-
Starkishia: Estrella
- Narrated by: Cassandra Arnold
- Length: 9 hrs and 41 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...
-
If You Tell
- A True Story of Murder, Family Secrets, and the Unbreakable Bond of Sisterhood
- By: Gregg Olsen
- Narrated by: Karen Peakes
- Length: 10 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 19,226
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 16,646
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 16,582
After more than a decade, when sisters Nikki, Sami, and Tori Knotek hear the word mom, it claws like an eagle’s talons, triggering memories that have been their secret since childhood. Until now. For years, behind the closed doors of their farmhouse in Raymond, Washington, their sadistic mother, Shelly, subjected her girls to unimaginable abuse, degradation, torture, and psychic terrors. Through it all, Nikki, Sami, and Tori developed a defiant bond that made them far less vulnerable than Shelly imagined.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Why didn't you tell?
- By Muggle Mom on 01-02-20
By: Gregg Olsen
-
The Beast I Loved
- A Battered Woman's Desperate Struggle to Survive
- By: Robert Davidson
- Narrated by: Kevin Pierce
- Length: 11 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 467
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 413
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 413
June Briand shot four bullets into her husband's head and was sentenced to 15 years to life. This is the shocking, true story of survival - and the intense bond June shared with her pathologically violent husband, a monster who physically and sexually tortured, degraded, and dominated her so relentlessly she refused to believe he was dead even after she killed him.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Beyond Beast . . .
- By POLLY POIZENDEM on 07-14-18
By: Robert Davidson
-
Ask Again, Yes
- A Novel
- By: Mary Beth Keane
- Narrated by: Molly Pope
- Length: 12 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 5,402
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 4,737
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 4,739
In Mary Beth Keane's extraordinary novel, a lifelong friendship and love blossoms between Kate Gleeson and Peter Stanhope, born six months apart. One shocking night their loyalties are divided, and their bond will be tested again and again over the next 30 years. Heartbreaking and redemptive, Ask Again, Yes is a gorgeous and generous portrait of the daily intimacies of marriage and the power of forgiveness....
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Grabs Hold of Your Heart and Doesn't Let Go
- By Amazon Customer on 09-05-19
By: Mary Beth Keane
-
Somebody's Daughter
- A Memoir
- By: Ashley C. Ford
- Narrated by: Ashley C. Ford
- Length: 8 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 964
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 816
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 814
Through poverty, adolescence, and a fraught relationship with her mother, Ashley Ford wishes she could turn to her father for hope and encouragement. There are just a few problems: he’s in prison, and she doesn’t know what he did to end up there. She doesn’t know how to deal with the incessant worries that keep her up at night, or how to handle the changes in her body that draw unwanted attention from men. In her search for unconditional love, Ashley begins dating a boy her mother hates.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
It gives words to the journey of so many brown girls.
- By Kenyon Martin on 06-06-21
By: Ashley C. Ford
-
My Sister
- How One Sibling's Transition Changed Us Both
- By: Selenis Leyva, Marizol Leyva
- Narrated by: Selenis Leyva, Marizol Leyva
- Length: 7 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 31
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 27
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 29
Profoundly moving and instructive, My Sister offers insight into the lives of two siblings learning to be their authentic selves. Ultimately, theirs is a story of hope, one that will resonate with and affirm those in the process of transitioning, watching a loved one transition, and anyone taking control of their gender or sexual identities.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A must read!
- By Ellie on 01-08-21
By: Selenis Leyva, and others
-
The Moonlight Child
- By: Karen McQuestion
- Narrated by: Stacey Glemboski
- Length: 9 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,635
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,441
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,433
A gripping and emotional novel that will leave you wondering about the neighbors next door...On a cold January night, Sharon Lemke heads outside to see a lunar eclipse when she notices something odd at the house behind her backyard. Through her neighbor's kitchen window, she sees what appears to be a little girl washing dishes late at night. But the Fleming family doesn't have a child that age, and even if they did, why would she be doing housework at this late hour?
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Thoroughly enjoyed every minute of this book
- By cindy on 01-05-21
By: Karen McQuestion
-
If You Tell
- A True Story of Murder, Family Secrets, and the Unbreakable Bond of Sisterhood
- By: Gregg Olsen
- Narrated by: Karen Peakes
- Length: 10 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 19,226
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 16,646
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 16,582
After more than a decade, when sisters Nikki, Sami, and Tori Knotek hear the word mom, it claws like an eagle’s talons, triggering memories that have been their secret since childhood. Until now. For years, behind the closed doors of their farmhouse in Raymond, Washington, their sadistic mother, Shelly, subjected her girls to unimaginable abuse, degradation, torture, and psychic terrors. Through it all, Nikki, Sami, and Tori developed a defiant bond that made them far less vulnerable than Shelly imagined.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Why didn't you tell?
- By Muggle Mom on 01-02-20
By: Gregg Olsen
-
The Beast I Loved
- A Battered Woman's Desperate Struggle to Survive
- By: Robert Davidson
- Narrated by: Kevin Pierce
- Length: 11 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 467
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 413
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 413
June Briand shot four bullets into her husband's head and was sentenced to 15 years to life. This is the shocking, true story of survival - and the intense bond June shared with her pathologically violent husband, a monster who physically and sexually tortured, degraded, and dominated her so relentlessly she refused to believe he was dead even after she killed him.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Beyond Beast . . .
- By POLLY POIZENDEM on 07-14-18
By: Robert Davidson
-
Ask Again, Yes
- A Novel
- By: Mary Beth Keane
- Narrated by: Molly Pope
- Length: 12 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 5,402
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 4,737
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 4,739
In Mary Beth Keane's extraordinary novel, a lifelong friendship and love blossoms between Kate Gleeson and Peter Stanhope, born six months apart. One shocking night their loyalties are divided, and their bond will be tested again and again over the next 30 years. Heartbreaking and redemptive, Ask Again, Yes is a gorgeous and generous portrait of the daily intimacies of marriage and the power of forgiveness....
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Grabs Hold of Your Heart and Doesn't Let Go
- By Amazon Customer on 09-05-19
By: Mary Beth Keane
-
Somebody's Daughter
- A Memoir
- By: Ashley C. Ford
- Narrated by: Ashley C. Ford
- Length: 8 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 964
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 816
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 814
Through poverty, adolescence, and a fraught relationship with her mother, Ashley Ford wishes she could turn to her father for hope and encouragement. There are just a few problems: he’s in prison, and she doesn’t know what he did to end up there. She doesn’t know how to deal with the incessant worries that keep her up at night, or how to handle the changes in her body that draw unwanted attention from men. In her search for unconditional love, Ashley begins dating a boy her mother hates.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
It gives words to the journey of so many brown girls.
- By Kenyon Martin on 06-06-21
By: Ashley C. Ford
-
My Sister
- How One Sibling's Transition Changed Us Both
- By: Selenis Leyva, Marizol Leyva
- Narrated by: Selenis Leyva, Marizol Leyva
- Length: 7 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 31
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 27
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 29
Profoundly moving and instructive, My Sister offers insight into the lives of two siblings learning to be their authentic selves. Ultimately, theirs is a story of hope, one that will resonate with and affirm those in the process of transitioning, watching a loved one transition, and anyone taking control of their gender or sexual identities.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A must read!
- By Ellie on 01-08-21
By: Selenis Leyva, and others
-
The Moonlight Child
- By: Karen McQuestion
- Narrated by: Stacey Glemboski
- Length: 9 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,635
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,441
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,433
A gripping and emotional novel that will leave you wondering about the neighbors next door...On a cold January night, Sharon Lemke heads outside to see a lunar eclipse when she notices something odd at the house behind her backyard. Through her neighbor's kitchen window, she sees what appears to be a little girl washing dishes late at night. But the Fleming family doesn't have a child that age, and even if they did, why would she be doing housework at this late hour?
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Thoroughly enjoyed every minute of this book
- By cindy on 01-05-21
By: Karen McQuestion
-
In Pursuit of Love
- One Woman’s Journey from Trafficked to Triumphant
- By: Rebecca Bender
- Narrated by: Rebecca Bender
- Length: 7 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 200
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 179
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 179
Born and raised in a small Oregon town, all-American girl Rebecca Bender was a varsity athlete and honor-roll student with a promising future. Then a predator pretending to be her boyfriend lured her into a web of lies that sent her down a path she never imagined possible. For nearly six years, Rebecca was sold across the underground world of sex trafficking in Las Vegas. She was branded, beaten, told when to sleep and what to wear, and traded between traffickers. During that time, God began revealing himself to her.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
INSULTING to ACTUAL Human Trafficking Victims
- By Goodstone79 on 08-04-20
By: Rebecca Bender
-
Tears of the Silenced
- An Amish True Crime Memoir of Childhood Sexual Abuse, Brutal Betrayal, and Ultimate Survival
- By: Misty Griffin
- Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell
- Length: 11 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 1,104
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 991
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 987
When Misty was six years old, her family started to live and dress like the Amish. Misty and her sister were kept as slaves on a mountain ranch where they were subjected to almost complete isolation, sexual abuse, and extreme physical violence. When Misty reached her teens, her parents feared she and her sister would escape and took them to an Amish community where they were adopted and became baptized members. Misty was devastated to once again find herself in a world of fear, animal cruelty, and sexual abuse.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Author is definitely dedicated
- By Felisa Kay Chaloupek. on 09-15-20
By: Misty Griffin
-
The Phantom Prince
- My Life with Ted Bundy
- By: Elizabeth Kendall, Molly Kendall - contributor
- Narrated by: Elizabeth Kendall, Barrie Kreinik, Molly Kendall
- Length: 6 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,059
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 908
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 901
The Phantom Prince chronicles Elizabeth Kendall’s intimate relationship with Ted Bundy and its eventual unraveling. As much as has been written about Bundy, it’s remarkable to hear the perspective of people who shared their daily lives with him for years. This gripping account presents a remarkable examination of a charismatic personality that masked unimaginable darkness.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Same Planet, Different Worlds
- By Christine E. Lee on 01-29-20
By: Elizabeth Kendall, and others
-
The Love Prison Made and Unmade
- My Story
- By: Ebony Roberts
- Narrated by: Robin Miles
- Length: 7 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 89
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 83
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 83
Ebony’s parents were high school sweethearts and married young. By the time Ebony was born, the marriage was disintegrating. As a little girl she witnessed her parents’ brutal verbal and physical fights, fueled by her father’s alcoholism. Then her father tried to kill her mother. Those experiences drastically affected the way Ebony viewed love and set the pattern for her future romantic relationships. Despite being an educated and strong-minded woman determined not to repeat the mistakes of her parents - she would have a fairytale love.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Uncharted Territory
- By Kindle Customer on 07-13-19
By: Ebony Roberts
-
The Ones We Leave Behind
- By: Deanna Lynn Sletten
- Narrated by: Jennifer Groberg
- Length: 12 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 168
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 153
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 152
Diane picked up her mother’s phone. “How do you feel about your mother being let out of prison today after 65 years?” the reporter asked. Diane stared at her mother. “My grandmother is alive?” That one phone call hurled shock waves throughout the entire family. 1955 - Anna Bergman Craine’s life changes in an instant when she commits a crime of passion and is sentenced to life in prison. Leaving behind two young children, she is left alone in the world, never to hear from family or friends again.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Wow wow wow.
- By Connie on 09-30-21
-
In the Shadow of the Valley
- A Memoir
- By: Bobi Conn
- Narrated by: Bobi Conn
- Length: 10 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 267
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 226
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 225
Bobi Conn was raised in a remote Kentucky holler in 1980s Appalachia. She remembers her tin-roofed house tucked away in a vast forest paradise; the sparkling creeks, with their frogs and crawdads; the sweet blackberries growing along the road to her granny’s; and her abusive father. An elegiac account of survival despite being born poor, female, and cloistered, Bobi’s testament is one of hope for all vulnerable populations, particularly women and girls caught in the cycle of poverty and abuse.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Hard Pass
- By Kathryn Liggett on 06-13-20
By: Bobi Conn
-
House on Olive Street
- By: Robyn Carr
- Narrated by: Christina Moore
- Length: 11 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,063
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 921
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 922
In this touching work, four women—all writers—come together after a painful loss. Recently deceased Gabby Marshall leaves behind a letter asking her friends to complete her unfinished manuscript. Taking vacations from their own lives, the ladies settle at Gabby’s home and get to work.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Good story/liked the characters
- By Andrea on 04-08-13
By: Robyn Carr
-
The Secret Life of CeeCee Wilkes
- By: Diane Chamberlain
- Narrated by: Cris Dukehart
- Length: 13 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2,608
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 2,382
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 2,380
In 1977, pregnant Genevieve Russell disappeared. Twenty years later, her remains are discovered and Timothy Gleason is charged with murder. But there is no sign of the unborn child. CeeCee Wilkes knows how Genevieve Russell died, because she was there. And she also knows what happened to the missing infant, because two decades ago she made the devastating choice to raise the baby as her own. Now Timothy Gleason is facing the death penalty, and she has another choice to make: tell the truth, and destroy her family, or let an innocent man die in order to protect a lifetime of lies....
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
More! More! More!
- By Simone on 11-22-13
-
An Only Child and Her Sister
- A Memoir
- By: Casey Maxwell Clair
- Narrated by: Donna Postel
- Length: 9 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 45
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 37
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 37
Casey and her little sister, Christine, started off with what looked like a good beginning. But looks can be deceiving. Their mother, Eve Whitney, a stunning Hollywood beauty, didn't much care for children. Their father, Eddie Maxwell, was a successful songwriter and gag man; he was a brilliant, handsome, hugely charismatic man, but he had a secret drug habit that sent him careening between warm and loving parent one day, to hair-trigger monster the next.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Depressing narration
- By Baytown Anita on 01-08-21
-
Finding Ashley
- By: Danielle Steel
- Narrated by: Michael Braun
- Length: 8 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,078
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 931
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 924
Melissa Henderson is leading a quiet life. Once a best-selling author, she now pours all her energy into renovating a Victorian house nestled in the foothills of rural New England. Six years ago, she lost her young son to cancer, and her marriage dissolved. She stopped writing. Then Melissa receives a call from her sister, Hattie. They were close once, but that was before Melissa withdrew from the world. Now Hattie, who became a nun at 25, is determined to help Melissa turn a new page, even if it means reopening one of the most painful chapters of her life.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
Pretty story, horrible writing.
- By Tkarmatrong on 07-21-21
By: Danielle Steel
-
He Came in with It
- A Portrait of Motherhood and Madness
- By: Miriam Feldman
- Narrated by: Ann Richardson
- Length: 11 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 28
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 23
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 23
In an idyllic Los Angeles neighborhood, where generations enjoy deep roots in old homes, the O’Rourke family fits right in. Miriam and Craig are both artists and their four children carry on the legacy. When their teenage son, Nick, is diagnosed with schizophrenia, a tumultuous decade ensues in which the family careens off the conventional course. Like the 10 Biblical plagues, they are hit by one catastrophe after another: violence, evictions, arrests, a suicide attempt, a near-drowning - even cancer and a brain tumor - play against the backdrop of a wild teenage bacchanal.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Lovely, yet so hard
- By jborsum on 03-03-22
By: Miriam Feldman
-
Mommie Dearest: 40th Anniversary Edition
- By: Christina Crawford
- Narrated by: Tavia Gilbert
- Length: 19 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 236
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 203
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 200
When Christina Crawford’s harrowing chronicle of child abuse was first published in 1978, it brought global attention to the previously closeted subject. It also shed light on the guarded world of Hollywood and stripped away the façade of Christina’s relentless, alcoholic abuser: her adoptive mother, movie star Joan Crawford.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Wonderful book!
- By charlie tuna III on 01-31-20
Publisher's Summary
Starkishia: Estrella is a story about a little girl who grew up too fast to feel the grass wear thin under the soles of her shoes. Abuse thickened her skin, yet her nightmares were as dark as they were real. The library became her sanctuary where stories took her to another place and time. But, in reality there was nothing imaginary about the bruises under her clothing as she advanced from one classroom to another during middle school, or nothing fictitious about being molested by the maggot hands of a despicable relative.
Her plight was hidden in a small town in Georgia, just as her physical abuse was disregarded by the school's social worker. This colored child was brought into this world by her 14-year-old mother who was ruthlessly dominated by her husband. Starkishia loved her mother above all else; her stepfather, who provided shelter for them, witnessed her birth and helped raise her. She consumed pieces of joy, but sometimes she received broken reprisals and ended up walking down the dark road alone; yet in some fortunate way humanity was always within reach.
After her parents split up, Starkishia and her family ended up in Texas. Single parenthood changed their family structure forevermore. Starkishia became a wage earner at age 13; she also became homeless the following year. She was, for years, engulfed by her impoverished and dysfunctional environment. She married a native of Mexico a few days after her 15th birthday.
He nicknamed her Estrella, a Spanish term that means Star. It goes without saying that Starkishia was born in the land of opportunity, but it was not exactly within her reach. Yes, she was her grandmother's star, but she was a statistic of minimal proportions as far as small town and suburbia America was concerned.
Shortly after marriage, she became a mother. Afterward the life of this teen went downhill at lightning speed. Many listeners will identify with her. Others will scream to the chapters of the book.
