Laural Merlington has narrated 292 audiobooks on Listento.it by 176 authors, with an average listener rating of 4.4★ across 3,316 ratings. The most-rated is Scythe.
How to Be an American Housewife
Summary
How to Be an American Housewife is a novel about mothers and daughters and the pull of tradition. It tells the story of Shoko, a Japanese woman who married an American GI, and her grown daughter, Sue, a divorced mother whose life as an American housewife hasn't been what she'd expected. When illness prevents Shoko from traveling to Japan, she asks Sue to go in her place. The trip reveals family secrets that change their lives in dramatic and unforeseen ways. Offering an entertaining glimpse into American and Japanese family lives and their potent aspirations, this is a warm and engaging novel full of unexpected insight.
©2010 Margaret Dilloway (P)2010 Tantor
The Watch That Ends the Night
Summary
Audie Award, Distinguished Achievement in Production, 2012 Arrogance and innocence, hubris and hope - 24 haunting voices of the Titanic tragedy, as well as the iceberg itself, are evoked in a stunning tour de force. More than 2,000 men, women, and children are on board. Here on the first-class promenade is millionaire John Jacob Astor, who hopes his return from Egypt with his pregnant teen bride will invite a minimum of media attention. And here, in the third-class common room, a beautiful Lebanese refugee, on her way to family in Florida, discovers first love. And there in the distance, shrouded in darkness, an ancient iceberg lies patient, awaiting its encounter. The voices in this wholly unique re-creation of the Titanic disaster span classes and stations, from Margaret (“the unsinkable Molly”) Brown to Captain E.J. Smith, who went down with his ship; from the lookout and wireless men to a young boy in search of dragons and a gambler in search of fools with money to lose. Slipping in telegraphs, undertaker’s reports, and other historic records, poet Allan Wolf offers a breathtaking, intimate glimpse into the lives of two dozen passengers and crew, told with astounding emotional power.
©2011 Allan Wolf (P)2011 Brilliance Audio, Inc.
Payback
Summary
Meet the Sisterhood - seven very different women who found one another in their darkest days and formed an indelible friendship, strong enough to heal their pasts and bring laughter and joy back into their lives. In Myra Rutledge's beautiful Virginia home, amid hugs and fresh iced tea, shrimp fritters and shell-pink tulips, the friends have gathered to embark on their second mission of sweet revenge for one of their own. Julia Webster's husband, a U.S. Senator, has used his wife's graciousness and elegance to advance his career even as he's abused her trust at every turn and left her dreams for the future in tatters. Now, on the eve of his greatest political victory, he's about to learn a serious lesson in payback. Because the senator crossed the wrong woman...and there are six more where she came from....
©2005 Fern Michaels
Body Parts
Summary
On a chilly November afternoon in 1998, a tearful 36-year-old man walked into the Humboldt County Sheriff's Department in Eureka, California, and confessed to something horrible. "I hurt some people," he said. Inside his pocket was the ghastly proof of his statement. But there was more to Wayne Adam Ford than the trail of mangled victims he left behind. More, even, than the twisted predator inside, which drove him to increasingly perverse sexual appetites. Pulitzer-nominated author Caitlin Rother draws on previously sealed testimony, interviews with the key players in the case, and the killer's shocking confession to explore the demons that drove a damaged man to his unspeakable crimes. Her book is a haunting, unforgettable true-life thriller.
©2009 Caitlin Rother (P)2020 Tantor
The Doctors Blackwell
Summary
Elizabeth Blackwell believed from an early age that she was destined for a mission beyond the scope of "ordinary" womanhood. Though the world at first recoiled at the notion of a woman studying medicine, her intelligence and intensity ultimately won her the acceptance of the male medical establishment. In 1849, she became the first woman in America to receive an MD. She was soon joined in her iconic achievement by her younger sister, Emily, who was actually the more brilliant physician. Exploring the sisters' allies, enemies, and enduring partnership, Janice P. Nimura presents a story of trial and triumph. Together, the Blackwells founded the New York Infirmary for Indigent Women and Children, the first hospital staffed entirely by women. Both sisters were tenacious and visionary, but their convictions did not always align with the emergence of women's rights - or with each other. From Bristol, Paris, and Edinburgh to the rising cities of antebellum America, this richly researched new biography celebrates two complicated pioneers who exploded the limits of possibility for women in medicine. As Elizabeth herself predicted, "a hundred years hence, women will not be what they are now."
©2021 Janice P. Nimura (P)2021 HighBridge, a division of Recorded Books
Remember Summer
Summary
The most grueling challenge of Raine Smith's equestrian career looms before her - the Olympic Games. Little does she realize that she's about to face greater perils in the arms of a stranger than she's ever found on the back of her horse. Cord Elliott is a man trained to deflect disaster, and his mission is to ensure that Raine Smith remains untouched by sudden gunfire at the Summer Games. Yet from the moment Raines meets Cord's ice-blue glance, she knows he's more hazardous to her heart than a sniper's bullet. Falling for a man who answers to the call of intrigue and holds secrets that can never be shared is to endure the broken promises, unexplained absences, and constant danger that comes with his profession. But in the fiery passion of irresistible love, a summer to remember seems worth every risk.
©2006 Elizabeth Lowell (P)2006 Brilliance Audio, Inc.
Flipped for Murder
Summary
Nursing a broken heart, Robbie Jordan is trading in her life on the West Coast for the rolling hills of Southern Indiana. After paying a visit to her Aunt Adele, she fell in love with the tiny town of South Lick. And when she spots a "for sale" sign on a rundown country store, she decides to snap it up and put her skills as a cook and a carpenter to use. Everyone in town shows up for the grand reopening of Pans 'n Pancakes, but when the mayor's disagreeable assistant is found dead, Robbie realizes that not all press is good press. With all eyes on her, she'll have to summon her puzzle-solving skills to clear her name, unscramble the town's darkest secrets, and track down a cold-blooded killer - before she's the next to die.
©2015 Edith Maxwell (P)2016 Tantor
The Emotional Incest Syndrome
Summary
Do these "endearments" sound familiar to you? "Of all my children, I expect the most of you." Translation: I've selected you to be the one to make my life worth living. "You've never caused me a minute of trouble." Translation: Ignore your own needs, I can't handle them. "You're the only one who truly understands me." Translation: I would be totally alone if it weren't for you. If so, you may have been a "chosen child", seemingly the focus of loving and devoted parents, but in reality a child walking a psychological tightrope - learning early on to deny your own needs in order to meet the emotional needs of a parent. Today, there is a name for this devastating form of child abuse: emotional incest. Here, Dr. Patricia Love offers adults real hope - and help in overcoming the hurtful legacy of being a chosen child. Based on proven therapeutic techniques and using real-life case histories, her total program of recovery will help you identify the signs of emotional incest, confront your parents - and your past - with love and understanding, disentangle your life from theirs, and create a positive relationship with your parents - and your own children.
©1990 Patricia Love and Jo Robinson (P)2017 Tantor
The Life of the Mind
Summary
Considered by many to be Hannah Arendt's greatest work, published as she neared the end of her life, The Life of the Mind investigates thought itself, as it exists in contemplative life. In a shift from her previous writings, most of which focus on the world outside the mind, this work was planned as three volumes that would explore the activities of the mind considered by Arendt to be fundamental. What emerged is a rich, challenging analysis of human mental activity, considered in terms of thinking, willing, and judging. This final achievement, presented here in a complete one-volume edition, may be seen as a legacy to our own and future generations.
©1971 Hannah Arendt; copyright 1977, 1978 by Harcourt, Inc. (P)2018 Tantor
New: Understanding Our Need for Novelty and Change
Summary
Follow a crawling baby around and you’ll see that right from the beginning, nothing excites us more than something new and different. Our unique human brains are biologically primed to engage with and even generate novelty, from our ancestors’ first bow and arrow to the latest tablet computer. This “neophilia” has enabled us to thrive in a world of cataclysmic change, but now, we confront an unprecedented deluge of new things, from products to information, which has quadrupled in the past 30 years and shows no sign of slowing. To prevent our great strength from becoming a weakness in today’s fast-paced world, we must reconnect with neophilia’s grand evolutionary purpose: to help us learn, create, and adapt to new things that have real value and dismiss the rest as distractions. In New: Understanding Our Need for Novelty and Change, Winifred Gallagher, acclaimed behavioral science writer and author of Rapt, takes us to the cutting-edge laboratories and ancient archeological sites where scientists explore our special affinity for novelty and change. Although no other species can rival our capacity to explore and experiment with the new, we individuals vary in how we balance the conflicting needs to avoid risk and approach rewards. Most of us are moderate “neophiles”, but some 15 percent of us are diehard “neophiliacs”, who have an innate passion for new experiences, and another 15 percent are cautious “neophobes”, who try to steer clear of them - a 1-5-1 ratio that benefits the group’s well-being. Wherever you sit on the continuum, New shows you how to use this special human gift to navigate more skillfully through our rapidly changing world by focusing on the new things that really matter.
©2012 Winifred Gallagher (P)2011 Brilliance Audio, Inc.
Never Say Die
Summary
In a narrative that combines the intensely personal with social, economic, and historical analysis, Susan Jacoby turns an unsparing eye on the marketers of longevity - pharmaceutical companies, lifestyle gurus, and scientific businessmen who suggest that there will soon be a "cure" for the "disease" of aging. She separates wishful hype from realistic hope in a wide-ranging appraisal of subjects that include the explosion of Alzheimer’s cases, the impact of possible cuts in Social Security on the economic future of aging boomers, and the fact that women make up most of the "oldest old." Finally, Jacoby raises the fundamental question of whether living longer is a desirable thing unless it means living better, and she considers the profound moral and ethical concerns raised by increasing longevity. Never Say Die is a lucid, provocative, and powerful argument that Americans, no matter their age, are doing themselves no favor by buying into the myth that they can stay "forever young."
©2011 Susan Jacoby (P)2011 Tantor
The Doctor Is In
Summary
The doctor is in! America's best-loved therapist, Dr. Ruth, is known for her wise counsel on all matters of the heart. Here she shares private stories from her past and her present and her insights into living life to the fullest at any age. Everyone knows Dr. Ruth as America's most famous and trusted sex therapist, but few people know she was raised in an orphanage in Switzerland, narrowly escaping death during the Holocaust - or that she was an ace sniper in the Israeli army. After years spent as a professor in Paris, Dr. Ruth came to America with big dreams and even bigger chutzpah. And, at the age of 87, she is as feisty as ever. Through intimate and funny stories, Dr. Ruth sheds light on how she's learned to live a life filled with joie de vivre. And she shows listeners how they too can learn to deal with tragedy and loss, challenges and successes, all while nourishing an intellectual and emotional spark and, above all, having fun! Hilarious, inspiring, and profound, The Doctor Is In will change the way you think about life and love in all their limitless possibilities.
©2015 Dr. Ruth Westheimer and Pierre A. Lehu (P)2015 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved.
The Language of Hoofbeats
Summary
From the bestselling author of Pay It Forward comes a story of the heartbreak and healing power of family. New to a small town, Jackie and Paula envision a quiet life for their kids: a young adopted son and two teenage foster children, including the troubled Star. However, they quickly butt heads with their neighbor, Clementine, who disapproves of their lifestyle and is incensed when Star befriends her spirited horse, Comet. Haunted by past tragedy and unable to properly care for Comet, Clem nevertheless resents the bond Star soon shares with the horse. When Star disappears with Comet, the neighbors are thrown together - far too close together. But as the search for the pair wears on, both families must learn to put aside their animosity and confront the choices they've made and the scars they carry. Plumbing the depths of regret and forgiveness, The Language of Hoofbeats explores the strange alchemy that transforms a group of people into a family.
©2014 Catherine Ryan Hyde (P)2014 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved
Making Spirits Bright
Summary
"Making Spirits Bright" by Fern Michaels Melanie McLaughlin desperately wants to adopt two orphaned siblings and give them a real home for Christmas. A just-for-the-holiday marriage to Bryce Landry fits her plan perfectly...until unexpected sparks have Melanie dreaming of forever by his side.... "Runaway Christmas" by Elizabeth Bass A glass of wine, lounging in pajamas, and catching up on movies - that's Heidi Bogue's idea of a perfect Christmas. Until her thirteen-year-old niece makes a surprise visit - and a snowstorm turns Heidi's café into a community refuge. Now one handsome cop is giving Heidi plenty more reasons to celebrate.... "Home for Christmas" by Rosalind Noonan Jo Truman needs a replacement Santa for her gift shop's Christmas Eve party. She'll do whatever it takes to convince lonely soldier Sam Norwood that he's perfect for the part...and that the season for love is always.... "Christmas on Cape Cod" by Nan Rossiter Maddie Carlson would do anything for her best friend. And helping Asa Coleman babysit a rambunctious puppy Christmas Eve night is her one chance to help the troubled teacher put his past to rest...and give the sweetest gift of all.
©2011 Kensington Publishing Corporation. (P)2016 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved. Making Spirits Bright © 2011 by MRK Productions. Fern Michaels is a registered trademark of First Draft, Inc. Runaway Christmas © 2011 by Elizabeth Bass. Home for Christmas © 2011 by Rosalind Noonan. Christmas on Cape Cod © 2011 by Nan Rossiter.
A Muddied Murder
Summary
When Megan Sawyer gives up her big-city law career to care for her grandmother and run the family's organic farm and cafe, she expects to find tranquility in her scenic hometown of Winsome, PA. Instead, her goat goes missing, rain muddies her fields, the town denies her business permits, and her family's Colonial-era farm sucks up the remains of her savings. Just when she thinks she's reached the bottom of the rain barrel, Megan and the town's hunky veterinarian discover the local zoning commissioner's battered body in her barn. Now Megan is thrust into the middle of a murder investigation - and she's the chief suspect. Can Megan dig through small-town secrets, local politics, and old grievances to find a killer before that killer strikes again?
©2016 Wendy Tyson (P)2016 Dreamscape Media, LLC
American Lady
Summary
An American aristocrat - a descendant of founding father John Jay - Susan Mary Alsop (1918–2004) with husband, Joe Alsop, brought together the movers and shakers of not just the United States, but the world. Henry Kissinger remarked that more agreements were concluded in her living room than in the White House. Born in Rome, brought up in Argentina and the United States, Susan Mary arrived in Paris in 1945 to join her first husband, Bill Patten. There she witnessed "history on the boil" at dinners with Winston Churchill, Duff Cooper (the British ambassador and the love of her life), FDR, Greta Garbo, and many others. A year after Bill's death in 1960, she married the renowned journalist and legendary power broker Joe Alsop. Dubbed "the second lady of Camelot," Susan Mary hosted dinner parties that were the epitome of political power and social arrival. She reigned over Georgetown society for four decades; her house was the gathering place for everyone of importance, including John F. Kennedy, Katharine Graham, and Robert McNamara.
©2012 Caroline De Margerie (P)2012 Tantor
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
Ellie Dwyer's Great Escape
Summary
You're never too old to run away from home. Ellie Dwyer, 61, is convinced bad luck comes in threes, and not just garden-variety, oh-well bad luck. How many people have to flee not one, but two natural disasters? And in between the wildfire and the hurricane, her husband of nearly 40 years suddenly up and left her for no reason she could fathom, disappearing from her life without a clue to his whereabouts. Determined to reinvent her life, Ellie sets out on a journey across the country. Along the way to nowhere in particular, she buys a camper, becomes friends with a remarkable octogenarian, and starts to believe that good luck might also come in threes. Or does it? That depends on how she defines good luck.
©2019 Diane Winger (P)2020 Tantor
Mad Dash
Summary
The puppy started it. The poor thing was cold and trembling, abandoned on their front doorstep. Dash, impulsive as always, decides on the spot that they should keep it. But her husband, Andrew, thinks it's the craziest thing he's ever heard. A fight over a scruffy little dog doesn't seem like much of a reason to walk out on your husband of 20 years - but the spat over the puppy is just the last of many straws. Dash is so tired of the faculty parties at Mason-Dixon College that Andrew insists they attend even though he won't mingle with his colleagues, tired of his constant fretting over illnesses he doesn't have, tired of the glass of warm milk he must have every night before bed. Why can't he see that with her mother gone and their daughter off at college, Dash needs something more? Now, living on her own for the first time in years, Dash can do whatever she wants...if only she could figure out what that is. But every time she starts making plans for the future, she finds herself thinking about the past - remembering the mother she's lost, her daughter's childhood, and the husband she isn't entirely sure she wants to leave behind.
©2008 Patricia Gaffney (P)2007 Brilliance Audio, Inc.
Keeper of the Keys
Summary
For ambitious, troubled architect Ray Jackson, the nightmare begins one sultry California night when his wife disappears. No phone call, no ransom note, no body, reveals whether Leigh is dead or alive.
Then, suddenly, a woman shows up on Ray's doorstep demanding answers: Kathleen, an old friend of Leigh's. Ray wants answers, too, but his questions seem strange and shady to Kat. Suspected by his wife's friend and by the police, Ray launches a desperate and alarming search of his own. Using a collection of keys he has held on to since he was a boy - keys to homes he and his mother once lived in - Ray quietly yet boldly enters each house, one by one, hoping to unlock the secrets of his own past. As past and present collide, as a chilling mystery begins to unravel, Ray is suddenly confronted with the most agonizing decision of his life - to face his own violence-laden past, acting to prevent another horrendous act of violence, or not. His choice will leave nothing and no one the same.
©2006 Perri O'Shaughnessy (P)2006 Brilliance Audio, Inc.