Be Brave, Be Strong

A Journey Across the Great Divide

By: Jill Homer

Narrated by: Sharon Olivia Blumberg

Jill Homer, a newspaper editor in Alaska, has an outlandish ambition: a 2,740-mile mountain bike race from Canada to Mexico along the rugged Continental Divide. But in the tradition of best-laid plans, Jill's dream starts to unravel the minute she sets it in motion. An accident during a race on the Iditarod Trail results in serious frostbite. As she struggles with painful recovery and uncertainties about leaving a good job to pursue a seemingly impossible pipe dream, her employer hands down an offer she can't refuse. Just two days before their departure date, her boyfriend ends their eight-year relationship. This final blow dismantles everything Jill thought she knew about life, love and her own identity. Be Brave, Be Strong: A Journey Across the Great Divide is the story of an adventure driven relentlessly forward as foundations crumble. During her record-breaking ride in the 2009 Tour Divide, Jill battles a torrent of self-doubt, anger, fatigue, loneliness, pain, grief, bicycle failures, crashes, violent storms, and hopelessness. Each night, she collapses under the crushing effort of this savage new way of life. And every morning, she picks up the pieces and strikes out anew in an ongoing journey to discover what lies on the other side of the Great Divide: astonishing beauty, unconditional kindness, and boundless strength.

©2011 Jill Homer (P)2016 Jill Homer

Kept my interest, but there are issues...

Decent story, although I grew tired of hearing: "...he said."
"...I said."
...he said."
"...I said."
...he said."
"...I said."
It made the writing seem a little lazy. In place of the word "said," I'd have been pleased to hear other words such as: exclaimed, cried, called out, interjected, chortled, etc.

As for the performance of the reader, I'm saddened to say it's the worst I've heard in an audiobook. I was able to tolerate it and finish the entire story, but the poorly-done male voice impressions and the numerous mispronunciations of place names (among other things) were sigh inducing at best, and served as a significant distraction.

Worst reading ever, however ...

Jill Homer is a very skillful storyteller, which made it bearable. Had to listen on 2x speed to get through, but glad I stuck it out.

Truly enjoyed this journey with author

The words made this incredible trip come to life. Well written! The narrator did a good job but pronouncing places and various words correctly would have made an even better experience for the listener. However I looked forward to the next time I could listen to more of the story. Thank you for sharing and congratulations!

Great book...poorly narrated

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I would recommend this audiobook because it is one to the best books I have read about the Tour Divide Race. I'm obsessed with the race and plan to do it summer of 2018...I've listened to the book over three times on my commute.

What did you like best about this story?

Jill Homer gives a very entertaining, highly personalized and detailed account of her experiences on the Great Divide.

How could the performance have been better?

The Narrator is wrong for this book. She would be perfect to narrate an Agatha Christie novel, but not a story about a young, very athletic woman. I actually Googled Jill Homer so I could associate her face with the story...instead of picturing a 70 year-old female librarian bombing down a trail on mountain bike.

Was a really good story...

Awesome story only problem I had was the woman reading the story has a really strong Michigan accent and her voice is a bit unpleasant. But still Awesome story...

The worst reader ever

The story is fantastic and riveting, but the reader is so distracting in her inability to use the proper voice inflections and read at a pace that makes sense with the story. I am a very loyal audible reader and have read many audible books, but this reader is the worst I have ever experienced. Just when you become engrossed in the story, her reading style is a distraction that reminds you that you’re listening to a book versus experiencing an adventure

Pretty decent story

The narration was not good at all, but the story was alright...a little too much female drama for my taste though

Great book if you can get over narrarator’s voice

I am an avid women’s adventure books reader. Truly enjoyed this book’s content- well written & really compelling story. However, found the narrarator’s voice to be pretty bad- irritating- terrible at doing various character’s voices & awful pronunciation. This was my book club’s choice & I didnt have time to read a hard copy of the book though so bit the bullet & tolerated the narrarator voice just to get this book ‘read’. My husband could not stand it & would run out of the room screaming noooooo anytime he walked in & heard it playing. In time I got used to it & my tolerance for her voice grew as I got more and more into story. The first few chapters before Jill started the race were especially painful. Great story though! Just really tough to listen to the voice 😵‍💫

Listen to a sample first

I am an average Joe ultra runner and identify with Jill Homer's struggles and triumphs in the outdoors, but this reading of her work just doesn't work for me. Listen to a sample and see if it works for you before committing.

content, subject matter, depth of emotion all superb storytelling. Quality of narration is difficult.

I loved these stories and their delightful honesty and nuanced emotion. As a bikepacker and someone familiar with stories of the GDMBR and Tour Divide Race, these ring true and honest. It's also quite funny at times.
The narrator could use some coaching in how to read for audiobook content. It's truly worth getting past any initial judgement of the narrator so that you can enjoy the writing.