Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
Accident of Birth  By  cover art

Accident of Birth

By: Heather Neff
Narrated by: Myra Lucretia Taylor
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $21.49

Buy for $21.49

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

Reba Freeman has loved two men in her life. Her current husband, Carl, has supported her through their 20-year marriage and given her all the material wealth a suburban wife could hope for. Reba is comfortable, if not necessarily content, in her life with Carl and their blossoming teenage daughter, Marisa, until she learns that her first love and first husband, Joseph Thomas, has been detained by the World Court of Human Rights.

Joseph, a peaceful, gifted Liberian student, had dreams of returning to his native land and educating his people for the betterment of his country. Reba respected his strength and wanted to support his cause, but didn't accompany Joseph to Liberia after graduation, due to mysterious circumstances. Now, 20 years later, she must decide if finding out what has happened to her first husband is worth the risk of losing Carl and turning her comfortable world inside out.

Alternating between present-day action and a series of flashbacks, Accident of Birth creates an intricate tapestry of suspense, drama, and romance, while also looking at the moral and cultural differences between African Americans and Africans.

©2004 Heather Neff (P)2005 Recorded Books

Critic reviews

"Neff deftly interweaves the past and the present in a novel that explores the cultural differences between Africans and Americans." ( Booklist)

What listeners say about Accident of Birth

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    24
  • 4 Stars
    11
  • 3 Stars
    2
  • 2 Stars
    2
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    24
  • 4 Stars
    5
  • 3 Stars
    2
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    1
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    21
  • 4 Stars
    6
  • 3 Stars
    3
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    1

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Good Listen

I enjoyed listening to this book. It got a little long winded in some parts. All is all a good listen.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent narration, compelling story

I honestly had no idea where this story was going. It was so well written that all my predictions turned out to be wrong. The time and research that went into this story is evident from the first page to the last. It’s a tear jerker with education built in. I’m happy that I stumbled upon this jewel of a book.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
  • SJ
  • 07-30-13

Very appropriate title.

Would you consider the audio edition of Accident of Birth to be better than the print version?

Unable to compare, never read the book. Selected the audiobook by cover and title. Happy for a choice in the dark. Worth the credit!!!

What other book might you compare Accident of Birth to and why?

Not sure, I'd have to really think about that. Although I have traveled overseas and worked with foreign individuals. So, I can understand the trials and tribulations of those that are not born in the US, and that they truly survive the best way they know how, and their survival in the US, their financial stability/gain is solely sought for the aid in helping their families at home.

Which scene was your favorite?

Why he actually left.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Yes, not cry, but truly made me visualize the characters and why they took that walk out on the tight rope [so to say] for what they believed in.

Any additional comments?

Worth the credit!!!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

intriguing

It was hard to stop listening. This will keep you captivated from start to finish.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    out of 5 stars

Accident of Birth

Great Book!!!!!!!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful