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Britt-Marie Was Here
- A Novel
- Narrated by: Joan Walker
- Length: 9 hrs and 18 mins
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Publisher's Summary
From the best-selling author of the "charming debut" (People) A Man Called Ove and My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry, a heartwarming and hilarious story of a reluctant outsider who transforms a tiny village and a woman who finds love and second chances in the unlikeliest of places.
Britt-Marie can't stand mess. She eats dinner at precisely the right time and starts her day at six in the morning because only lunatics wake up later than that. And she is not passive-aggressive. Not in the least. It's just that sometimes people interpret her helpful suggestions as criticisms, which is certainly not her intention.
But at 63, Britt-Marie has had enough. She finally walks out on her loveless 40-year marriage and finds a job in the only place she can: Borg, a small, derelict town devastated by the financial crisis. For the fastidious Britt-Marie, this new world of noisy children, muddy floors, and a roommate who is a rat (literally) is a hard adjustment.
As for the citizens of Borg, with everything that they know crumbling around them, the only thing that they have left to hold on to is something Britt-Marie absolutely loathes: their love of soccer. When the village's youth team becomes desperate for a coach, they set their sights on her. She's the least likely candidate, but their need is obvious, and there is no one else to do it.
Thus begins a beautiful and unlikely partnership. In her new role as reluctant mentor to these lost young boys and girls, Britt-Marie soon finds herself becoming increasingly vital to the community. And, even more surprisingly, she is the object of romantic desire for a friendly and handsome local policeman named Sven. In this world of oddballs and misfits, can Britt-Marie finally find a place where she belongs?
Zany and full of heart, Britt-Marie Was Here is a novel about love and second chances and about the unexpected friendships we make that teach us who we really are and the things we are capable of doing.
Critic Reviews
What listeners say about Britt-Marie Was Here
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Sara
- 05-12-16
A Gem
What a wonderfully odd, engaging and eccentrically off-beat novel. This was the first of Backman's books that I have read. I didn't understand until I finished listening and read some reviews that the character of Britt-Marie actually came from another earlier book written by the author. This wasn't a huge problem because I think this book works well as a stand-alone novel too. However, this is something to consider if you are thinking about trying this title. You might want to read them in order and start with My Grandmother Asked Me To Tell You She's Sorry first.
The narration was just excellent. I loved Joan Walker's style and ability to voice all the different characters. It was a pleasure to listen to her skilled delivery. She really brought the story to life.
Be aware, this isn't a neat and tidy book with all the loose threads wrapped up at the end. Instead it is an often unsettling, thought provoking story about life, love, loss and choices. I really enjoyed it.
131 people found this helpful
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- Gillian
- 05-07-16
Simply Gorgeous
Britt-Marie was such an unlikable character throughout "My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry" that I was shocked when her character arc turned her into such a compelling, wonderful person. Someone whose past and present had such pain in them. I was thrilled to find that "Britt-Marie was Here" carried that wonder forward and made her truly memorable.
This is a fantastic book. Britt-Marie, a woman whose furiously scrubbed windows are her view into the world, a woman who can't sleep because that's what happens when you live your life for others, follows her from the unemployment office to a tiny town that's been hit hard by the financial crisis, from an unfortunate marriage to budding relationships with others, from a woman whose lists are down in pencil to a woman who may actually use pen, yes pen, in her life. Because maybe, just maybe she has courage and hope to spare.
The story is filled with delightfully profane characters, characters who have the courage to get up and get along, who struggle mightily, who are written with the greatest love imaginable. Backman pours love into each and every one of them, and he pours love into each and every word he writes. Where else will you read about someone whose hair style is so bad it looks like it "was combed with a terrified animal"? Where else will you read about a Snickers-loving rat? (And the reason Britt-Marie makes a pact with this little creature is so touching I damned near cried.)
I did cry, flat-out, when she makes her funniest joke, this woman who doesn't believe she has a sense of humor because she's been told she hasn't one, at the end. Hell, I cried for the last quarter of the book.
This story is written with love, and it succeeds with well-drawn, fully fleshed-out characters where "My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry" faltered a bit. I honestly think I just might get the print version to go over some of the writing. But the audio has such fresh narration, perfect vocal distinctions that I think it'll be a toss-up as to which version is my favorite.
Highly, highly recommended! This book brought out feelings like I'd never felt before (and I feel A LOT)!
79 people found this helpful
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- Jodie
- 07-22-16
Ha! (Listen to the book and you will understand!)
Terrific book! It was my second Backman book and I can't wait to get to the third one! Britt-Marie is a card...you can't help but fall in love with her. Ha! Backman has a wonderful writing style - it is very different from others. He has a way of teaching us that behind those rigid, stern people we encounter, are tragic histories which helped shaped them. The book was delightful!
50 people found this helpful
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- JoMom
- 05-10-16
TOUCHING, FUNNY, DEEP
Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?
This book is a rare pleasure. At first, I found the main character to be distractingly OCD and hard to hear about. But that's the beauty of the story: learning to see her for who she really is, as she does the same.
What did you like best about this story?
The story's great, but the narrator is amazing. There's no way to describe her talent. She "makes" the presentation.
Which scene was your favorite?
When Britt-Marie realizes that she is the kind of person who "jumps."
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
Not really. I found myself wanting to savor the experience.
39 people found this helpful
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- Janice
- 05-05-16
Sometimes a little messiness is a good thing
Fredrik Backman has the rare gift of understanding and compassion for human beings. In this spin-off from “My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry”, he takes one of the least sympathetic characters, Britt-Marie, and not only makes us understand her, but sympathize and ultimately root for her to choose her own destiny on her own terms.
Britt-Marie’s entire life has been ruled by fear of what others may think of her. Fighting to keep control of her rapidly unraveling life, she cleans. Everything. Constantly. Her perfectly ordered cutlery drawer is a measure of her civility. And her sparkling clean windows allow her see the world clearly, when what she really wants more than anything is to be seen – to matter.
Fortunately, down deep below the confines of her rules Britt-Marie is a kind person with very good manners, which gives her just enough consideration for the ways of her new community neighbors to start making a place for herself. When she is roped into becoming the youth soccer coach, she also becomes a life coach, showing her team, as she learns for herself, that you just don’t give up when you are behind in the game.
As with his first two novels, Backman tells this wonderful story with huge doses of humor through quirky but believable characters. There are also tears because life doesn’t always respect the lists we make for ourselves, which is why one never ever writes them in ink.
33 people found this helpful
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- Birdfan56
- 01-15-18
Backman is an extraordinary writer
This is the first book that I’ve listened too but have read all of his work. I read this book and then listened to it . I loved it both times!! His stories are wonderful, poignant, sometimes sad and always uplifting. This is a wonderful story as are all of his books. Britt Marie was introduced in another book which is equally as brilliant “ My grandmother told me to tell you she is sorry”. I hesitated on this one because I did not fully understand or care for Britt Marie. However all things are revealed about her childhood in this book and you understand the power of life and the beauty of change just by stepping into life . I recommend all his books he makes me laugh and cry and always leaves me with a smile .
29 people found this helpful
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- green ice cream garden
- 09-20-17
Not nearly as good as Ove, too slow
A Man Called Ove was one of my favorite reads this year. My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry was just an okay read from a couple of years ago. This one, lands right in the middle. What I think went wrong was that too much time was spent on inner dialogue, which I rarely enjoy. It also was a bit repetitive - Got it! She's addicted to sodium bicarbonate. And yes she folds her hands a lot. Oh, and yes, understand she has no crumbs on her skirt. (why is she always wearing skirts???) However, the characters were rich in character and it was nice to watch her common sense melt away allowing her to self realize. It helps I always have a soft spot for Liverpool, even though I was ruffled they didn't mention The Saints! I'd recommend it for an innocent, light read.
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- Teresa
- 05-14-16
Second time listening!
What a touching, emotional, and funny story! I have just finished listening for the second time and am sure I will at some point again. The character development and relationships in this book are exceptionally done, and the story original and heartfelt. Joan Walker is one of the best narrators I’ve listened to - and perfect for this book.
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- Mark
- 10-09-16
This female version of "Ove" falls short
I had enjoyed reading Backman's "A Man Called Ove," and hoped for a similar experience with this novel. Britt-Marie is the curmudgeonly protagonist here, and I liked her character a lot. The problem is that the secondary characters don't come alive here as they did with Ove, and the story is not that engaging outside of the idiosyncracies of Britt-Marie. Ove had started slowly and picked up steam, ending very strongly, so I did not quit on this as early as I might have. But when I was more than halfway done Britt-Marie Was Here, and still not engaged, I quit. I could totally see where this was going (to a feel-good ending). Maybe the second half gets a lot better, but I was just not invested enough to find out.
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- Daryl
- 03-12-17
Charming
I love this author's writing, the ability to turn peoples' foibles, eccentricities, or bad habits into something explainable, charming, even redeeming.
We first met Britt-Marie in "My Grandmother Asked me to Tell you She's Sorry." You do not need to read that book to appreciate this one.
It's the story of a town, of a people, of one person... the ripples in a pond, each person making a difference if they get an opportunity.
The writing is more repetitive and less charming than the author's previous works, but it's still a great way to spend some time :)
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My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry
- A Novel
- By: Fredrik Backman
- Narrated by: Joan Walker
- Length: 11 hrs and 2 mins
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Elsa is seven years old and different. Her grandmother is 77 years old and crazy, standing-on-the-balcony-firing-paintball-guns-at-men-who-want-to-talk-about-Jesus crazy. She is also Elsa's best and only friend. At night Elsa takes refuge in her grandmother's stories, in the Land of Almost-Awake and the Kingdom of Miamas, where everybody is different and nobody needs to be normal.
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Simply splendid.
- By B.J. on 07-27-15
By: Fredrik Backman
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And Every Morning the Way Home Gets Longer and Longer
- A Novella
- By: Fredrik Backman
- Narrated by: David Morse
- Length: 1 hr and 9 mins
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Grandpa and Noah are sitting on a bench in a square that keeps getting smaller every day. The square is strange but also familiar, full of the odds and ends that have made up their lives: Grandpa's work desk, the stuffed dragon that Grandpa once gave to Noah, the sweet-smelling hyacinths that Grandma loved to grow in her garden.
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Heartbreakingly Perfect
- By Jmo930 on 11-21-16
By: Fredrik Backman
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The Deal of a Lifetime
- A Novella
- By: Fredrik Backman
- Narrated by: Santino Fontana
- Length: 47 mins
- Unabridged
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It all begins with a father telling a story to his son on Christmas Eve. But this isn't your typical Christmas story. The father admits to his son that he's taken a life but he won't say whose - not yet. One week earlier, in a hospital late at night, the man met a five-year-old girl with cancer. She's a smart kid - smart enough to know that she won't beat cancer by drawing with crayons all day, but it seems to make the adults happy, so she keeps doing it.
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Novellas Are Horrible!!!!!
- By 3xcharm on 12-28-17
By: Fredrik Backman
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Anxious People
- A Novel
- By: Fredrik Backman
- Narrated by: Marin Ireland
- Length: 9 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
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Performance
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Looking at real estate isn’t usually a life-or-death situation, but an apartment open house becomes just that when a failed bank robber bursts in and takes a group of strangers hostage. The captives include a recently retired couple who relentlessly hunt down fixer-uppers to avoid the painful truth that they can’t fix their own marriage. There’s a wealthy bank director who has been too busy to care about anyone else and a young couple who are about to have their first child but can’t seem to agree on anything.
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Read. This. Now.
- By DIY Sammy on 09-09-20
By: Fredrik Backman
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Things My Son Needs to Know About the World
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- Length: 3 hrs and 10 mins
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Things My Son Needs to Know About the World collects the personal dispatches from the front lines of one of the most daunting experiences any man can experience: fatherhood. As he conveys his profound awe at experiencing all the “firsts” that fill him with wonder and catch him completely unprepared, Fredrik Backman doesn’t shy away from revealing his own false steps and fatherly flaws, tackling issues both great and small, from masculinity and midlife crises to practical jokes and poop.
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Not my favorite Frederick Backman book
- By Frog on 06-16-19
By: Fredrik Backman
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A Man Called Ove
- A Novel
- By: Fredrik Backman
- Narrated by: J. K. Simmons
- Length: 9 hrs and 13 mins
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Meet Ove. He’s a curmudgeon - the kind of man who points at people he dislikes as if they were burglars caught outside his bedroom window. He has staunch principles, strict routines, and a short fuse. People call him “the bitter neighbor from hell”. But must Ove be bitter just because he doesn’t walk around with a smile plastered to his face all the time? Fredrik Backman’s novel about the angry old man next door is a thoughtful exploration of the profound impact one life has on countless others.
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By Far the Best Narrator of a Book I've Had
- By WanderLaw on 04-05-20
By: Fredrik Backman
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My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry
- A Novel
- By: Fredrik Backman
- Narrated by: Joan Walker
- Length: 11 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Elsa is seven years old and different. Her grandmother is 77 years old and crazy, standing-on-the-balcony-firing-paintball-guns-at-men-who-want-to-talk-about-Jesus crazy. She is also Elsa's best and only friend. At night Elsa takes refuge in her grandmother's stories, in the Land of Almost-Awake and the Kingdom of Miamas, where everybody is different and nobody needs to be normal.
-
-
Simply splendid.
- By B.J. on 07-27-15
By: Fredrik Backman
-
And Every Morning the Way Home Gets Longer and Longer
- A Novella
- By: Fredrik Backman
- Narrated by: David Morse
- Length: 1 hr and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Grandpa and Noah are sitting on a bench in a square that keeps getting smaller every day. The square is strange but also familiar, full of the odds and ends that have made up their lives: Grandpa's work desk, the stuffed dragon that Grandpa once gave to Noah, the sweet-smelling hyacinths that Grandma loved to grow in her garden.
-
-
Heartbreakingly Perfect
- By Jmo930 on 11-21-16
By: Fredrik Backman
-
The Deal of a Lifetime
- A Novella
- By: Fredrik Backman
- Narrated by: Santino Fontana
- Length: 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It all begins with a father telling a story to his son on Christmas Eve. But this isn't your typical Christmas story. The father admits to his son that he's taken a life but he won't say whose - not yet. One week earlier, in a hospital late at night, the man met a five-year-old girl with cancer. She's a smart kid - smart enough to know that she won't beat cancer by drawing with crayons all day, but it seems to make the adults happy, so she keeps doing it.
-
-
Novellas Are Horrible!!!!!
- By 3xcharm on 12-28-17
By: Fredrik Backman
-
Anxious People
- A Novel
- By: Fredrik Backman
- Narrated by: Marin Ireland
- Length: 9 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Looking at real estate isn’t usually a life-or-death situation, but an apartment open house becomes just that when a failed bank robber bursts in and takes a group of strangers hostage. The captives include a recently retired couple who relentlessly hunt down fixer-uppers to avoid the painful truth that they can’t fix their own marriage. There’s a wealthy bank director who has been too busy to care about anyone else and a young couple who are about to have their first child but can’t seem to agree on anything.
-
-
Read. This. Now.
- By DIY Sammy on 09-09-20
By: Fredrik Backman
-
Things My Son Needs to Know About the World
- By: Fredrik Backman
- Narrated by: Santino Fontana
- Length: 3 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Things My Son Needs to Know About the World collects the personal dispatches from the front lines of one of the most daunting experiences any man can experience: fatherhood. As he conveys his profound awe at experiencing all the “firsts” that fill him with wonder and catch him completely unprepared, Fredrik Backman doesn’t shy away from revealing his own false steps and fatherly flaws, tackling issues both great and small, from masculinity and midlife crises to practical jokes and poop.
-
-
Not my favorite Frederick Backman book
- By Frog on 06-16-19
By: Fredrik Backman
-
A Man Called Ove
- A Novel
- By: Fredrik Backman
- Narrated by: J. K. Simmons
- Length: 9 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Meet Ove. He’s a curmudgeon - the kind of man who points at people he dislikes as if they were burglars caught outside his bedroom window. He has staunch principles, strict routines, and a short fuse. People call him “the bitter neighbor from hell”. But must Ove be bitter just because he doesn’t walk around with a smile plastered to his face all the time? Fredrik Backman’s novel about the angry old man next door is a thoughtful exploration of the profound impact one life has on countless others.
-
-
By Far the Best Narrator of a Book I've Had
- By WanderLaw on 04-05-20
By: Fredrik Backman
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Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine
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- Narrated by: Cathleen McCarron
- Length: 11 hrs and 2 mins
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Overall
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Story
Meet Eleanor Oliphant: She struggles with appropriate social skills and tends to say exactly what she's thinking. Nothing is missing in her carefully timetabled life of avoiding social interactions, where weekends are punctuated by frozen pizza, vodka, and phone chats with Mummy. But everything changes when Eleanor meets Raymond, the bumbling and deeply unhygienic IT guy from her office.
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Please be warned
- By N. Thompson on 06-20-17
By: Gail Honeyman
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Absolute Zero
- By: Chuck Logan
- Narrated by: J.K. Simmons
- Length: 5 hrs and 27 mins
- Abridged
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On one of the coldest nights in Minnesota history, the difference between life and death is literally the blink of an eye for Phil Broker, until recently St. Paul's most successful undercover cop. That blink will convey the urgent warning of a comatose man who knows the dark truth binding Broker to a remarkable cast of characters: a weary anesthesiologist, a brilliant surgeon, a wealthy novelist, his ex-wife (a reformed exotic dancer), and her unrepentant pimp.
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Good plot, sounded like played on an old record
- By Judith on 04-08-11
By: Chuck Logan
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My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry: A Novel by Fredrik Backman | Conversation Starters
- By: dailyBooks
- Narrated by: Bryan Nyman
- Length: 19 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
This book you are about to enjoy is an independent resource to supplement the original book, enhancing your experience of My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry. If you have not yet purchased a copy of the original book, please do before purchasing this unofficial Conversation Starters.
By: dailyBooks
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Murder at Hawthorn Cottage
- A Melissa Craig Mystery, Book 1
- By: Betty Rowlands
- Narrated by: Joan Walker
- Length: 8 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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Melissa Craig is absolutely delighted with her new life in an old crumbling cottage, spending her days pruning the primroses and getting to know Binkie, the ginger cat next door. She only wishes she had made the move to the countryside sooner. But when a knock at the door brings news of a shocking discovery, she suddenly finds herself thrown in to the middle of a baffling mystery: the bones of a young woman have been found in the woods just behind her new home. Perhaps the little village of Upper Bembury is not as idyllic as it first seemed? Strange phone calls in the night convince Melissa that the police are barking up completely the wrong tree, so she can’t resist doing a little digging of her own. From the bingo hall to the beauty salon and beyond, her search ruffles a few feathers and uncovers many of the village’s most scandalous secrets, but gets her no closer to finding the culprit.
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Without A Doubt,.. The Strangest Narration I Have EVER Heard
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Remarkably Bright Creatures
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For fans of A Man Called Ove, a luminous debut novel about a widow’s unlikely friendship with a giant Pacific octopus reluctantly residing at the local aquarium—and the truths she finally uncovers about her son’s disappearance 30 years ago.
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Hidden gem, incredible narration!
- By Christine T on 05-17-22
By: Shelby Van Pelt