Deanna Edens has 5 audiobooks on Listento.it, narrated by 4 narrators. The most-rated is Angels of the Appalachians.
Pearl: You Are Cleared to Land
Summary
Have you ever heard of the pearl of Alaska? How about the hillbilly Eskimo? Do you know the name of the woman who received the Wright Brothers’ Master Pilot Award at the age of 97? Well, her name is Pearl, and this is a story about her and her family and friends. To be more precise, many of these stories are hers - authentic memories written by an amazing woman. Pearl Bragg Laska Chamberlain was the first woman to fly her own plane from the lower 48 up the Alaska highway to Alaska. She worked as a flight instructor, bush pilot, cryptographer for the Pentagon, flew in five powder puff derbies, and was also a WASP trainee and famous “99er”. Pearl was a member of the UFO’s (United Flying Octogenarians), and the mayor of Fairbanks actually declared a “Pearl Laska Chamberlain Day”. Pretty impressive, eh? I am very excited to bring you this fabulous collection of “Braggin’ Rights” stories that begin in the early 1900s on chestnut mountain in Summers County, West Virginia. Tales about bootleggin’ and learning to fly in the Appalachians are followed by adventures to exotic places. Narratives about living in the polar region, and escapades of an aviatrix are accompanied by heartfelt memories of real-life victories and the sorrows of a lifetime. So settle down into the cockpit, buckle your seat-belt, and get ready for an astonishing and amazing flight.
©2018 Deanna Edens (P)2019 Deanna Edens
Molly's Memoir
Summary
Molly’s Memoir is a journey through the life and times of a woman who is raised by a Seneca Indian after she is abandoned on the porch of a log cabin in the hills of West Virginia. Growing up in the isolated Monongahela Mountains, she learns about love, faith, and of the craft of healing with medicinal herbs. The background of these stories begins in 1905 when West Virginia was wild and wooly, and continues to the later half of the 20th century, when a journalism student, who works at the Springfield Senior Care Facility, is recruited by two gray-haired, knee-high wearing women to inscribe Molly’s tales. Stories from the past, and from when the memoir is written in 1990, are intertwined as the most memorable events of a remarkable life, are revealed with humor and a gentle touch. Molly’s Memoir offers a fascinating picture of a strong Native American woman, medicinal healing, historical events, biases, and the significance of family ties - even when you aren’t blood kin.
©2015 Deanna Edens (P)2019 Deanna Edens
Rosa's Castle
Summary
Samuel Taylor Suit was a dashing figure in West Virginian society - a man who made his fortune distilling whiskey. An investor in the growing railroad industry, he played host to US presidents. And when he fell in love, he fell hard. Rosa Pelham was almost two decades younger than Suit, who courted her unsuccessfully for five long years. Then, in 1883, he found the chink in Rosa’s romantic armor. She dreamed of living in a castle. Suit vowed to build her one if she accepted his proposal. He was as good as his word, and Berkeley Castle became part of West Virginian history. Some say the story of Rosa and her castle ended badly, with heartache, financial ruin, and insanity. Some darkly hint that vengeful ghosts now walk the halls of Berkeley Castle, tormented by secret misdeeds.Others tell a different tale - one of love and courage in the face of changing fortunes. Rosa’s Castle tells this tale - a dazzling “what if” based on one of America’s most striking love stories. As for ghosts...well, not all are vengeful shades. Some haunt out of love for those they left behind.
©2016 Deanna Edens (P)2019 Deanna Edens
Jinx at the Greenbrier
Summary
“A five-year-old couldn’t get into too much trouble, right?”
Jinx at the Greenbrier is a humorous and creative chronicle of a young girl who practically grew up at the acclaimed Greenbrier Hotel, which is one of the finest resorts in the world. Her stories begin when she arrived in 1936 and met such notable historical personalities as Eleanor Roosevelt, Clare Boothe Luce, and Sam Snead. Her adventures continue through the era when the Greenbrier housed high-level German and Japanese diplomats at the beginning of World War II, then through the days when it served as a United States Army hospital. Jinx’s exploits encompass encounters with interior designer Dorothy Draper, the Duchess of Windsor, and Bing Crosby - just to name a few.
Jinx at the Greenbrier offers a fascinating picture of the celebrities, high-society personalities, and government officials who frequented the grand Greenbrier Resort in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia during the '30s and '40s. Prop up your feet, grab a cuppa tea, and delight in these misadventures, as told through the eyes of an 86-year-old woman reminiscing about the days when she was little girl growing up at the fabulous Greenbrier Resort.
©2016 Deanna Edens (P)2019 Deanna Edens
Angels of the Appalachians
Summary
Angels of the Appalachians is a fresh and endearing tale, filled with folksy phrases and amusing adages of the South. It's the story of two women who meet in 1980, gray-haired Erma telling her life story to Annie, a young college student living in Charleston, West Virginia. The tale she tells is also of two women, and their adventures beginning in the coalfields of Red Ash, growing up near Thurmond, and eventually finding their way to Charleston in 1915. Strong mountain women, historical places, faith, and grief are themes explored in this account of a friendship that spans across decades. You will find yourself wishing to call on the fine folks of the Appalachian Mountains, relax for a spell, and stumble upon the angels who made West Virginia so gloriously wild and wonderful.
©2015 Deanna Edens (P)2019 Deanna Edens