The Broken Road

George Wallace and a Daughter’s Journey to Reconciliation

By: Peggy Wallace Kennedy, H. Mark Kennedy

Narrated by: Caitlin Thorburn

Length: 7 hrs and 38 mins

Publisher's summary

Bloomsbury presents The Broken Road by Peggy Wallace Kennedy with Justice H. Mark Kennedy, read by Caitlin Thorburn. From the daughter of one of America’s most virulent segregationists, a memoir that reckons with her father George Wallace’s legacy of hate - and illuminates her journey towards redemption.

Peggy Wallace Kennedy has been widely hailed as the “symbol of racial reconciliation” (Washington Post). In the summer of 1963, though, she was just a young girl watching her father stand in a schoolhouse door as he tried to block two African American students from entering the University of Alabama.

This man, former governor of Alabama and presidential candidate George Wallace, was notorious for his hateful rhetoric and his political stunts. But he was also a larger-than-life father to young Peggy, who was taught to smile, sit straight, and not speak up as her father took to the political stage.

At the end of his life, Wallace came to renounce his views, although he could never attempt to fully repair the damage he caused. But Peggy, after her own political awakening, dedicated her life to spreading the new Wallace message - one of peace and compassion.

In this powerful new memoir, Peggy looks back on the politics of her youth and attempts to reconcile her adored father with the man who coined the phrase “Segregation now. Segregation tomorrow. Segregation forever.”

Timely and timeless, The Broken Road speaks to change, atonement, activism and racial reconciliation.

©2019 Peggy Wallace Kennedy (P)2019 Bloomsbury Publishing Plc

Critic reviews

[A] thoughtful, evenhanded debut...Kennedy’s astute memoir also serves as a probing record of politics and racism in the South. (Publishers Weekly)

Mispronunciations are shocking

The number of mispronunciations is shocking. I understand the narrator is purposely using a Southern accent, but she blatantly mispronounces numerous words.

Good Book, Subpar Narration

It's so interesting to hear Kennedy's point-of-view about her father, former Alabama governor George Wallace. Kennedy does not shy away from acknowledging his faults and foibles nor his negative place in the civil rights movement. The reader also sees her fervent desire to transcend her father's words and actions. At the same time, Wallace was her father and so, of course, Kennedy does have positive feelings toward him as well, but still is careful not to excuse his detrimental behaviors.

I loved how each chapter started with a quote. The book follows Kennedy's life, but mostly focuses on her father and her relationship with him.

The narration of this book, as other reviewers have noted, can be distracting at times. I was not surprised to learn that the reader, Caitlin Thornburn, is British because although she reads the book in an American (and sometimes American southern) accent, some words such as "dynasty," "lever," and "been" are said in a British way and then she had some weird pronunciations for words such as "penchant," "obscenities," "carbuncle," and "referee," among others. Her most glaring mispronunciations were "Tuskagee" and actor Gary Sinise's last name. She has a pleasant voice and otherwise reads fine, but the her narration could be distracting at times, and I was surprised that these errors were not pointed out in production.

The book itself is good.

An incredible story butchered by a horrible narration

Peggy Sue Wallace Kennedy writes a story that is both honorable and remarkable. Her ability to understand the politics of her father and mother and her willingness and fortitude to right those wrongs with past leaders of the civil rights movement is an incredible journey.
With regard to this Audiobook, this wonderful story is butchered with the worst narration I have heard in over 250 Audible titles. Caitlin Thorburn butchers the English language to a point where simple words and phrases need to be replayed for listener understanding.
Although I highly recommend this book the listener must truly be an active listener so that the narration does not ruin the beautiful story told within.

Narrator?

This was a compelling book and a must read for the times. However, the narrator left much to be desired. Much.

Such a great story, but who decides on the reader?

The reading of this is such a disservice to such a great story by a wonderful lady. Pronunciation is horrible. This is a truly Southern book, however, the narration is often very distracting. Read the book rather than listen.

moBEEEL!

A fresh account of an enigmatic historical figure made torturous by the horrible narration. I started keeping a mental list of the mispronunciations but it got too long and I gave up. Her “southern accent” was borderline offensive.

I wish the author had been the narrator !

I am from Clayton, Alabama, three years younger than the author, with many memories of her and her family. I found this narrative to be in keeping with what I had been told as an adult from people who were there during my childhood. The story is inspiring, but the mispronunciation of towns in Alabama from Clio to Mobile to Montgomery and Tuskegee was really off- putting, and at times almost laughable. The pronunciation of many names wears also mangled. I tried not to let it detract from the quality of the writing.

The Broken Road-- view from an Alabamian

THE BROKEN ROAD: JOURNEY TO RECONCILIATION is a very good book. I grew up at the same time Peggy Wallace Kennedy did. The events in the book, as I remember, were exactly as she described. I think most of us who grew up in Alabama but have traveled widely have had their own "reconciliation" of their childhood.
Listening to the Audible recording was most difficult since the reader did not know pronunciations of towns and cities in Alabama. I think this was an unfortunate because I cringed as Mobile, Birmingham, Clio, and Tuskegee, among others, were read. I assume if you are not from Alabama or the South pronunciation would not be an issue. The book is worth a read.

Mispronunciations of important Alabama places

This book is the author’s remembering of her life’s events. It is her story and not up to me to make comments about it. But the reading had so many mispronunciations of places in the state that is was difficult to hear the story. The reader’s voice was lovely but the author should not have allowed those mispronunciations to remain. I would not recommend the audio version.

Narrator makes this audiobook a challenge to finish

Enjoyed the story but the narration was awful. Mispronunciations were the least of it. Her poor attempts to voice children, men, and others from that time period were distracting from the story. To top it off, halfway through the book, she changes the way she pronounces Peggy’s names for her mother and grandmother. How does this not get corrected before publishing the audiobook?