Rachel Simon has 4 audiobooks on Listento.it, narrated by 4 narrators, with an average listener rating of 4★ across 3 ratings. The most-rated is The Story of Beautiful Girl.
The Story of Beautiful Girl
Summary
It is 1968. Lynnie, a young white woman with a developmental disability, and Homan, an African American deaf man, are locked away in an institution: the School for the Incurable and Feebleminded, and have been left to languish, forgotten. Deeply in love, they escape, and find refuge in the farmhouse of Martha, a retired schoolteacher and widow. But the couple is not alone - Lynnie has just given birth to a baby girl. When the authorities catch up to them that same night, Homan escapes into the darkness, and Lynnie is caught. But before she is forced back into the institution, she whispers two words to Martha: "Hide her." And so begins the 40-year epic journey of Lynnie, Homan, Martha, and baby Julia - lives divided by seemingly insurmountable obstacles, yet drawn together by a secret pact and extraordinary love.
©2011 Rachel Simon (P)2011 Hachette Audio
Riding the Bus with My Sister
Summary
In the 10 years since Rachel Simon first invited the world to board the bus with her and her sister, Cool Beth, listeners across the globe have been moved by their story. Now, in an updated edition with 50 pages of new content, Rachel Simon reflects on changes in her life, Beth's life, and the lives of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The highlight is Beth's update, which is in her own words. A new listener's guide is also included. Join these two unforgettable sisters on their journey, this time in an even deeper and richer way. Rachel Simon's sister Beth is a spirited woman who lives intensely and often joyfully. Beth, who has an intellectual disability, spends her days riding the buses in her unnamed Pennsylvania city. The drivers, a lively group, are her mentors; her fellow passengers are her community. One day, Beth asks Rachel to accompany her on the buses for an entire year. This wise, funny, deeply affecting true story is the chronicle of that remarkable time. Rachel, a writer and college teacher whose hyperbusy life camouflaged her emotional isolation, had much to learn in her sister's extraordinary world. Full of life lessons from which any reader will profit, Riding the Bus with My Sister is "a heartwarming, life-affirming journey through both the present and the past...[that] might just change your life" (Boston Herald). Elegantly woven throughout the odyssey are riveting memories of terrifying maternal abandonment, fierce sisterly loyalty, and astonishing forgiveness. Rachel Simon brings to light the almost invisible world of adults with developmental disabilities, finds unlikely heroes in everyday life, and, without sentimentality, portrays Beth as the endearing, feisty, independent person she is. This heartwarming memoir about the unbreakable bond between two very different sisters takes the listener on an inspirational journey at once unique and universal. Riding the Bus with My Sister was made into a Hallmark Hall of Fame movie starring Rosie O'Donnell and Andie McDowell, and directed by Anjelica Huston.
©2002 Rachel Simon (P)2012 Hachette Audio
Building a Home with My Husband
Summary
Rachel Simon's historic home on a charming tree-lined street was hardly ideal. It was too small, too dark, and there was a gaping hole in the dining room ceiling. So when the house is burglarized, Rachel and her husband, Hal, agree it's time to sell. But in a difficult housing market, and with Hal being an architect, they soon realize: Why leave when they can renovate? Rachel prepares herself for the disagreements and disasters that can accompany a major home renovation. But what she isn't prepared for is the emotional journey that will blow open the seal around everything she thinks she knows about herself, about family, and about the misunderstandings and resilience of love. From Hal's first design sketch to the last stroke of paint, memories of a difficult childhood, friendships left behind, challenges with siblings, and an improbable path to marriage come bursting out. Once the dust settles, Rachel is astonished by the many gems revealed along the way---and comes to discover profound insights about the construction, demolition, and renovation of personal connections. Featuring beloved characters from Riding the Bus with My Sister and written with Simon's signature breathtaking prose, Building a Home with My Husband is a wise and poignant reflection on love's endless possibilities and the extraordinary endurance of the human spirit.
©2009 Rachel Simon (P)2009 Tantor
Historien om Smukke Pige
Summary
Det er 1968. En stormfuld aften tæt ved landsbyen Well's Bottom i Pennsylvania, banker det på døren hos den pensionerede enke Martha Zimmer. Da hun åbner døren og ser to gennemblødte mennesker, ændres hendes liv for altid. Lynnie, en ung, hvid, udviklingshæmmet kvinde, og Homan, en sort døv mand, er flygtet fra "Statsskolen for uhelbredeligt syge og evnesvage" - en brutal institution hvor mennesker med handicap bliver gemt væk fra omverdenen. Men parret er ikke alene. I sin favn, indsvøbt i et tæppe, holder Lynnie en nyfødt pige. Få minutter senere banker politiet på døren og Homan flygter ud i mørket men Lynnie bliver fanget. Inden hun føres bort med bundne hænder hvisker hun to ord til Martha: "Skjul hende". Sådan begynder Lynnie, Homan, Martha og lille Julias episke rejse. Uoverkommelige forhindringer har splittet dem ad, men gennem årtier drages de igen mod hinanden på grund af en hemmelig pagt og en helt ekstraordinær kærlighed...
©2013 Forlaget Punktum, Rachel Simon (P)2013 AV Forlaget