Discover more listening recommendations from the Audible Editors.
The bestselling author of The 5 Second Rule, Mel Robbins, is back! Reinvent Your Life will take you on a ride toward bettering your health, relationships, career, and habits through a series of 30-minute pep talks. Take notes as Mel guides you through three distinct stages of reinvention: beginning your journey, navigating challenges, and building trust that you're achieving the life you deserve. As someone who could use a fresh start and some positivity following weeks of battling the winter blues, I’m looking forward to trying more of Mel’s easy-to-follow tips. Plus, check out the Well-Being collection for more advice from experts like Mel Robbins. —Rachael X.
First things first: Kudos to narrators Brittany Pressley and Gary Tiedemann. Between the two, they seamlessly perform each of the many voices that fill this story, including the two couples, relatives, colleagues, and a detective. It always makes me ask that famous question, “How did they do that?” Answer: They are simply great performers. And as for the story, for a tale that begins with a simple walk in the park, things sure turn twisty quickly, and it has nothing to do with the path chosen. As the mystery unfolds, Mary Kubica takes us on a tour of two towns and peeks into the lives of two couples who could both use some excitement (such as news of a pregnancy, perhaps?). But being a thriller, well, um, it’s not as nice as that, especially when somebody’s body is missing. —Yvonne D.
The anticipation surrounding the release of Prince Harry’s memoir has reached a fever-pitch unlike anything I can recall in recent memory. And as a listen, it delivers. Spare opens with an introduction at Frogmore Cottage on the day of Prince Philip’s funeral, as the author anxiously awaits a meeting with his father and brother. As the tension reaches a climax, Prince Harry jumps back in time to begin Chapter 1 on August 30, 1997—the day before his mother tragically died. With deft vulnerability he leads us through the years that follow, and we begin to understand the grief, anger, and denial that shaped his adolescence and early adulthood. What is evident from the dedication of Spare and in every minute of listening that follows, is that Prince Harry is his mother’s son. His honesty may be shocking to some, but it’s the voice of a man who has had other people speak for him his whole life. And it’s that very voice that makes listening the best way to enjoy Spare. Prince Harry’s narration is intimate and poignant, and I feel as though I understand his journey all the better for it. —Katie O.
When your sister becomes a fascist
Once again, Marie Benedict takes on the story of real-life women from history (and the men they encounter) to present their lives in a perfectly plausible and completely entertaining way. In The Mitford Affair, Benedict immerses listeners into a world of glamorous, charismatic young British debutantes during that distinct time period between WWI and WWII. Following the loves, ambitions, and follies of three of the Mitford sisters, she explores the roles they played for and against the Nazis, illuminating the complicated relationship pre-WWII Britain had with fascism. Performed with perfect pitch by narrator Emma Griffiths, this listen is everything Benedict fans have come to expect from one of the queens of historical fiction. —Tricia F.
An irresistible coming-of-age story
Jessica George’s flawless debut explores a young British Ghanaian woman grappling with delayed adulthood and the burden of family secrets. Maddie Wright has earned the nickname Maame (“the responsible one”) taking care of her Parkinson’s afflicted father while her mother stays in Ghana and her brother James lives his life unencumbered. Her mother’s return signals Maddie to move out, but her awkward steps toward newfound independence lead to new hurts and complicated truths. Heather Agyepong voices Maddie with the perfect mix of sharpness and vulnerability, making Maddie’s blossoming a delight to listen to—my heart hurts when hers breaks, and I can’t help but cheer alongside her moments of triumph and joy. —Margaret H.
Self-care with a soul (and shrooms)
A couple of years ago, our well-being editor Rachael and I were chatting about how the growing backlash to self-care opened up a discussion around how invisible societal forces like capitalism and racism erode our collective mental health. We never quite figured out what to call this shift—anticapitalist wellness? Systemic well-being?—but “Healing in a Sick Society” hits it bang on the head. This second installment of the new audio series The goop Pursuit features insight from Gabor Maté, the bestselling author and physician who has long explored the links between illness and culture, and Rick Doblin, founder of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies. But the program’s heart is host Will Siu, a psychiatrist who digs deep into how his own mental health struggles have been both unaddressed and amplified by the medical establishment. His compassionate and authentic approach creates a soothing space for absorbing the many “aha” moments within. —Kat J.
The premise alone of this debut novel sets my nerves on fire: a society where those who have committed crimes are sentenced to a second shadow—a looming reminder of their misdeeds. Marisa Crane’s poetic prose is sharp and sardonic, and it elevates this dystopian vision into a meditation on grief, parenthood, queerness, and justice. As a new(ish) parent who could not have survived those first few months without a partner, I was shaken; as a person living in an always-connected world, I was terrified; and as a listener, I was captivated. —Sam D.
The world's ugliest sweater is beautiful
Despite being someone who loves to learn, I rarely take pleasure in mastering a new skill, especially when dexterity, precision, or patience is required. Surely, then, I would not take to sheep-shearing or dying wool with natural grace. However, as Peggy Orenstein reveals in a radiant display of resilience throughout her charming memoir, perhaps the greatest beauty of all is rooted in the ugliest parts of our lives. Set against the bleak backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic, Unraveling chronicles the painstaking endeavor of crafting a sweater from scratch, and constructs a moving testament to the value of cozying up with our discomfort. She has convinced me that even I could knit something beautiful, no matter how tangled up I become in a mess along the way. —Haley H.
I don’t practice a religion, having dropped the Catholicism I was raised with when I was a teenager. For me, my awe of the natural world has long felt like a stand-in for a spiritual practice. After listening to psychologist Dacher Keltner’s fascinating new audiobook I understand why. Keltner uses hundreds of stories of awe gathered from people in 26 different countries (along with other fun research, like the physiology of goosebumps) to unpack this understudied emotion and what most often brings it on (the courageous and kind actions of other people, as it turns out. Though nature also makes the list of awe-inducing experiences). But it’s what awe can do for us that I found most enlightening: It brings people together and makes us feel connected to something bigger than ourselves, often awakening the better angels of our nature, Keltner explains. Amen to that. —Phoebe N.
Starting the year with Finlay and Vero again...
Last January, I finally decided to jump into the Bookstagram world—and was immediately recommended Finlay Donovan Is Killing It, which I proceeded to devour in one day. When Elle Cosimano announced that book 3 was scheduled for a January release, I started counting the days until my reunion with the hilarious characters that have made the series the hit that it is. Finlay Donovan Jumps the Gun finds Finlay and Vero joining the police academy as they continue their hunt for the mysterious, elusive EasyClean. Between overhearing conversations they shouldn’t, impersonating cops, and doing whatever they can to not implicate themselves in past crimes, Finlay and Vero have their hands full. Angela Dawe returning to narrate is very much the icing on this reunion cake. —Patty R.
Reckoning with ghosts—paranormal and otherwise
When I was young, I amassed a number of dolls: Whether porcelain, plastic, or rag, I spent many a playdate with my inanimate pals. But as I got older, my stance on the little guys soured. After all, their unchanging expressions and beady eyes—some blinking lazily under articulated lids, others disturbingly motionless—seemed at best an exercise in the uncanny valley and, at worse, a vacant shell ripe for possession. It seems targeted, then, that in-house favorite Grady Hendrix, a master of camp and nostalgia-driven horror, would spin a haunted house yarn laden with spooky dolls and their even creepier counterpart: puppets. Wielding the flair of infamous ghost stories, the fun of retro staples like Child’s Play, the atmospheric dread of gothic horror, and a heartfelt humanity all its own, this dual-narrated gem is both a dose of nightmare fuel and a meditation on how trauma and family secrets haunt those left behind. —Alanna M.
