Michael Berube's son, Jamie, has Down syndrome. Berube wrote about Jamie earlier, and now he's catching listeners up to his son's adult life. Narrator Brian Roberts gives listeners a sense of the author's bemusement and admiration as he tells anecdotes about Jamie's Special Olympics competitiveness and his many road trips. Berube's narrative is occasionally humorous, and Roberts always lets his warmth shine through. When the story deals with issues such as abortion or education for special needs students, Roberts at times takes on a harsh tone. Berube's anecdotes build a mental picture of his son's life for listeners. At the same time, they create a picture of a loving father who works hard to help his son through life.
Pub Date: Oct. 4, 2016
Duration: 8 hrs, 30 mins
DD ISBN: 9780807093009
Publisher: Beacon Press
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Kozol’s shocking exposé of inequities in the funding of our public schools contrasts white suburban schools with those serving black and Hispanic populations. Interviews with students, teachers, and school administrators add eloquent testimony to Kozol’s disturbing presentation of facts. Narration by Jack Winston is clear and brisk, but the pace is unrelenting, with little pause for transition between scenes or chapters. Winston’s cool, detached voice contrasts with Kozol’s impasssioned and outraged message. The sheer repetition and magnitude of Kozol’s damning evidence is numbing; the narration gives no relief. Powerful medicine, most easily taken in small doses. Music signalling tape changes is jarringly inappropriate.
Pub Date: N/A
Duration: 8 hrs
Publisher: Brilliance Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Block calls into question the validity of the home-schooling system, having personally experienced many of its failures.
Block narrates his own memoir of being home-schooled by his mother for five years in the 1990s. Aside from a few math lessons, young Stefan is left to his own devices and uses his time to watch television or wander outside. By the time he re-enters the public school system in ninth grade, he is woefully behind, both academically and socially. Although Block’s story is filled with emotional trauma, including an overbearing mother and bullying from fellow students, his narration is unsentimental, as if he expected his life to be this way. The steel in his voice conveys his resilience and determination.
Block calls into question the validity of the home-schooling system, having personally experienced many of its failures.Pub Date: Jan. 6, 2026
Duration: 7 hrs
DD ISBN: 9781488237102
Publisher: Harper Audio
Review Posted Online: today
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