We Are Called to Rise

A Novel

By: Laura McBride

Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell, Kirby Heyborne, Madeleine Maby, Pete Simonelli

“Your heart will break…then soar” (Redbook) when, far from the neon lights of the Vegas strip, three lives collide in a split-second mistake and a child’s fate hangs in the balance.

Avis thought her marriage had hit a temporary rut. But with a single confession in the middle of the night, her carefully constructed life comes undone. After escaping a tumultuous childhood and raising a son, she now faces a future without the security of the home and family she has spent decades building.

Luis only wants to make the grandmother who raised him proud. As a soldier, he was on his way to being the man she taught him to be until he woke up in Walter Reed Hospital with vague and troubling memories of how he got there. Now he must find a new way to live a life of honor.

Every day, young Bashkim looks forward to the quiet order of school and the kind instruction of his third grade teacher. His family relocated to Las Vegas after fleeing political persecution in their homeland. Now their ice cream truck provides just enough extra income to keep them afloat. With his family under constant stress, Bashkim opens his heart to his pen pal, a US soldier.

When these lives come together in a single, shocking moment, each character is called upon to rise. “You’ll be thinking about these characters long after you finish this haunting, heart-wrenching, and hopeful book” (Houston Chronicle).

Intertwining Lives Reveal Despair and Hope

This is a beautiful novel. The narration is flawless with four readers presenting the four intertwining lives whose experiences encompass this story. The novel explores the psychological and physical aftermath of war. Through knowing these four characters, the reader experiences many aspects of the struggles facing families and individuals as they move through life working to overcome and continue living after having looked death in the eye and while trying to carry on living after having faced horrendous injustices in various countries in our world. This is a contemporary novel which takes place in Las Vegas, Nevada and which looks at the family life in this city of bright lights and money while also exploring human loss, despair, and resilience. The four voices of the novel include the mother of a soldier, a social worker, a child of an immigrant family, and a soldier. This author was able to express the possibility of rebirth, of starting over after tragic losses, and of living with the guilt of surviving. I enjoyed the message of finding some healing through expressing kindness to others who are also suffering. I recommend this novel. I was engrossed throughout.

Very moving

Particularly loved the reader of the boy's sections, great job! Beautiful story with interconnected characters

Its really good!

I read reviews before I chose this book and now I am surprised by the bad ones. I enjoyed every minute!

Loved it!!

Couldn't get enough of each chapter, fell in love with each character. I cried, laughed, I felt as if I was in the book.

Wow! Lots to think about.

There is much to think about & talk about as a result of listening to this novel - PTSD, immigrant lives in America, the poor, the foster care system, and more. Excellent reading by the narrator & excellent story. Don't miss this one.