Marie Bostwick has 13 audiobooks on Listento.it, narrated by 21 narrators, with an average listener rating of 4.2★ across 79 ratings. The most-rated is The Topeka School.
The Topeka School
Summary
A New York Times, Time, GQ, Vulture, and Washington Post Top 10 Book of the Year
One of Barack Obama's Favourite Books of the Year
Finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, and the National Book Critics Circle Award
Shortlisted for the Rathbones Folio Prize
Winner of the Hefner Heitz Kansas Book Award
From the award-winning author of 10:04 and Leaving the Atocha Station, a tender and expansive family drama set in the American Midwest at the turn of the century, hailed by Maggie Nelson as Ben Lerner's "most discerning, ambitious, innovative, and timely novel to date."
Adam Gordon is a senior at Topeka High School, class of 97. His mother, Jane, is a famous feminist author; his father, Jonathan, is an expert at getting "lost boys" to open up. They both work at a psychiatric clinic that has attracted staff and patients from around the world. Adam is a renowned debater, expected to win a national championship before he heads to college. He is one of the cool kids, ready to fight or, better, freestyle about fighting if it keeps his peers from thinking of him as weak. Adam is also one of the seniors who bring the loner Darren Eberheart - who is, unbeknownst to Adam, his father's patient - into the social scene, to disastrous effect.
Deftly shifting perspectives and time periods, The Topeka School is the story of a family, its struggles and its strengths: Jane's reckoning with the legacy of an abusive father, Jonathan's marital transgressions, the challenge of raising a good son in a culture of toxic masculinity. It is also a riveting prehistory of the present: the collapse of public speech, the trolls and tyrants of the New Right, and the ongoing crisis of identity among white men.
©2019 Ben Lerner (P)2019 McClelland & Stewart
A Single Thread
Summary
Marie Bostwick weaves the unforgettable story of four very different women whose paths cross, changing their lives forever. It’s a long way from Fort Worth, Texas, to New Bern, Connecticut, yet it only takes a day in the charming Yankee town to make Evelyn Dixon realize she’s found her new home. The abrupt end of her marriage was Evelyn’s wake-up call to get busy chasing her dream of opening a quilt shop. Finding a storefront is easy enough; starting a new life isn’t. Little does Evelyn imagine it will bring a trio like Abigail Burgess, her niece Liza, and Margot Matthews through her door. Troubled and angry after her mother’s death, Liza threatens to embarrass her aunt Abigail all over town unless she joins her for quilting classes. A victim of downsizing at the peak of her career, Margot hopes an event hosted by the quilt shop could be a great chance to network—and keep from dying of boredom. As they stitch their unique creations, Evelyn, Abigail, Liza, and Margot form a sisterhood they never sought—but one that they’ll be grateful for when the unexpected provides a poignant reminder of the single thread that binds us all.
©2008 Marie Bostwick Skinner (P)2010 Blackstone Audio, Inc.
Just in Time
Summary
When Grace Saunders vowed to take her husband for better or worse, she meant every word. She and Jamie are solid, mutually supportive, and certain of their future together. And then, on a hiking trip for their 15th anniversary, an accident leaves Jamie in a coma, unable to move or communicate. As months pass, Grace is in limbo - still married, yet utterly alone and burdened with responsibilities that threaten to sink her. Meeting Nan and Monica, unlikely friends who need Grace almost as much as she needs them, makes life bearable, if not quite happy. But a chance evening spent with a man she barely knows brings Grace a glimmer of joy she hasn't felt since the tragedy - joy that is, however, followed by feelings of turmoil and guilt. At work, she faces a different sort of crisis, as well as her need to keep the job that pays for Jamie's medical care. Grace has always assumed that bright, clear lines separate right from wrong. Now that idealism is blurred by dilemmas that test her beliefs about marriage and loyalty, and she must look to her new friends and inside herself for answers. This poignant novel explores the limits of responsibility - to others and to ourselves - and the breadth and wisdom of love.
©2018 Marie Bostwick (P)2018 Blackstone Audio, Inc.
Hope on the Inside
Summary
"Whatever comes your way, find the happiness in it." Hope Carpenter received that advice from her mother decades ago. Now, with their four children grown, Hope and her husband, Rick, are suddenly facing an uncertain future after a forced retirement strains both their savings and their marriage. Seeking inspiration and a financial boost, Hope gets a job teaching crafts to inmates at a local women's prison. At first, Hope feels foolish and irrelevant, struggling to relate to women whose choices seem so different from her own. But with time and the encouragement of the prison chaplain, she begins to discover common ground with the inmates, in their worries about their children and families, their fear of having failed those who need them. Just like her, they want to make something of themselves but believe it might be impossible. Embarking on an ambitious quilting project, Hope and her students begin to bond. Together, piece by piece, they learn to defy expectations - their own and others' - and to see that it's never too late to stitch together a life that, even in its imperfections, is both surprising and beautiful.
©2019 Marie Bostwick (P)2019 HighBridge Company
The Second Sister
Summary
From New York Times best-selling author Marie Bostwick comes an emotionally rich, inspiring new novel about family, second chances, and the connections that bring women together in hope and healing. Years of long workdays and little sleep as a political campaigner are about to pay off now that Lucy Toomey's boss is entering the White House. But when her estranged older sister, Alice, unexpectedly dies, Lucy is drawn back to Nilson's Bay, her small, close-knit Wisconsin hometown. An accident in her teens left Alice mentally impaired, and she was content to stay in Nilson's Bay. Lucy, meanwhile, got out and never looked back. But now, to meet the terms of Alice's eccentric will, Lucy has taken up temporary residence in her sister's cottage - and begins to see the town, and Alice's life, anew. Alice's diverse group of friends appears to have little in common besides an interest in quilting. Yet deep affection for Alice united them, and soon Lucy, too, is brought into the fold as they share problems and stories. And as she finds warmth and support in this new circle, Lucy begins to understand this will be her sister's enduring gift: a chance to move beyond her difficult past and find what she has long been missing.
©2015 Marie Bostwick (P)2015 Blackstone Audio, Inc.
Threading the Needle
Summary
From New York Times best-selling author Marie Bostwick comes a beautiful novel of sisterhood lost and found - and of the ways we create the rich tapestries that encompass the past and the future. The economic downturn has hit New Bern, Connecticut, and Tessa Woodruff’s herbal apothecary shop, For the Love of Lavender, is suffering. So is her once-happy 34-year marriage to Lee. They’d given up everything to come back to New Bern from Boston and start their business, but now they’re wondering if they made the right decision. To relieve the strain, Tessa signs up for a quilting class at the Cobbled Court Quilt Shop and, to her surprise, rediscovers the power of sisterhood - along with the childhood friend she thought she’d lost forever. Madelyn Beecher left New Bern 20 years ago and never looked back. But when her husband is convicted of running a Ponzi scheme and she’s left with nothing but her late grandmother’s cottage, she is forced to return to the town she fled. Unfortunately, the cottage is in terrible shape. Madelyn’s only hope is to transform it into an inn. But to succeed, she’ll need the help of her fellow quilters, including the one friend she never thought she’d see again - or forgive. Now Madelyn and Tessa will have to relive old memories, forge new ones, and realize it’s possible to start over, one stitch at a time - as long as you’re surrounded by friends. Marie Bostwick was born and raised in the Northwest. She and her family have moved a score of times, living in eight U.S. states and two Mexican cities, and collecting a vast and cherished array of friends and experiences. She has three handsome sons and now lives with her husband in Connecticut, where she writes, reads, quilts, and is active in her local church.
©2011 Marie Bostwick (P)2011 Blackstone Audio, Inc.
A Thread So Thin
Summary
New York Times best-selling author Marie Bostwick crafts a timeless tale of friendship, love, and the choices we must make in their name. While New Bern, Connecticut, lies under a blanket of snow, Cobbled Court Quilts remains a cozy haven for its owner, Evelyn Dixon, and her friends. Evelyn relishes winter’s slower pace—besides, Internet sales are hopping, thanks to her son Garrett’s efforts. In addition to helping out at the shop, Garrett has also been patiently waiting for his girlfriend, Liza, to finish art school in New York City. But as much as Evelyn loves Liza, she wonders if it’s a good idea for her son to be so serious so soon with a young woman who’s just getting ready to spread her wings. Liza’s wondering the same thing, especially after Garrett rolls out the red carpet for a super-romantic New Year’s Eve—complete with a marriage proposal. Garrett’s the closest thing to perfect she’s ever known, but what about her own imperfections? The only happy marriage Liza has ever seen is her aunt Abigail’s, and it took her decades to tie the knot. Soon Liza is not only struggling with her own fears but with the mixed reactions of her friends and family. And when she finds herself torn between a rare career opportunity and her love for Garrett, Liza must grasp at the thinnest of threads and pray it holds.
©2010 Marie Bostwick Skinner (P)2010 Blackstone Audio, Inc.
Apart at the Seams
Summary
New York Times best-selling author Marie Bostwick welcomes listeners back to picturesque New Bern, Connecticut - a perfect place for a woman whose marriage is in turmoil to discover a new pattern for living....
Twice in her life, college counselor Gayla Oliver fell in love at first sight. The first time was with Brian - a lean, longhaired, British bass player. Marriage followed quickly, then twins, and gradually their bohemian lifestyle gave way to busy careers in New York. Gayla's second love affair is with New Bern, Connecticut. Like Brian, the laid-back town is charming without trying too hard. It's the ideal place to buy a second home and reignite the spark in their 26-year marriage. Not that Gayla is worried. At least, not until she finds a discarded memo in which Brian admits to a past affair and suggests an amicable divorce.
Devastated, Gayla flees to New Bern. Though Brian insists he's since recommitted to his family, Gayla's feelings of betrayal may go too deep for forgiveness. Besides, her solo sabbatical is a chance to explore the creative impulses she sidelined long ago - quilting, gardening, and striking up new friendships with the women of the Cobbled Court circle - particularly Ivy, a single mother confronting fresh starts and past hurts of her own. With all of their support, Gayla just might find the courage to look ahead, decide which fragments of her old life she wants to keep, which are beyond repair - and how to knot the fraying ends until a bold new design reveals itself....
©2014 Marie Bostwick (P)2014 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved
Ties That Bind
Summary
In her compelling, beautifully crafted novel, New York Times best-selling author Marie Bostwick celebrates friendships old and new - and the unlikely threads that sometimes lead us exactly where we need to go. Christmas is fast approaching, and New Bern, Connecticut, is about to receive the gift of a new pastor, hired sight unseen to fill in while Reverend Tucker is on sabbatical. Meanwhile, Margot Matthews’ friend, Abigail, is trying to matchmake, even though Margot has all but given up on romance. She loves her job at the Cobbled Court Quilt Shop and the life and friendships she’s made in New Bern, but she never thought she’d still be single on her fortieth birthday. It’s a shock to the entire town when Philip A. Clarkson turns out to be Philippa. Truth be told, not everyone is happy about having a female pastor. Yet despite a rocky start, Philippa begins to settle in - finding ways to ease the townspeople’s burdens, joining the quilting circle, and forging a fast friendship with Margot. When tragedy threatens to tear Margot’s family apart, that bond - and the help of her quilting sisterhood - will prove a saving grace. And as she untangles her feelings for another new arrival in town, Margot begins to realize that it is the surprising detours woven into life’s fabric that provide its richest hues and deepest meaning.
©2012 Marie Bostwick (P)2012 Blackstone Audio, Inc.
Between Heaven and Texas
Summary
In this luminous prequel to her beloved Cobbled Court Quilts series, New York Times best-selling author Marie Bostwick takes listeners into the heart of a small Texas town and the soul of a woman who discovers her destiny there.… Welcome to Too Much - where the women are strong-willed and the men are handsome yet shiftless. Ever since Mary Dell Templeton and her twin sister, Lydia Dale, were children, their Aunt Velvet has warned them away from local boys. But it’s well known that the females in Mary Dell’s family have two traits in common - superior sewing skills and a fatal weakness for men. While Lydia Dale grows up petite and pretty, Mary Dell just keeps growing. Tall, smart, and sassy, she is determined to one day turn her love of sewing into a business. Meanwhile, she’ll settle for raising babies with her new husband, Donny. But that dream proves elusive too, until finally, Mary Dell gets the son she always wanted - a child as different as he is wonderful. And as Mary Dell is forced to reconsider what truly matters in her family and her marriage, she begins to piece together a life that, like the colorful quilts she creates, will prove vibrant, rich, and absolutely unforgettable.…
©2013 Marie Bostwick (P)2013 Brilliance Audio, Inc.
The Promise Girls
Summary
Every child prodigy grows up eventually. For the Promise sisters, escaping their mother's narcissism and the notoriety that came with her best-selling book hasn't been easy. Minerva Promise claimed that her three test-tube daughters - gifted pianist Joanie, artistic Meg, and storyteller Avery - were engineered and molded to be geniuses. In adulthood, their modest lives fall far short of her grand ambitions. But now, 20 years after the book's release, she hopes to redeem herself by taking part in a new documentary. Meg, who hasn't picked up a paintbrush in years, adamantly refuses to participate, until a car accident leaves her with crushing medical bills. While she recuperates in Seattle, the three sisters reluctantly meet with filmmaker Hal Seeger, another former prodigy. Like them, he's familiar with the weight of failed potential. But as he digs deeper, he uncovers secrets they've hidden from each other and a revelation that will challenge their beliefs, even as it spurs them to forge their own extraordinary lives at last.
©2017 Marie Bostwick (P)2017 Blackstone Audio, Inc.
From Here to Home
Summary
New York Times best-selling author Marie Bostwick welcomes listeners to the quirky, unforgettable town of Too Much, Texas, in a heartwarming, richly satisfying story about friendship and moving forward. Mary Dell Templeton prefers the quiet charms of Too Much to the bright lights of Dallas any day. She's relieved to be moving back to her hometown - and bringing her cable TV show, Quintessential Quilting, with her. There are just a couple of wrinkles in her plan. Her son, Howard, who is her talented cohost and color consultant, and who happens to have Down syndrome, wants to stay in Dallas and become more independent. Meanwhile, Mary Dell's new boss hopes to attract a different demographic - by bringing in a younger cohost. What Holly Silva knows about quilting wouldn't fill a thimble, but she's smart and ambitious. Her career hinges on outshining the formidable Mary Dell in order to earn her own show. Yet as Holly adapts to small-town living and begins a new romance, Mary Dell considers rekindling an old one, and the two find unlikely kinship. For as Mary Dell knows, the women of Too Much have a knack for untangling the knottiest problems when they work together. And sometimes the pattern for happiness is as simple and surprising as it is beautiful.
©2016 Marie Bostwick (P)2016 Blackstone Audio, Inc.
The Restoration of Celia Fairchild
Summary
“The Restoration of Celia Fairchild is wise, witty, and utterly compelling.” (Jane Green, New York Times best-selling author of The Friends We Keep) Evvie Drake Starts Over meets The Friday Night Knitting Club in this wise and witty novel about a fired advice columnist who discovers lost and found family members in Charleston, by the New York Times best-selling author of The Second Sister. Celia Fairchild, known as advice columnist "Dear Calpurnia", has insight into everybody’s problems - except her own. Still bruised by the end of a marriage she thought was her last chance to create a family, Celia receives an unexpected answer to a “Dear Birthmother” letter. Celia throws herself into proving she’s a perfect adoptive mother material - with a stable home and income - only to lose her job. Her one option: sell the Charleston house left to her by her recently departed, estranged Aunt Calpurnia. Arriving in Charleston, Celia learns that Calpurnia had become a hoarder, the house is a wreck, and selling it will require a drastic, rapid makeover. The task of renovation seems overwhelming and risky. But with the help of new neighbors, old friends, and an unlikely sisterhood of strong, creative women who need her as much as she needs them, Celia knits together the truth about her estranged family - and about herself. The Restoration of Celia Fairchild is an unforgettable novel of secrets revealed, laughter released, creativity rediscovered, and waves of wisdom by a writer Robyn Carr calls "my go-to author for feel-good novels”.
©2021 Marie Bostwick (P)2021 HarperCollins Publishers