Calling Me Home

A Novel

By: Julie Kibler

Narrated by: Bahni Turpin, Lorna Raver

Length: 13 hrs and 36 mins

Publisher's summary

Eighty-nine-year-old Isabelle McAllister has a big favor to ask her hairdresser, Dorrie. She wants the black single mother to drop everything and drive her from Texas to a funeral in Ohio - tomorrow. Dorrie, fleeing problems of her own and curious about Isabelle’s past, agrees, not knowing it will be a journey that changes both their lives.

Isabelle confesses that, as a teen in 1930s Kentucky, she fell in love with Robert Prewitt, a would-be doctor and the black son of her family’s housekeeper - in a town where blacks weren’t allowed after dark. The tale of their forbidden relationship and its tragic consequences just might help Dorrie find her own way.

©2013 Julie Kibler (P)2013 Blackstone Audio, Inc

Absolutely beautiful

Absolutely beautiful story about heartache and love and the horrors of the society we still live in today

So sad, but unfortunately true in our history!

I did enjoy this book. It is so sad the things that happened to these characters, but so believable true. The events in this story document some of the darks parts of our American history.

Beautiful

Such a beautiful story of survival and the love that never dies! Proof that friends comes in all shapes and sizes, and pulls us through the hardest times of our lives.

Can't stop thinking about it

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Riveting! So many emotions; laughther and tears. One of the BEST narrations ever. I was listening at every opportunity.

What other book might you compare Calling Me Home to and why?

The Help.

What does Bahni Turpin and Lorna Raver bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

The emotional level. I truly felt like I was living in that decade. It felt so real and not just a story. The horror of the prejudice.

Heartwarming

It's sad, heartwarming, good but not great. Some parts I suffered through to reach the end and the final outcome. I would recommend it, but may not read it again myself.

History, Mystery, Black and White

Young Isabelle McCallister didn't set out to fall in love with the son of her family's housekeeper in 1930s Kentucky . . . after all, the girl had grown up with Robert, played with him and his sister . . . studied along side him as her father, the town's physician, taught Robert from textbooks that the "colored school" didn't have access to . . . what she saw in Robert went much deeper than the color of his skin . . . the story is about young Isabelle and old Isabelle, now almost 90 years old, and traveling from Texas, back to Cincinnati (just over the river from Kentucky) for a funeral . . . driven by her good friend, Dorrie (a forty-something, black woman) . . . her hair dresser of many years . . . really her best friend and confidant . . . her only friend now. And the long journey by car begins the telling of a lifetime of joy, pain, prejudice and healing that changes both women . . . I appreciated very much the examination of long held ideas from both perspectives . . . black and white . . . that have been ingrained into people and society, which Dorrie and Isabelle encountered and fought back personally. Because until we, as individuals, do exactly what these two women did, deal with one another honestly, up front and personal, confronting our own feelings and long held . . . wrong held . . . anger and blame . . . our society cannot change. This isn't an activist story . . . it's a story of love . . . which is the only way wrongs can ever be righted. I had no idea, when the audio book began (it started a little slow) how it would grow on me,and wrap itself around me. It's no simple story, no simple answers. And until you reach the end, you will not know the full story of Ms. Isabelle McCallister . . . well done, Julie Kibler, well done . . .

Beautiful heart breaker

Isabelle’s story broke my heart. I listened to this on audiobook while commuting and it made me cry 😢. I’ll never understand human cruelty. Beautifully written, the author lets the story unfold perfectly. I wasn’t completely crazy about the narration but the story was so good it didn’t really matter.

A MUST READ

I love to read. I will read all kinds of things. And once in a while I find a book that I would consider re-reading again and again. This is one of those books. Very well written and read. Very engaging.

Thought Provoking

This book will challenge how we view one another and our roles in society. Have things changed over the years? Or do we still have the same struggles and conceptions. This book is full of love, prejudice, acceptance and forgiveness.

Love, love, love.

I absolutely adore this book. Not only did I love the story bouncing back and forth from past and present, I enjoyed the historical aspects acknowledged during the 1930's. This book broke my heart over and over, but still it was full of love and restoration. The characters grew quickly on me, and I couldn't put the book down. I laughed, cried, and sobbed as the story unfolded.

I've seen many say that the book was stereotypical, predictable, or the plot was flat, but I completely disagree. Based off of those reviews, I am not even aware of the book they read. I cannot put into words the emotions I felt during this read!