 20, 2026
Duration: 8 hrs, 30 mins
DD ISBN: 9798217176441
Publisher: Random House Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Only author Roy Wood Jr. could have imbued this narration with such empathy as he unflinchingly tells his life story, a cautionary tale for his newborn son. The comedian and actor recounts his complicated relationship with his own, mostly absent, father--a civil rights leader and respected radio announcer with another family who never divorced Wood's mother. She forced her estranged husband to take her and Wood Jr. in after a misadventure by young Roy. Wood Sr. dispensed wisdom and advice to hundreds but was judgmental and aloof to the one person who needed him most, his son. Even so, Wood Jr. learned what to do and not to do from his father and the other men who floated in and out of his life.
Pub Date: Oct. 28, 2025
Duration: 8 hrs, 45 mins
DD ISBN: 9798217165780
Publisher: Random House Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
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