-
How I Became a Human Being
- A Disabled Man's Quest for Independence
- Narrated by: David A. Gilmore
- Length: 9 hrs and 42 mins
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Buy for $19.95
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Listeners also enjoyed...
-
Being Heumann
- An Unrepentant Memoir of a Disability Rights Activist
- By: Judith Heumann, Kristen Joiner
- Narrated by: Ali Stroker
- Length: 6 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 362
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 317
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 314
A story of fighting to belong in a world that wasn't built for all of us and of one woman's activism - from the streets of Brooklyn and San Francisco to inside the halls of Washington - Being Heumann recounts Judy Heumann's lifelong battle to achieve respect, acceptance, and inclusion in society. From fighting to attend grade school after being described as a "fire hazard" to later winning a lawsuit against the New York City school system for denying her a teacher's license because of her paralysis, Judy's actions set a precedent that improved rights for disabled people.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A must read for everyone
- By Christopher A Cawthon on 09-28-20
By: Judith Heumann, and others
-
Tuesdays with Morrie
- 20th Anniversary Edition
- By: Mitch Albom
- Narrated by: Mitch Albom
- Length: 3 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 5,747
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 4,918
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 4,902
Maybe it was a grandparent, or a teacher, or a colleague. Someone older, patient, and wise, who understood you when you were young and searching, helped you see the world as a more profound place, gave you sound advice to help you make your way through it. For Mitch Albom, that person was Morrie Schwartz, his college professor from nearly 20 years ago. Wouldn't you like to see that person again, ask the bigger questions that still haunt you, receive wisdom for your busy life today the way you once did when you were younger?
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Once you learn how to die, you learn how to live
- By AudioAddict on 04-17-16
By: Mitch Albom
-
A Little Life
- A Novel
- By: Hanya Yanagihara
- Narrated by: Oliver Wyman
- Length: 32 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 14,957
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 13,646
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 13,636
This transcendent story follows four college friends who move to New York City, buoyed by ambition: Willem, an aspiring actor; JB, an artist; Malcolm, an architect; and, at the center, Jude, a withdrawn, brilliant attorney haunted by an unspeakable past. Through decades of shared and separate lives, Jude’s suffering - and its impact on those who love him - raises questions about the limits of human endurance, the possibility for redemption, and the meaning of friendship.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Waaaaaay too long for what it is
- By Sharon on 09-12-17
By: Hanya Yanagihara
-
Me Talk Pretty One Day
- By: David Sedaris
- Narrated by: David Sedaris
- Length: 5 hrs and 51 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 11,275
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 8,033
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 8,009
David Sedaris' collection of essays - including live recordings! - tells a most unconventional life story. With every clever turn of a phrase, Sedaris brings a view and a voice like no other to every unforgettable encounter. You can also listen to Sedaris in an interview with Terry Gross on Fresh Air.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Great Sedaris - Not for everyone
- By Michael on 06-05-20
By: David Sedaris
-
The Nix
- A Novel
- By: Nathan Hill
- Narrated by: Ari Fliakos
- Length: 21 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 10,645
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 9,849
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 9,828
It's 2011, and Samuel Andresen-Anderson - college professor, stalled writer - has a Nix of his own: his mother, Faye. He hasn't seen her in decades, not since she abandoned the family when he was a boy. Now she's reappeared, having committed an absurd crime that electrifies the nightly news, beguiles the Internet, and inflames a politically divided country. The media paints Faye as a radical hippie with a sordid past, but as far as Samuel knows, his mother was an ordinary girl who married her high school sweetheart.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
This story will remain with me.
- By Gary & Jay on 04-19-19
By: Nathan Hill
-
Beautiful Boy
- A Father's Journey through His Son's Meth Addiction
- By: David Sheff
- Narrated by: Anthony Heald
- Length: 11 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 3,800
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 3,053
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 3,049
David Sheff's story is a first: a teenager's addiction from the parent's point of view, a real-time chronicle of the shocking descent into substance abuse and the gradual emergence into hope.
Before meth, Sheff's son, Nic, was a varsity athlete, honor student, and award-winning journalist. After meth, he was a trembling wraith who stole money from his eight-year-old brother and lived on the streets. With haunting candor, Sheff traces the first warning signs, the attempts at rehabilitation, and, at last, the way past addiction. He shows us that, whatever an addict's fate, the rest of the family must care for one another, too, lest they become addicted to addiction.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Been There
- By Happy Reader on 11-26-12
By: David Sheff
-
Being Heumann
- An Unrepentant Memoir of a Disability Rights Activist
- By: Judith Heumann, Kristen Joiner
- Narrated by: Ali Stroker
- Length: 6 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 362
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 317
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 314
A story of fighting to belong in a world that wasn't built for all of us and of one woman's activism - from the streets of Brooklyn and San Francisco to inside the halls of Washington - Being Heumann recounts Judy Heumann's lifelong battle to achieve respect, acceptance, and inclusion in society. From fighting to attend grade school after being described as a "fire hazard" to later winning a lawsuit against the New York City school system for denying her a teacher's license because of her paralysis, Judy's actions set a precedent that improved rights for disabled people.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A must read for everyone
- By Christopher A Cawthon on 09-28-20
By: Judith Heumann, and others
-
Tuesdays with Morrie
- 20th Anniversary Edition
- By: Mitch Albom
- Narrated by: Mitch Albom
- Length: 3 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 5,747
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 4,918
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 4,902
Maybe it was a grandparent, or a teacher, or a colleague. Someone older, patient, and wise, who understood you when you were young and searching, helped you see the world as a more profound place, gave you sound advice to help you make your way through it. For Mitch Albom, that person was Morrie Schwartz, his college professor from nearly 20 years ago. Wouldn't you like to see that person again, ask the bigger questions that still haunt you, receive wisdom for your busy life today the way you once did when you were younger?
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Once you learn how to die, you learn how to live
- By AudioAddict on 04-17-16
By: Mitch Albom
-
A Little Life
- A Novel
- By: Hanya Yanagihara
- Narrated by: Oliver Wyman
- Length: 32 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 14,957
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 13,646
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 13,636
This transcendent story follows four college friends who move to New York City, buoyed by ambition: Willem, an aspiring actor; JB, an artist; Malcolm, an architect; and, at the center, Jude, a withdrawn, brilliant attorney haunted by an unspeakable past. Through decades of shared and separate lives, Jude’s suffering - and its impact on those who love him - raises questions about the limits of human endurance, the possibility for redemption, and the meaning of friendship.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Waaaaaay too long for what it is
- By Sharon on 09-12-17
By: Hanya Yanagihara
-
Me Talk Pretty One Day
- By: David Sedaris
- Narrated by: David Sedaris
- Length: 5 hrs and 51 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 11,275
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 8,033
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 8,009
David Sedaris' collection of essays - including live recordings! - tells a most unconventional life story. With every clever turn of a phrase, Sedaris brings a view and a voice like no other to every unforgettable encounter. You can also listen to Sedaris in an interview with Terry Gross on Fresh Air.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Great Sedaris - Not for everyone
- By Michael on 06-05-20
By: David Sedaris
-
The Nix
- A Novel
- By: Nathan Hill
- Narrated by: Ari Fliakos
- Length: 21 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 10,645
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 9,849
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 9,828
It's 2011, and Samuel Andresen-Anderson - college professor, stalled writer - has a Nix of his own: his mother, Faye. He hasn't seen her in decades, not since she abandoned the family when he was a boy. Now she's reappeared, having committed an absurd crime that electrifies the nightly news, beguiles the Internet, and inflames a politically divided country. The media paints Faye as a radical hippie with a sordid past, but as far as Samuel knows, his mother was an ordinary girl who married her high school sweetheart.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
This story will remain with me.
- By Gary & Jay on 04-19-19
By: Nathan Hill
-
Beautiful Boy
- A Father's Journey through His Son's Meth Addiction
- By: David Sheff
- Narrated by: Anthony Heald
- Length: 11 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 3,800
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 3,053
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 3,049
David Sheff's story is a first: a teenager's addiction from the parent's point of view, a real-time chronicle of the shocking descent into substance abuse and the gradual emergence into hope.
Before meth, Sheff's son, Nic, was a varsity athlete, honor student, and award-winning journalist. After meth, he was a trembling wraith who stole money from his eight-year-old brother and lived on the streets. With haunting candor, Sheff traces the first warning signs, the attempts at rehabilitation, and, at last, the way past addiction. He shows us that, whatever an addict's fate, the rest of the family must care for one another, too, lest they become addicted to addiction.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Been There
- By Happy Reader on 11-26-12
By: David Sheff
-
The Great Believers
- By: Rebecca Makkai
- Narrated by: Michael Crouch
- Length: 18 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 3,151
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 2,808
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 2,797
In 1985, Yale Tishman, the development director for an art gallery in Chicago, is about to pull off an amazing coup, bringing in an extraordinary collection of 1920s paintings as a gift to the gallery. Yet as his career begins to flourish, the carnage of the AIDS epidemic grows around him. One by one, his friends are dying and after his friend Nico's funeral, the virus circles closer and closer to Yale himself. Soon the only person he has left is Fiona, Nico's little sister.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A story for all time
- By Amazon Customer on 08-06-18
By: Rebecca Makkai
-
Don't Worry, He Won't Get Far on Foot
- By: John Callahan
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett
- Length: 5 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 24
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 22
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 22
In 1972, at the age of 21, John Callahan was involved in a car crash that severed his spine and made him a quadriplegic. A heavy drinker since the age of 12, the accident could have been the beginning of a downward spiral. Instead, it sparked a personal transformation. After extensive physical therapy, he was eventually able to grasp a pen in his right hand and make rudimentary drawings. By 1978, Callahan had sworn off drinking for good and begun to draw cartoons. Over the next three decades, Callahan would become one of the nation's most beloved cartoonists.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Inspirational!
- By Amazon Customer on 12-10-18
By: John Callahan
-
The Interestings
- By: Meg Wolitzer
- Narrated by: Jen Tullock
- Length: 15 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 2,606
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 2,286
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 2,298
The summer that Nixon resigns, six teenagers at a summer camp for the arts become inseparable. Decades later the bond remains powerful, but so much else has changed. In The Interestings, Wolitzer follows these characters from the height of youth through middle age, as their talents, fortunes, and degrees of satisfaction diverge. The kind of creativity that is rewarded at age 15 is not always enough to propel someone through life at age 30; not everyone can sustain, in adulthood, what seemed so special in adolescence.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Top Listen for 2013 - A+++
- By Beth Anne on 05-24-13
By: Meg Wolitzer
-
The Female Persuasion
- A Novel
- By: Meg Wolitzer
- Narrated by: Rebecca Lowman
- Length: 14 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 1,616
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,469
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 1,465
To be admired by someone we admire - we all yearn for this: the private, electrifying pleasure of being singled out by someone of esteem. But sometimes it can also mean entry to a new kind of life, a bigger world. Greer Kadetsky is a shy college freshman when she meets the woman she hopes will change her life. Faith Frank, dazzlingly persuasive and elegant at 63, has been a central pillar of the women’s movement for decades, a figure who inspires others to influence the world.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
4.33 stars....great writer
- By james on 08-06-18
By: Meg Wolitzer
-
Barefoot
- A Novel
- By: Elin Hilderbrand
- Narrated by: Rachael Warren
- Length: 16 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,089
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 975
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 967
From marriage, infidelity, and the mayhem of motherhood to scandal, tragedy, and illness - three women seek peace and comfort in Nantucket as they cope with life's challenges. Three women - burdened with small children, unwieldy straw hats, and some obvious emotional issues - tumble onto the Nantucket airport tarmac one hot June day. Vicki is trying to sort through the news that she has a serious illness. Her sister, Brenda, has just left her job after being caught in an affair with a student. And their friend Melanie, after seven failed in vitro attempts, is pregnant at last.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
OMG...spoiler alert:
- By Abby Mamacos on 10-09-17
By: Elin Hilderbrand
-
Barrel Fever and Other Stories
- By: David Sedaris
- Narrated by: David Sedaris, Amy Sedaris
- Length: 2 hrs and 59 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 819
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 504
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 501
In David Sedaris' world, no one is safe and no cow is sacred. A manic cross between Mark Leyner, Fran Lebowitz, and the National Enquirer, Sedaris' collection of essays is a rollicking tour through the national Zeitgeist: a do-it-yourself suburban dad saves money by performing home surgery; a man who is loved too much flees the heavyweight champion of the world; a teenage suicide tries to incite a lynch mob at her funeral; a bitter Santa abuses the elves.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
Be warned- Santaland Diaries is NOT included
- By David on 06-05-12
By: David Sedaris
-
Never Have Your Dog Stuffed
- And Other Things I've Learned
- By: Alan Alda
- Narrated by: Marc Cashman
- Length: 8 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 417
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 150
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 152
He's one of America's most recognizable and acclaimed actors: a star on Broadway, an Oscar nominee for The Aviator, and the only person to ever win Emmys for acting, writing, and directing, during his 11 years on M*A*S*H. Now Alan Alda has written a memoir as elegant, funny, and affecting as his greatest performances.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
My purchase of this book was a bit of a mistake.
- By Patricia on 11-09-05
By: Alan Alda
-
Divided Minds
- Twin Sisters and Their Journey Through Schizophrenia
- By: Carolyn S. Spiro MD, Pamela Spiro Wagner
- Narrated by: Kimberly Farr, Amanda Carlin
- Length: 11 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 67
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 59
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 58
Divided Minds is a dual memoir of identical twins, one of whom faces a life sentence of schizophrenia and the other who becomes a psychiatrist after entering the spotlight that had for so long been focused on her sister.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
intense!
- By Snow Dunn on 09-12-19
By: Carolyn S. Spiro MD, and others
-
Golden State
- A Novel
- By: Michelle Richmond
- Narrated by: Käthe Mazur
- Length: 9 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 261
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 244
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 243
Dr. Julie Walker wakes on a summer morning in San Francisco to find a city in chaos. Today Californians are voting on a controversial ballot initiative that will change history. With the future of the state and the nation uncertain, the streets have erupted into violence. Injured, Julie must make her way across the city by foot to the Veterans Administration Hospital, where her sister, recently returned from Afghanistan, is in labor. At the hospital a brutal scene is unfolding as a man who shares an intimate past with Julie begins to take his revenge.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Timely Theme with a Very Interesting Story Timeline
- By DrGreene on 09-02-16
-
Truth & Beauty
- A Friendship
- By: Ann Patchett
- Narrated by: Ann Patchett
- Length: 8 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 749
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 487
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 486
The author of Bel Canto, winner of the PEN/Faulkner Award, the Orange Prize, and long-running New York Times best seller, turns to nonfiction in a moving chronicle of her decades-long friendship with the critically acclaimed and recently deceased author, Lucy Grealy.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
It got better....
- By Suzn F on 02-20-12
By: Ann Patchett
-
Riding the Bus with My Sister
- A True Life Journey
- By: Rachel Simon
- Narrated by: Rachel Simon
- Length: 9 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 107
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 94
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 93
For the 10th anniversary of this beloved, heartwarming true story, Hachette Audio is releasing an audiobook edition, read by the author. Beth is a spirited woman with an intellectual disability who spends nearly every day riding the buses in her Pennsylvania city. The drivers, a lively group, are her mentors; her fellow passengers are her community. Beth, who lives independently and has a boyfriend, is a joyful, endearing, and feisty individual.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
True story unlike most others! Fascinating!
- By Sylvia on 08-24-15
By: Rachel Simon
-
After the Parade
- By: Lori Ostlund
- Narrated by: Sean Runnette
- Length: 12 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 48
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 43
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 43
Sensitive, big-hearted, and achingly self-conscious, 40-year-old Aaron Englund long ago escaped the confines of his Midwestern hometown, but he still feels like an outcast. After 20 years under the Pygmalion-like direction of his older partner, Walter, Aaron at last decides it is time to stop letting life happen to him and to take control of his own fate.
By: Lori Ostlund
Publisher's Summary
In September 1955, six-year-old Mark O'Brien moved his arms and legs for the last time. He came out of a coma to find himself enclosed from the neck down in an iron lung, the machine in which he would live for much of the rest of his life.
For the first time in audio, How I Became a Human Being is O'Brien's account of his struggles to lead an independent life despite a lifelong disability. In 1955 he contracted polio and became permanently paralyzed from the neck down. O'Brien describes growing up without the use of his limbs, his adolescence struggling with physical rehabilitation and suffering the bureaucracy of hospitals and institutions, and his adult life as an independent student and writer. Despite his physical limitations, O'Brien crafts a narrative that is as rich and vivid as the life he led.
