Gregory Boyle has 3 audiobooks on Listento.it, narrated by 1 narrator, with an average listener rating of 5★ across 15 ratings. The most-rated is Barking to the Choir.
Barking to the Choir
Summary
A moving example of unconditional love in difficult times, the best-selling author of Tattoos on the Heart, Father Gregory Boyle, shares what three decades of working with gangs in Los Angeles has taught him about faith, compassion, and the enduring power of radical kinship. In his first book, Tattoos on the Heart, Father Gregory Boyle introduced us to Homeboy Industries, the largest and most successful gang-intervention program in the world. Critics hailed that book as an "astounding literary and spiritual feat" (Publishers Weekly) that is "destined to become a classic of both urban reportage and contemporary spirituality" (Los Angeles Times). Now, after the successful expansion of Homeboy Industries, Boyle returns with Barking to the Choir to reveal how compassion is transforming the neighborhood that boasts the highest concentration of murderous gang activity in Los Angeles. In a nation deeply divided and a neighborhood plagued by poverty and violence, Barking to the Choir offers a snapshot into the challenges and joys of life in "the barrio". Jose, arrested at nine, in a gang by 12, and serving time shortly thereafter, now works with the substance-abuse team at Homeboy to help young boys find sobriety. Andre, abandoned by his family when he tried to attend school at age seven, gradually finds forgiveness for his schizophrenic mother. New father Hector, who never knew his own father, thinks of a daily adventure story to tell his four-year-old son. These former gang members uplift the soul and reveal how bright life can be when filled with unconditional love and kindness. This collection is guaranteed to shake up our ideas about God and about people with a glimpse at a world defined by more compassion and fewer barriers. Gently and humorously, Barking to the Choir invites us to find kinship with one another and reconvinces us all of our own goodness.
©2017 Gregory Boyle (P)2017 Simon & Schuster, Inc.
The Whole Language
Summary
Gregory Boyle, the beloved Jesuit priest and author of the inspirational best sellers Tattoos on the Heart and Barking to the Choir, returns with a call to witness the transformative power of tenderness, rooted in his lifetime of experience counseling gang members in Los Angeles. Over the past 30 years, Gregory Boyle has transformed thousands of lives through his work as the founder of Homeboy Industries, the largest and most successful gang-intervention program in the world. Boyle’s new book, The Whole Language, follows the acclaimed best sellers Tattoos on the Heart, hailed as an “astounding literary and spiritual feat” (Publishers Weekly) that is “destined to become a classic of both urban reportage and contemporary spirituality” (Los Angeles Times), and Barking to the Choir, deemed “a beautiful and important and soul-transporting book” by Elizabeth Gilbert and declared by Ann Patchett to be “a book that shows what the platitudes of faith look like when they’re put into action”. In a community struggling to overcome systemic poverty and violence, The Whole Language shows how those at Homeboy Industries fight despair and remain generous, hopeful, and tender. When Saul was 13 years old, he killed his abusive stepfather in self-defense; after spending 23 years in juvenile and adult jail, he enters the Homeboy Industries training and healing programs and embraces their mission. Declaring, “I’ve decided to grow up to be somebody I always needed as a child”, Saul shows tenderness toward the young men in his former shoes, treating them all like his sons and helping them to find their way. Before coming to Homeboy Industries, a young man named Abel was shot 33 times, landing him in a coma for six months followed by a year and a half recuperating in the hospital. He now travels on speaking tours with Boyle and gives guided tours around the Homeboy offices. One day a new trainee joins Abel as a shadow, and Abel recognizes him as the young man who had put him in a coma. “You give good tours,” the trainee tells Abel. They both have embarked on a path to wholeness. Boyle’s moving stories challenge our ideas about God and about people, providing a window into a world filled with fellowship, compassion, and fewer barriers. Bursting with encouragement, humor, and hope, The Whole Language invites us to treat others - and ourselves - with acceptance and tenderness.
©2021 Gregory Boyle (P)2021 Simon & Schuster Audio
Tattoos on the Heart
Summary
“Destined to become a classic of both urban reportage and contemporary spirituality” (Los Angeles Times) - Tattoos on the Heart is a series of parables about kinship and redemption from pastor, activist, and renowned speaker Father Gregory Boyle. Thirty years ago, Gregory Boyle founded Homeboy Industries, a gang-intervention, rehabilitation, and reentry program in Los Angeles, the gang capital of the world. In Tattoos on the Heart, his debut book, he distills his experience working with gang members into a breathtaking series of parables inspired by faith. From giant, tattooed Cesar, shopping at JC Penney fresh out of prison, you learn how to feel worthy of God’s love. From 10-year-old Pipi you learn the importance of being known and acknowledged. From Lulu you come to understand the kind of patience necessary to rescue someone from the dark - as Father Boyle phrases it, we can only shine a flashlight on a light switch in a darkened room. This is a motivating look at how to stay faithful in spite of failure, how to meet the world with a loving heart, and how to conquer shame with boundless, restorative love.
©2010 Gregory Boyle. All rights reserved. (P)2011 Highbridge, a division of Recorded Books. All rights reserved.