Catherine Byers has narrated 11 audiobooks on Listento.it by 5 authors, with an average listener rating of 4.9★ across 30 ratings. The most-rated is Princess.
Princess
Summary
Princess describes the life of Princess Sultana Al Sa'ud, a princess in the royal house of Saudi Arabia. Hidden behind her black veil, she is a prisoner, jailed by her father, her husband, and her country. Sultana tells of appalling oppressions, everyday occurrences that in any other culture would be seen as shocking human rights violations: 13-year-old girls forced to marry men five times their age; young women killed by drowning, stoning, or isolation in the "women's room". Princess is a testimony to a woman of indomitable spirit and courage, and you will never forget her or her Muslim sisters. A New York Times best-seller, Princess was named one of the 500 Great Books by Women Since 1300. It was also an Alternate Selection of the Literary Guild and Doubleday Book Club and a Reader's Digest Selection.
©2004 The Sasson Corporation (P)2012 Audible, Inc.
Princess Sultana's Circle
Summary
With Princess Sultana's Circle, the extraordinary story of Princess Sultana continues. The forced marriage of Sultana's niece to a cruel and depraved older man, and Sultana's discovery of the harem of sex slaves kept by a royal cousin, makes this brave royal princess more determined than ever to fight the oppression of women in Saudi Arabia. Princess Sultana's cause is given an extra sense of urgency against the background of increased dissent against the Al Sa'uds, and the looming specter of Islamic fundamentalism. But an extended family "camping trip" in the desert brings the luxury-loving Sultana and relatives closer to their nomadic roots, and gives her the strength to carry on the fight for women's rights in all Muslim countries. This book paints a horrifying reality for women of the desert kingdom. It is a haunting look at the danger of Saudi male dominance and the desperate lives of the women they rule.
©2011 The Sasson Corporation (P)2012 Audible, Inc.
Princess Sultana's Daughters
Summary
Listeners of Princess were gripped by Jean Sasson's powerful indictment of women's lives behind the veil. Now, in the compelling sequel, Jean Sasson and Princess Sultana turn the spotlight on Sultana's two teenage daughters, Maha and Amani. As second-generation members of the royal family who have benefited from Saudi oil wealth, Maha and Amani are surrounded by untold opulence and luxury from the day they were born. And yet, they are stifled by the unbearably restrictive lifestyle imposed on them, driving them to desperate measures. Throughout, Sultana and Sasson never tire of their quest to expose the injustices which society levels against women. Princess Sultana once more strikes a chord among all women who are lucky enough to have the freedom to speak out for themselves.
©2011 The Sasson Corporation (P)2012 Audible, Inc.
The Children of Noisy Village
Summary
Let the beloved author of Pippi Longstocking take you on an adventure to Noisy Village! Go crayfishing in the summer at Nocken, “dipping in the pot” at Christmastime with Lisa and Karl, and join Britta and Anna who know the best way to go about “nutting” for the New Year. In this gently humorous tale, master storyteller Astrid Lindgren takes us through a year in the lives and customs of six Swedish children living on a group of three farms in the countryside. “A timeless story.... Each chapter has its accounts of highly inventive fun and distinctly merry Swedish festivities around the year.” (Horn Book)
©1961 Astrid Lindgren (P)2019 Listening Library
The Butterfly Mosque
Summary
The extraordinary story of an all-American girl's conversion to Islam and her ensuing romance with a young Egyptian man, The Butterfly Mosque is a stunning articulation of a Westerner embracing the Muslim world. When G. Willow Wilson - already an accomplished writer on modern religion and the Middle East at just 27 - leaves her atheist parents in Denver to study at Boston University, she enrolls in an Islamic Studies course that leads to her shocking conversion to Islam and sends her on a fated journey across continents and into an uncertain future. She settles in Cairo, where she teaches English and submerges herself in a culture based on her adopted religion. And then she meets Omar, a passionate young man with a mild resentment of the Western influences in his homeland. They fall in love, entering into a daring relationship that calls into question the very nature of family, belief, and tradition. Torn between the secular West and Muslim East, Willow records her intensely personal struggle to forge a "third culture" that might accommodate her own values without compromising the friends and family on both sides of the divide.
©2010 G. Willow Wilson. Recorded by arrangement with Grove Atlantic, Inc. (P)2014 Audible Inc.
Princess, More Tears to Cry
Summary
When Jean Sasson's book Princess: Life Behind the Veil in Saudi Arabia was published, it became an immediate international best seller. It sold to 43 countries and spent 13 weeks on The New York Times best seller list. Now, in this long-awaited, compelling new book, Sasson and Princess Sultana return to tell the world what it means to be a Saudi woman today. Through advances in education and with access to work, Saudi women are breaking through barriers; they are becoming doctors, social workers, business owners. Major steps forward have been made. But this is not the whole story. Sadly, despite changes in the law, women are still subjected to terrible suppression, abuse, and crimes of psychological and physical violence. For many, the struggle for basic human rights continues. Princess, More Tears To Cryreveals the intimate struggles of Saudi women inside one of the richest, most conservative kingdoms in the world. These are stories of triumph and heartbreak amongst the highest- and lowest-born. Princess Sultana speaks frankly about her strong-willed daughters, her beloved husband and the contentious Al-Saud family whose daily battles about what it means to be a woman in Saudi Arabia mirror those of the society at large. Princess, More Tears To Cry is an unforgettable journey into the hearts and minds of Saudi women, and will be forever etched into the memory of listeners.
©2014 The Sasson Corporation (P)2014 Audible Inc.
Princess, Secrets to Share
Summary
As the world's attention traces the reluctant social advances in the Middle East, Princess Sultana and her female friends and family have stepped forward to rescue young women in the region who are cruelly mistreated by their husbands, their fathers, and the brutish ISIS soldiers who kidnap them. But inside the Princess' lavish Saudi Arabian palace, sparks of anger and bolts of fear crackle because of the secrets kept to forward her efforts to help women and children. Kareem is furious when Sultana guards Maha's secret to volunteer to help traumatized children at a refugee camp in Turkey. When a beautiful Yemeni woman visits the royal palaces of Saudi Arabia, Sultana is saddened yet mesmerized to be told the story of the woman's seven marriages. Meanwhile, Kareem’s father takes a new wife - and Princess Sultana is blamed.
©2014 The Sasson Corporation (P)2015 Audible, Inc.
Wisdom of the Koran
Summary
The Koran, the sacred text at the heart of the second-largest religion in the world, is regarded by Muslims as the exact word of God as revealed to the prophet Muhammad. Representing the ultimate authority on almost every issue related to Muslim life, the Koran’s lessons and parables offer the faithful moral and spiritual guidance. In The Wisdom of the Koran, listeners will discover a selection of key chapters such as “The Night Journey” and “The Cave”, footnotes to convey context and meaning, as well as several stories from Judeo-Christian history. This invaluable anthology is an excellent step toward greater understanding of one of the finest pieces of Arabic prose and the Muslim faith.
©2004 Philosophical Library (P)2013 Audible, Inc.
Wisdom of the Torah
Summary
In Hebrew, the word Torah means instruction, and throughout thousands of years this collection of writing has offered just that - instruction in the central beliefs of three world religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. But by observing the Torah, or the Hebrew Bible, as a collected work of multiple authors spanning generations, the modern reader can look beyond its fundamental instruction. The Wisdom of the Torah concentrates on the Hebrew Bible as a book of philosophy and literature and offers some of its most powerful and poetic passages, including "The Poems of King David", "The Parables of King Solomon", and "The Love Songs of King Solomon". In these works, readers find many lyrical and timeless reflections on what it means to have faith and to be a member of the human race.
©1956 Philosophical Library (P)2012 Audible, Inc.
Wisdom of Sigmund Freud
Summary
An invaluable guide to Freud’s terminology and work Repression, ego, analysis, neurosis - the language of psychology permeates our modern vocabulary. The brilliant observations of Sigmund Freud form not only the basis for psychoanalysis but also much of our current understanding of the human condition. This essential and approachable guide offers an A-to-Z glossary of terminology defined in Freud’s own words, including his diagnostic and treatment recommendations and his well-known works, including dream interpretation, the Oedipal complex, and the practice of psychoanalysis. This edition features a new introduction and a timeline of the life of Sigmund Freud.
©2010 Philosophical Library (P)2013 Audible, Inc.
Zel
Summary
High in the mountains, Zel lives with her mother, who insists they have all they need - for they have each other. Zel's life is peaceful and protected - until a chance encounter changes everything. When she meets a beautiful young prince at the market one day, she is profoundly moved by new emotions. But Zel's mother sees the future unfolding - and she will do the unspeakable to prevent Zel from leaving her...
©1998 Donna Jo Napoli (P)2019 Listening Library