Animals I Want to See

A Memoir of Growing Up in the Projects and Defying the Odds

De: Tom Seeman

Narrado por: Brian Hutchison

A lyrical coming-of-age story set in the projects of Toledo, Ohio, Animals I Want to See explores themes of identity, ambition, religion, and friendship—often across racial and social lines—as it spotlights a family of fourteen and tracks a boy’s journey from a child janitor with big dreams to a teenage petty criminal to a student at Yale and Harvard.

On Bronson Street, in the projects of Toledo, Ohio, in a crowded house occupied by a family of fourteen, Tom Seeman starts a very important list. Just as the trashstrewn field in his backyard is home to a treasure-trove of wild animals, Tom’s list, “Animals I Want to See One Day,” is home to dreams of adventure in places far away from the downtrodden neighborhood where he lives. But for all its hardship and crime, Bronson Street is also something of a mythical street, populated by unforgettable people who share food, protect each other, and give surprising gifts of beauty and merriment, proving that the bonds of community and friendship (often across racial and social lines) can bridge any divide and transcend what many of us are taught to believe about each other.

A luminous coming-of-age memoir that shimmers with countless marvels, Animals I Want to See tracks Tom Seeman’s journey from a child janitor with big ambitions to a teenage petty criminal to a student at Yale and Harvard. At once a meditation on finding wonder in unlikely places, an ode to a heroic mother who makes the seemingly impossible possible, and an exploration of what it means to create our own identities, this is a heartwarming, thought-provoking, ultimately uplifting book for all listeners.

©2024 Tom Seeman (P)2024 Recorded Books

Moving and well written memoir

You will be well served to read this story of one man’s struggles and success to make his way from the Toledo public housing projects to a life of happiness and wonder.

Inspiration & relatable

Loved listening to this very inspirational story of a personal climb out of the ghetto and poverty via education and hope.

The description of childhood was so relatable. And I could picture his mother so clearly.

That it ended, I wanted it to keep going!! I wanted to if he kept in touch with his neighborhood buddies.