Southern Childhood

In this award-winning Audible Studios production, Trevor Noah tells his wild coming-of-age tale during the twilight of apartheid in South Africa. It’s a story that begins with his mother throwing him from a moving van to save him from a potentially fatal dispute with gangsters, then follows the budding comedian’s path to self-discovery through episodes both poignant and comical.

Based on a remarkable true story. Winter, 1969. Since she was a little girl, Catarina learned not to ask for much. Born to a family of corn farmers in rural south Brazil, she was happiest when she was surrounded by sprawling fields and burly, familial farmhands—until her family was driven out of the land they had worked diligently for years, and Catarina was sent to work for a wealthy family in São Paolo. Only ten years old, Catarina becomes a housemaid—and the lifeline of her family. Far from everyone and everything she’d ever known, she discovers the shocking gap between her life ...

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER In a tense, poignant novel of a boy awakening to his small town’s secrets, “John Grisham takes command of this literary category just as forcefully as he did legal thrillers with The Firm” (Entertainment Weekly). “You can’t help thinking of other...

The compelling, inspiring, (often comic) coming-of-age story of Trevor Noah, set during the twilight of apartheid and the tumultuous days of freedom that followed. One of the comedy world's brightest new voices, Trevor Noah is a light-footed but sharp-minded observer of the absurdities of...

Felipe Fernandez-Armesto is a world-renowned scholar, professor of history and geography at Queen Mary, University of London, and a member of the Faculty of Modern History of Oxford University. The Americas, part of the acclaimed Modern Library Chronicles series, offers an intriguing history of the world's western hemisphere.

From the former CEO of Black Entertainment Television (BET), a riveting memoir about the glamorous and ugly moments of being a high-powered Black female executive in the entertainment industry. “Debra Lee is a force! I love her candor and vulnerability within these pages. I Am Debra Lee is...

Jack Myers' fictionalized memoir explores the dynamics of being raised in a declining Southwest Philadelphia neighborhood. Pint-sized and four-eyed, little Jimmy Morris is near the bottom of the food chain in his working class "streetcar suburb" of Kings Cross. He's a dreamer, schemer, schoolyard scrapper, secret lover of books, and classroom clown . . . a kid you can't decide whether to hug or to slap. Meanwhile, the conformity of the 1950s is yielding to those turbulent '60s. Yes, the times they definitely were a changin' ó with Kings Cross in the eye of the societal storm. America's ...

'Truly extraordinary books are rare, and this is one of them' – Roddy Doyle 'His [Dominic Hofman] performance is terrific: variously wry, poignant and thoughtful as he imbues Jim with the humanity and agency denied to him by Twain' – The Guardian, Audiobook of the Week James is a profound...

Not quite Eat Pray Love. More like Obey, Panic, Reboot. The Good Indian Girl isn’t some epic tale of survival. It’s a story many of us know: growing up with too many expectations, not enough explanations, and a quiet voice inside whispering, “Is this really who I am?” Neetha Naidu’s life wasn’t extraordinary. But it was real. And it was funny—even when it wasn’t supposed to be. From childhood rules and cultural pressure to marriage, immigration, parenting, and finally choosing herself, Neetha walks us through the mess with unfiltered honesty and sharp, dark humor. She knows ...

As the civil rights movement and the fight for voter rights unfold in Selma, Alabama, many things happen inside and outside the Brown family’s home that do not have anything to do with the landmark 1965 march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge. Yet the famous outrages which unfold on that span form an inescapable backdrop in this collection of stories. In one, Willie Mae takes it upon herself to offer summer babysitting services to a glamorous single white mother—a secret she keeps from her parents that unravels with shocking results.

Sometimes the truth is found in a folktale. An evening of revelry and storytelling goes horribly awry when temptations arise and passions flare. Those who survive are haunted by memories and regrets in this southern gothic tale told across dual timelines. 1932. Cumberland Island off the coast of...

THE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER A TIMES BEST MEMOIR OF 2023 ‘Grippingly vivid and pacey’ THE TIMES ‘A seven-year old girl on a seventy-foot yacht, for ten years, over fifty thousand miles of sailing’ SIMON WINCHESTER 'An astonishing almost day-by-day account of [a] hazardous journey and its...

In a small North Carolina mountain town, three fifth graders from fractured families are thrown together for a class project. Marcus, a shy piano prodigy struggling under the weight of his mother’s expectations and his father’s musical legacy, finds an unlikely ally in Shell, the resilient daughter of a drug-addicted mother who is just beginning a shaky road to recovery. Alongside them is Squeeze, the sheriff’s neglected son whose bullying hides a desperate need for attention. But when Shell’s mother returns from rehab with a youth pastor who seems to promise stability, the fragile ...

The Grammy- and Academy Award- nominated singer-songwriter's haunting, lyrical memoir, sharing the story of an unthinkable act of violence and ultimate healing through art Mobile, Alabama, 1986. A fourteen-year-old girl is awakened by the unmistakable sound of gunfire. On the front lawn, her...

A Backwards Glance is a collection of stories from the extraordinary life of an exceptional man. Follow Sid Mickle from his small-town Alabama childhood to a 40-year professional career that allowed him to travel far from home without ever forgetting its lessons. This book is more than a collection of stories. It is a nostalgic journey through time with family, friends, work associates and a collection of real life memories. There is success and failure, joy and tragedy, setbacks and triumphs. These stories include vivid recollections of childhood struggles to understand his polar-opposite ...

THE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER "A tantalizing mystery and a tender coming-of-age story...Unputdownable."—Oprah.com In the summer of 1989, a Baton Rouge neighborhood best known for cookouts on sweltering summer afternoons, cauldrons of spicy crawfish, and passionate football fandom is...

Sully Raines sets out to find his birth mother, and ends up in Blessings, Georgia. A new surprise awaits him here, but of the best kind - his childhood sweetheart, whom he hasn't seen since she moved away when they were teens, is living in Blessings now. He's not sure she's as happy to see him as he is to see her, but it's been a lot of years, and a lot of water under the bridge... Sully's heartfelt search for answers about his past might just turn out to be the key to his future.

Jane Harper's FORCE OF NATURE meets the wild and atmospheric setting of THE GREAT ALONE by Kristin Hannah in this twisty stay-up-all-night thriller about family, love and loyalty, and the fight for survival in the most beautiful but dangerous New Zealand wilderness. On the remote West Coast of...

Elizabeth had always believed there was nothing more magical than the precious gift of love...even now in the heart of danger, she still believed it...she always would. After telling the story of Simon's magical cowboy ranch for more years than she cared to count, Elizabeth Fountaine wondered if there might be more to the fanciful fairy-tale than being an elaborate bedtime story to tell children. More than ever before, she very much needed for even just a small piece of the fairy-tale to be real. Kellyn had always loved Elias Stratton with all her heart and probably always would. She'd ...

She came home to rebuild her life… not to rekindle an old flame. After the slow collapse of a toxic marriage, Emily Breaux returns to Bon Chance, Louisiana, determined to reclaim more than just her independence. She’s ready to start fresh, one home-cooked meal and second chance at a time. Helping her is Noah Devereaux. Her childhood best friend turned quiet, steady confidant. A veteran with wounds of his own, Noah spends his days fixing what’s broken… even when it isn’t his to mend. Between simmering pots and shared meals, Emily and Noah discover that sometimes, the best recipes ...