As the daughter of child development expert Erik Erikson, Bloland and her siblings experienced a joyful and tormented childhood. Celeste Lawson provides a warm representation of Bloland's view of childhood. Surprisingly, Erikson and his wife were unstable parents and incompatible marital partners whose quest for the limelight provided little stability for their children. Their lives in sunny California appeared idyllic and glamorous; the family home was surrounded by beautiful flower, vegetable, and fruit gardens tended by Bloland's mother, and a pool where many a party overlooked gorgeous sunsets. But her father's affairs, her mother's passive-aggressive personality, their worrisome behaviors, and the shocking discovery of an institutionalized sibling with Down's syndrome proved too bizarre for the children to understand.
Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2005
Duration: 6 hrs
Publisher: Blackstone 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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