Sissy Spacek demonstrates the right way to narrate one’s own memoir: with a touch of self-deprecating humor, a few subtle impersonations of familiar celebrities, and an abundance of grace. Throughout this quietly entertaining autobiography, Spacek counts her blessings as a nurtured daughter in a loving Texas family and weaves her down-to-earth sense of integrity through the events of her life. A wide-eyed teenager, Spacek arrived in New York City with a cheap suitcase and guitar and her credentials as a small-town homecoming queen and star baton twirler. Decades later, she reflects on the delightful life journey that includes award-winning roles in movies such as CARRIE and COAL MINER’S DAUGHTER and the sanctuary of her husband and children. Spacek’s quiet charm is, indeed, both extraordinary and ordinary.
Pub Date: May 1, 2012
Duration: 9 hrs, 45 mins
Publisher: Hyperion Audiobooks
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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