Maude

By: Donna Mabry

Narrated by: Shana Gagnon

Length: 10 hrs and 32 mins

Publisher's summary

In 1906 I was barely over 14 years old, and it was my wedding day. My older sister, Helen, came to my room, took me by the hand, and sat me down on the bed. She said, "You've always been a good girl, Maude, and done what I told you. Now you're going to be a married woman, and he will be the head of the house. When you go home tonight after your party, no matter what he wants to do to you, you have to let him do it. Do you understand?" I didn't understand, but I nodded my head anyway. It sounded strange to me, the way so many things did. I would do what she told me. I didn't have a choice, any more than I'd had a choice in being born.

©2014 Donna Mabry (P)2015 Dreamscape Media, LLC

Narration made listening almost unbearable

I loved this story but the narrator was so, so bad. Her halting way of speaking and at times complete lack of inflection, made it like I was listening to a beginning reader. She went in and out of some type of Southern "Scarlett O'Hara" accent to no accent at all and it was super distracting. I can't imagine how anyone heard this and thought it was fine. If I hadn't liked the story so much, I don't think I could've endured it.

So depressing

The narrator did a poor job. I have listened to over 100 audible books and never have I listened to such a monotone, awkward and stilted narration/performance as this! Truly distracting and did the story a disservice. I liked the young Maude very much. However, as Maude became older and her difficult life's challenges added up, I found myself not feeling connected to her as I did the young Maude, and I grew frustrated with her for letting people walk all over her. By the time her life was coming to its conclusion, I was as annoyed with Maude for letting her life go to waste as I was at the people who had hurt her! This story is based on fiction and I guess I'm not upset or let down with the author--I feel let down by Maude. Perhaps the author did drop the ball by failing to explain why Maude didn't stand up for herself and why we, the audience, should care about a character who doesn't care much about her own self. At the end, Donna cherishes the stories Maude told her about her life. But why? What lessons did those stories teach her? What secret or value did they reveal to Donna? Not much, as far as I can tell. Not much at all, except "don't let your life go to waste"...

Terrible Narrator

I was so disappointed in the inability of the narrator to properly narrate this book. Her voice was dreadfully monotoned with breaks in the reading. Her attempt at some sort of a southern accent was so inconsistent. I've listened to many audible books and never endured reading this bad. I could not even finish it.

A tough women with a tough life, yet very enlightening.

Every time something good happens in Maude's life something tragic would be up next. Her story of perseverance and dedication to her values and beliefs are amazing. As a whole her life's story is unremarkable, however the way she persevered through loss after loss, struggling through the depression and troubled marriages, is inspiring and shows depth in the life of all of us.

I found myself analyzing my life while reading this hoping that I'm not the type of husband that George was. I'm trying to be a good son like her Gene was.

The narration was excellent and made the book that much more enjoyable to listen to.

Almost an autobiography

This book is so amazing, it was written by Maude's granddaughter but feels like an autobiography due to the detail of emotional honesty.

It was really interesting -and sad- to hear this lady's journey through life that included so much death and poverty but somehow she kept going. One of my favorite parts of the story is how her mother in law tried to kill her and still she lived under the same roof as her. Eventually the old lady died of the flu, the whole time staring Maude down with hate as she wiped vomit off her. Later, she feels the urge to kill her own daughter in law, even though she lived through the same treatment!

The whole story shows you that if we are being honest, none of us is perfect, we are all human and flawed. Even the strongest and hardest working among us. I think this is a great story of human spirit and endurance. I loved it!

The voice. The reviews were right.

The narrator's voice took away from the story. At times she had a New England or New York accent. It wasn't until later in the story I caught Maude and her family were from Tennessee and later moved to south east Missouri. Other times the narrator's voice was droll. Many times the voice tone in no way reflected the text.

Gritty, Brutally Honest, and a Woman to Admire

Seldom have I come across a book that caught and held my attention like this one did . . . some listeners have said that the voice is flat . . . well, maybe . . . yours might be, too, if you'd been hit by a Mac truck . . . but I doubt you'd have gotten back up and gathered your wits about you and fixed supper for a thankless husband . . . and a mother-in-law who wanted to murder you . . . and I dang sure doubt that you'd have chosen to nurse that ailing woman on her death bed . . . that's Maude . . . orphaned at seven years old, helping to deliver her sister's baby, married before she was fifteen, and ever clinging to a Jesus more real to her than most of us will ever understand . . . what her parents instilled into her in the first seven years of her life . . . well, it stuck . . . she took it to heart . . . born in 1892 . . . 20 years before my own maternal grandmother . . . Maude knew hard times . . . but she never felt sorry for herself . . . she is a lesson in survival, but so much more . . . her life, so plainly and honestly laid out by her granddaughter, Donna Mabry, isn't one of failure . . . although Maude must have felt that way after so many losses . . . it is one of endurance, of being made of stuff so rare and unusual, particularly in this day and age, that few would even recognize it for what it is . . . a diamond, among plain old stones . . . thank you for writing this book, Donna Mabry . . .

Outstanding Story!

This was not just a great story it was a great life lesson as well! One that should be encouraged in the schools so that our children can see how blessed they are in the times they were brought up. Even now for people to see the struggles that others have gone through is very important. Mod had a tough life and dealt with many tough situations and felt like she was a failure, but I see her failures as strength in character. She shows that life is not a fairytale for anyone and requires grit, determination, sympathy and sometimes the ability to say I'm done.

Awful narration, sad story

I don't mind sad stories, but this is the saddest book ever. The fact that it is mostly true is even more disheartening. Maude was at once resilient, strong, weak, and naive. So many horrible things happened to her that were past her control. This books serves as an interesting window to early to mid-twentieth century women's history. I realize that times were different when she was a young woman, but so many of her problems could have been solved if she had stood up to people to begin with. I found it frustrating, and I was disappointed to find that Maude adopted the sour character of her horrible mother-in-law as she aged.
The narrator was by far the WORST narrator I have ever heard. I am a dedicated audible listener, and I have heard my share of bad reading. This woman was awful - no inflection at all when she spoke as Maude, tripping over syllables at times - she sounded like a mediocre grade school student reading aloud. Every once in awhile, she would remember she was supposed to be from Tennessee, and drop an ending "r" or two. Ridiculous. I'm glad this was on sale - I would have been angry had I wasted a full credit. I will never purchase another book read by this narrator again.

Recording

The story was great and teaches a great lesson. The recording in places isn't consistent, microphone too close or far away. The person reading was good loved the accent went will with the story time, and area. Thank you for sharing your story.

A must read

Thoroughly enjoyed this book. A life story full of tragedy, heartbreak & loss but also full of strength & resilience in the face of adversity. I found it fascinating to hear how the time periods changed throughout one lifetime, as the world advanced technologically. Starting out as a young girl without electricity or running water, to hearing of her experiencing electricity, washing machines & cars for the first time - this brought me back to basics & reminded me of what a privileged life a lot of us live today; whether we’re financially wealthy or not. A must-read!

such a stoic brave life....

one follows Maude from her youth to old age..... and it's as if one was living alongside her experiences all her sadnesses and joys......... Great story....