Preview
  • The Dearly Beloved

  • A Novel
  • By: Cara Wall
  • Narrated by: Kathy Keane
  • Length: 10 hrs and 50 mins
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (1,502 ratings)

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The Dearly Beloved

By: Cara Wall
Narrated by: Kathy Keane
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Publisher's summary

“This gentle, gorgeously written book may be one of my favorites ever.” (Jenna Bush Hager - A Today show “Read with Jenna” Book Club selection!)

This “moving portrait of love and friendship set against a backdrop of social change” (The New York Times Book Review, Editor’s Choice) traces two married couples whose lives become entangled when the husbands become co-pastors at a famed New York city congregation in the 1960s.

Charles and Lily, James and Nan. They meet in Greenwich Village in 1963 when Charles and James are jointly hired to steward the historic Third Presbyterian Church through turbulent times. Their personal differences, however, threaten to tear them apart.

Charles is destined to succeed his father as an esteemed professor of history at Harvard, until an unorthodox lecture about faith leads him to ministry. How then, can he fall in love with Lily - fiercely intellectual, elegantly stern - after she tells him with certainty that she will never believe in God? And yet, how can he not?

James, the youngest son in a hardscrabble Chicago family, spent much of his youth angry at his alcoholic father and avoiding his anxious mother. Nan grew up in Mississippi, the devout and beloved daughter of a minister and a debutante. James' escape from his desperate circumstances leads him to Nan, and, despite his skepticism of hope in all its forms, her gentle, constant faith changes the course of his life.

In The Dearly Beloved, Cara Wall reminds us of “the power of the novel in its simplest, richest form: bearing intimate witness to human beings grappling with their faith and falling in love” (Entertainment Weekly, A-) as we follow these two couples through decades of love and friendship, jealousy and understanding, forgiveness and commitment. Against the backdrop of turbulent changes facing the city and the church’s congregation, Wall offers a poignant meditation on faith and reason, marriage and children, and the ways we find meaning in our lives. The Dearly Beloved is a gorgeous, wise, and provocative novel that is destined to become a classic.

©2019 Cara Wall (P)2019 Simon & Schuster Audio

What listeners say about The Dearly Beloved

Average customer ratings
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So sad when it ended!!!

I loved it. What a beautiful story. I will recommend to all kinds of friends. Beautiful writing, beautiful performance. I could have listened for another 12 hours!

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Lives Lived!

A read that shares how life journies can bring us together and can tear us apart. The joy, heartbreak, perceived truth, and realities in our daily lives. The journey of faith.

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Worth the wait

I had listened to this book before bed each night, thinking it was quite long and just mildly interesting. As I progressed to the 2nd and 3rd parts it grew together into a beautiful story that was really insightful and an inspiration to me. I even cried at one point over the joy of discovery after perseverance of Lilly and her search for help of her son. An arduous journey and I am so grateful for all the knowledge that has been gathered for autistic families. It saddens me that the journey to knowledge has harmed so many families but not just autism, so many other medical conditions that families have experienced.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Beautiful story of faith, growth, love and friendship

I wasn’t expecting to enjoy this as much as I did! The stories of each main character as well as both couples were intimate and deeply moving. It was a privilege to go through the triumphs and struggles.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Finding Faith

I thought I believed in God and what that meant,, but listening to this story made me realize that I had so many questions. Our beloved me took answer some and to formulate other questions still.

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Don’t miss this tapestry of 4 friends!

Beautiful narrative of four friends linked by life’s pleasures and hardships. It was slow to start but grew in interest and value as the characters developed. A sentimental story grabbing faith and family and placing them in a stunning display of love, forgiveness and understanding.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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A story of life

Beautifully written story of 2 couples finding their way through relationships, struggles and their ideas of God.

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love of each other

the story is good, but the subject incomplete. The full answers are found in The Church of Jesus Christ of latter-day Saints...if you want to know of Jesus in His entirety.

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Well written, theologically disappointing

the characters felt real and the story intriguing. Theologically, it was really sad that the characters were so close to truth without seeing it.
"For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?"

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9 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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A story of faith

A wonderful, thought provoking story of faith (personal) and Faith (religious). It is a slow start, so hang in for the first hour or so. The characters are beautifully written and each represents a different aspect of the meaning of faith. The ending is poignant and perfect. This is a book to savor. It made me think about my own beliefs.

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6 people found this helpful