This enthralling true story unfolds like a novel with narrator Sean Pratt playing all the parts. He gives a convincing performance of all the Galvins. His timing and subtle delivery bring the listener inside the minds—normal and abnormal—of this family of 12 children, half of whom suffer from schizophrenia. He reads the 45 short chapters with careful pacing and animates the bizarre history. The shocking facts—and the author uses neither composites nor invented scenes—of the six Galvin boys who developed serious mental disorders are told as character studies enhanced by revealing details. Intertwined are the evolution of the malady’s diagnosis and the progression of research that links schizophrenia to genetics. This empathic audiobook explores the toll that mental disease takes on a family. It is mesmerizing.
Pub Date: April 7, 2020
Duration: 13 hrs
DD ISBN: 9780593208328
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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