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.
The Courage Tree  By  cover art

The Courage Tree

By: Diane Chamberlain
Narrated by: Ann Marie Lee
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $15.47

Buy for $15.47

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

Eight-year-old Sophie Donohue just wanted to be like every other little girl. Which is why her mother, Janine, reluctantly agreed to let her go on the weekend camping trip with her Brownie troop. But when Janine arrives to pick up Sophie after the trip, her daughter is not with the others. Somehow, along the forested route from West Virginia, Sophie has disappeared.

Sophie is no ordinary eight-year-old. She suffers from a rare disease, and Janine has recently enrolled her in an experimental treatment as a last effort to save her life - despite the vehement objections of her ex-husband, Joe. Without her medication, Sophie cannot survive long. All her mother's instincts tell Janine that Sophie is alive, but time is running out.

©2001 Diane Chamberlain (P)2015 Tantor

Critic reviews

"Well-drawn characters and an unexpected and riveting plot make this a memorable thriller in the tradition of Joy Fielding and Mary Higgins Clark." ( Booklist)

What listeners say about The Courage Tree

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    308
  • 4 Stars
    154
  • 3 Stars
    56
  • 2 Stars
    11
  • 1 Stars
    10
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    285
  • 4 Stars
    113
  • 3 Stars
    49
  • 2 Stars
    25
  • 1 Stars
    18
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    295
  • 4 Stars
    122
  • 3 Stars
    50
  • 2 Stars
    13
  • 1 Stars
    9

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

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

✫✫ 4 Stars ✫✫

I am obsessed with the books this Author writes! I've listened to more than 1/2 of them in the last two weeks. I love the authors writing style and the seriousness off the books. I'm a romance reader normally but I am loving this women's stories that revolve around the subject matter and not the relationship.

This book kept me up way past my bedtime, I couldn't stop without knowing everything would be ok. The suspense in this story really hooked me. While the actress 7 her daughter in this book was a little far fetched and honestly not even necessary, the main characters made up for it completely.

The narration was good, she did a good job on all the different characters.

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

9 people found this helpful

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

The Courage Tree

I am only a chapter in and i can go no further. I am an RN and i cannot stand it when books are not medically accurate. There is no way a child with these medical conditions would be going away to camp two hours from home in the first place. If an author is going to write about a medical condition, then do your research and make the story plausible!

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

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

My Favorite Chamberlain!

I have listened to MANY of Diane Chamberlain's books and this is by far my favorite. Sometimes her writing can be a tiny bit predictable. I didn't find this book predictable in the least. I highly recommend this book!

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

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

Hated the Narrator!

I don't understand why some narrators feel the need to speak incredibly slowly and overly enunciate every word in a breathless melodramatic tone, but that is what this narrator did and I will not order another book read by her . To give her some credit, she did the characters well but her straight narration was really annoying to me. I have loved all of Diane Chamberlain's other novels so slogged my way through this listen, but I found this story to be less enjoyable than the others and am wondering if a different narrator would have made a difference. It probably would have!

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

Diane Chamberlain is Masterful

The Courage Tree is another one of Ms. Chamberlain's beautiful stories of the bond between a mother and daughter, and how far it will go for love and life. A young girl goes missing after a girl scout weekend, and later the car she was last known to be in was found in a ravine, completely burned. The young girl needs dialysis. Even though the police had given up their search, her mother was bound and determined that her daughter was still alive, against all odds.

Ms Chamberlain is an absolute joy to read/listen to. I love every one of her narrators, and each book I read from her just gets better.

Highly recommend.

5 stars

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

Wonderful book

Stick with this book. There are frustrating people that you want to lash out at & a main character you support with all your heart. There is a mystery man that has an interesting story when it finally comes out.
I don't think I've heard a bad Diane Chamberlain book yet!!! I'm off to decide on my next one!

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

Really enjoyed

If you could sum up The Courage Tree in three words, what would they be?

Suspenseful, moving, heartwarming

Who was your favorite character and why?

Sophie, such a breve girl

Any additional comments?

Not sure why others didn't think this was a good book. I couldn't wait to hear what happened!

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
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Narration voice annoying & story is not realistic

Really disappointed in this book. Characters were not believable. I really struggle when characters do such unbelievable and illogical things as though the author was just cranking out a ghost story around a campfire.

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
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

He said she said distracting and annoying not necessary

He said she said distracting and annoying not necessary.story does not need this childlike reading.

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
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Loved it

Loved it. The story is very compelling. Narration is very good. Listened twice so I didn't miss anything.

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful