The Rubbish-Picker's Wife
An Unlikely Friendship in Kosovo
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Prime members: New to Audible?Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
The Rubbish-Picker's Wife
Buy for $19.95
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Elizabeth Gowing
-
By:
-
Elizabeth Gowing
About this listen
This is a true story of living and learning - being confused and comforted - with the excluded Ashkali people of Kosovo; an account of the challenges and delights of what happens when you find your community but it's a long way from home.
Hatemja, a rubbish-picker's wife, lives in the poorest community in the poorest country in Europe. When Elizabeth Gowing is befriended by her, the women learn with, from and about one another. How can you find the best rubbish pastures for scavenging? How can you free children to go to school rather than to go out begging? How do you then convince the local school to accept them? Can mayonnaise deal with head lice? How best to teach the 36 letters of the Albanian alphabet? How would Facebook help evacuate a family from a rat-infested hovel? How do you make baklava? And through it all, how do you maintain a precious friendship that's helped you find out the best you can be?
©2015 Elizabeth Gowing (P)2016 Elizabeth GowingListeners also enjoyed...
-
Free
- A Child and a Country at the End of History
- By: Lea Ypi
- Narrated by: Rachel Babbage, Lea Ypi
- Length: 9 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 175
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 146
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 147
Lea Ypi grew up in the last Stalinist country in Europe: Albania, a place of queuing and scarcity, of political executions and secret police. While family members disappeared to what she was told were "universities" from which few "graduated," she swore loyalty to the Party. In her eyes, people were equal, neighbors helped each other, and children were expected to build a better world.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Tour de force
- By W. Norman on 01-22-22
By: Lea Ypi
-
Find Me Unafraid
- Love, Loss, and Hope in an African Slum
- By: Kennedy Odede, Jessica Posner
- Narrated by: Korey Jackson, Mandy Siegfried, P.J. Ochlan (foreword)
- Length: 11 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 354
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 319
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 317
Find Me Unafraid tells the uncommon love story between two uncommon people whose collaboration sparked a successful movement to transform the lives of vulnerable girls and the urban poor. With a foreword by Nicholas Kristof.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A difficult and rewarding listen
- By R. MCRACKAN on 08-23-18
By: Kennedy Odede, and others
-
The Year of Living Danishly
- Uncovering the Secrets of the World's Happiest Country
- By: Helen Russell
- Narrated by: Lucy Price-Lewis
- Length: 9 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 5,348
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 4,834
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 4,823
When she was suddenly given the opportunity of a new life in rural Jutland, journalist and archetypal Londoner Helen Russell discovered a startling statistic: the happiest place on earth isn't Disneyland but Denmark, a land often thought of by foreigners as consisting entirely of long, dark winters, cured herring, Lego and pastries. What is the secret to their success? Are happy Danes born or made?
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Interesting content. Unfortunate delivery.
- By Jennifer Soudagar on 11-13-15
By: Helen Russell
-
Will You Love Me?
- The Story of My Adopted Daughter Lucy
- By: Cathy Glass
- Narrated by: Denica Fairman
- Length: 9 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 91
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 84
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 84
Lucy was born to a single mother who had been abused and neglected for most of her own childhood. Right from the beginning Lucy's mother couldn't cope, but it wasn't until Lucy reached eight years old that she was finally taken into permanent foster care. By the time Lucy is brought to live with Cathy she is 11 years old and severely distressed after being moved from one foster home to another. Withdrawn, refusing to eat and three years behind in her schooling, it is thought that the damage Lucy has suffered is irreversible. But Cathy and her two children bond with Lucy quickly, and break through to Lucy in a way no one else has been able to....
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Wow. Powerful story
- By Christine on 06-29-14
By: Cathy Glass
-
The Latecomer
- A Novel
- By: Jean Hanff Korelitz
- Narrated by: Julia Whelan
- Length: 16 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,960
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 1,744
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,731
The Latecomer follows the story of the wealthy, New York City-based Oppenheimer family, from the first meeting of parents Salo and Johanna, under tragic circumstances, to their triplets born during the early days of IVF. As children, the three siblings—Harrison, Lewyn, and Sally—feel no strong familial bond and cannot wait to go their separate ways, even as their father becomes more distanced and their mother more desperate. When the triplets leave for college, Johanna, faced with being truly alone, makes the decision to have a fourth child.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Conservatives and religious are the villains
- By Ashley on 09-01-22
-
Hidden
- Betrayed, Exploited and Forgotten - How One Boy Overcame the Odds
- By: Cathy Glass
- Narrated by: Denica Fairman
- Length: 9 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 235
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 215
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 213
From the author of Number One bestseller Damaged comes the poignant and shocking memoir of Cathy's recent relationship with Tayo, a young boy she fosters whose good behaviour and polite manners hide a terrible past. Tayo arrives at Cathy's with only the clothes he stands up in. He has been brought to her by the police, but he is calm, polite, and very well spoken, and not at all like the children she normally fosters. The social worker gives Cathy the forms which should contain Tayo's history, but apart from his name and age, it is blank.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
One of the happiest stories I've read in a long time
- By Randi shelton on 05-03-16
By: Cathy Glass
-
Free
- A Child and a Country at the End of History
- By: Lea Ypi
- Narrated by: Rachel Babbage, Lea Ypi
- Length: 9 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 175
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 146
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 147
Lea Ypi grew up in the last Stalinist country in Europe: Albania, a place of queuing and scarcity, of political executions and secret police. While family members disappeared to what she was told were "universities" from which few "graduated," she swore loyalty to the Party. In her eyes, people were equal, neighbors helped each other, and children were expected to build a better world.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Tour de force
- By W. Norman on 01-22-22
By: Lea Ypi
-
Find Me Unafraid
- Love, Loss, and Hope in an African Slum
- By: Kennedy Odede, Jessica Posner
- Narrated by: Korey Jackson, Mandy Siegfried, P.J. Ochlan (foreword)
- Length: 11 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 354
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 319
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 317
Find Me Unafraid tells the uncommon love story between two uncommon people whose collaboration sparked a successful movement to transform the lives of vulnerable girls and the urban poor. With a foreword by Nicholas Kristof.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A difficult and rewarding listen
- By R. MCRACKAN on 08-23-18
By: Kennedy Odede, and others
-
The Year of Living Danishly
- Uncovering the Secrets of the World's Happiest Country
- By: Helen Russell
- Narrated by: Lucy Price-Lewis
- Length: 9 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 5,348
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 4,834
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 4,823
When she was suddenly given the opportunity of a new life in rural Jutland, journalist and archetypal Londoner Helen Russell discovered a startling statistic: the happiest place on earth isn't Disneyland but Denmark, a land often thought of by foreigners as consisting entirely of long, dark winters, cured herring, Lego and pastries. What is the secret to their success? Are happy Danes born or made?
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Interesting content. Unfortunate delivery.
- By Jennifer Soudagar on 11-13-15
By: Helen Russell
-
Will You Love Me?
- The Story of My Adopted Daughter Lucy
- By: Cathy Glass
- Narrated by: Denica Fairman
- Length: 9 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 91
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 84
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 84
Lucy was born to a single mother who had been abused and neglected for most of her own childhood. Right from the beginning Lucy's mother couldn't cope, but it wasn't until Lucy reached eight years old that she was finally taken into permanent foster care. By the time Lucy is brought to live with Cathy she is 11 years old and severely distressed after being moved from one foster home to another. Withdrawn, refusing to eat and three years behind in her schooling, it is thought that the damage Lucy has suffered is irreversible. But Cathy and her two children bond with Lucy quickly, and break through to Lucy in a way no one else has been able to....
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Wow. Powerful story
- By Christine on 06-29-14
By: Cathy Glass
-
The Latecomer
- A Novel
- By: Jean Hanff Korelitz
- Narrated by: Julia Whelan
- Length: 16 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,960
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 1,744
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,731
The Latecomer follows the story of the wealthy, New York City-based Oppenheimer family, from the first meeting of parents Salo and Johanna, under tragic circumstances, to their triplets born during the early days of IVF. As children, the three siblings—Harrison, Lewyn, and Sally—feel no strong familial bond and cannot wait to go their separate ways, even as their father becomes more distanced and their mother more desperate. When the triplets leave for college, Johanna, faced with being truly alone, makes the decision to have a fourth child.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Conservatives and religious are the villains
- By Ashley on 09-01-22
-
Hidden
- Betrayed, Exploited and Forgotten - How One Boy Overcame the Odds
- By: Cathy Glass
- Narrated by: Denica Fairman
- Length: 9 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 235
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 215
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 213
From the author of Number One bestseller Damaged comes the poignant and shocking memoir of Cathy's recent relationship with Tayo, a young boy she fosters whose good behaviour and polite manners hide a terrible past. Tayo arrives at Cathy's with only the clothes he stands up in. He has been brought to her by the police, but he is calm, polite, and very well spoken, and not at all like the children she normally fosters. The social worker gives Cathy the forms which should contain Tayo's history, but apart from his name and age, it is blank.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
One of the happiest stories I've read in a long time
- By Randi shelton on 05-03-16
By: Cathy Glass
-
A Woman of Firsts
- The midwife who built a hospital and changed the world
- By: Edna Adan Ismail, Wendy Holden
- Narrated by: Edna Adan Ismail
- Length: 13 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 21
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 20
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 20
Edna saw first-hand how poor healthcare, lack of education and ancient superstitions had devastating effects on Somaliland’s people, especially its women. When she suffered the trauma of FGM herself as a young girl at the bidding of her mother, Edna’s determination was set.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Author Read and So Moving
- By Clementa Frederiksen on 03-04-24
By: Edna Adan Ismail, and others
-
Swing Time
- By: Zadie Smith
- Narrated by: Pippa Bennett-Warner
- Length: 13 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 1,909
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,734
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 1,730
Two brown girls dream of being dancers - but only one, Tracey, has talent. The other has ideas: About rhythm and time, about Black bodies and Black music, what constitutes a tribe, or makes a person truly free. It's a close but complicated childhood friendship that ends abruptly in their early 20s, never to be revisited, but never quite forgotten, either. Tracey makes it to the chorus line but struggles with adult life, while her friend leaves the old neighborhood behind, traveling the world as an assistant to a famous singer, Aimee, observing close up how the one percent live.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Enthralling and instructive. A novel of the highest caliber
- By Richmond Surrey on 07-27-17
By: Zadie Smith
-
The Female Persuasion
- A Novel
- By: Meg Wolitzer
- Narrated by: Rebecca Lowman
- Length: 14 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 1,657
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,506
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 1,501
To be admired by someone we admire - we all yearn for this: the private, electrifying pleasure of being singled out by someone of esteem. But sometimes it can also mean entry to a new kind of life, a bigger world. Greer Kadetsky is a shy college freshman when she meets the woman she hopes will change her life. Faith Frank, dazzlingly persuasive and elegant at 63, has been a central pillar of the women’s movement for decades, a figure who inspires others to influence the world.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
Quitting 3 hours in and returning it
- By NMwritergal on 04-07-18
By: Meg Wolitzer
-
Where the Children Take Us
- How One Family Achieved the Unimaginable
- By: Zain E. Asher
- Narrated by: Zain E. Asher
- Length: 6 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 183
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 164
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 162
Awaiting the return of her husband and young son from a road trip, Obiajulu Ejiofor receives shattering news. There’s been a fatal car crash, and one of them is dead. In Where the Children Take Us, Obiajulu’s daughter, Zain E. Asher, tells the story of her mother’s harrowing fight to raise four children as a widowed immigrant in South London. There is tragedy in this tale, but it is not a tragedy. Drawing on tough-love parenting strategies, Obiajulu teaches her sons and daughters to overcome the daily pressures of poverty, crime and prejudice—and much more.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Best book I’ve ever read
- By CZ on 09-30-22
By: Zain E. Asher
-
A Dream Called Home
- By: Reyna Grande
- Narrated by: Yareli Arizmendi
- Length: 9 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 494
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 423
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 422
When Reyna Grande was nine years old, she walked across the US-Mexico border in search of a home, desperate to be reunited with the parents who had left her behind years before for a better life in the City of Angels. What she found instead was an indifferent mother, an abusive, alcoholic father, and a school system that belittled her heritage. With so few resources at her disposal, Reyna finds refuge in words, and it is her love of reading and writing that propels her to rise above until she achieves the impossible and is accepted to the University of California, Santa Cruz.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Beautiful
- By Carolyn on 10-17-18
By: Reyna Grande
-
All Who Go Do Not Return
- A Memoir
- By: Shulem Deen
- Narrated by: Shulem Deen
- Length: 11 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 454
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 402
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 402
Shulem Deen was raised to believe that questions are dangerous. As a member of the Skverers, one of the most insular Hasidic sects in the US, he knows little about the outside world - only that it is to be shunned. His marriage at 18 is arranged, and several children soon follow.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
An eloquent and fascinating look into a secretive world
- By Lilly on 04-29-17
By: Shulem Deen
-
Baking Cakes in Kigali
- A Novel
- By: Gaile Parkin
- Narrated by: Adenrele Ojo
- Length: 10 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 99
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 80
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 79
Once in a great while a debut novelist comes along who dazzles us with rare eloquence and humanity, who takes us to bold new places and into previously unimaginable lives. Gaile Parkin is just such a talent - and Baking Cakes in Kilgali is just such a novel. This gloriously written tale - set in modern-day Rwanda - introduces one of the most singular and engaging characters in recent fiction: Angel Tungaraza - mother, cake baker, keeper of secrets - a woman living on the edge of chaos, finding ways to transform lives, weave magic, and create hope.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Wonderful slice of life in modern Africa
- By Tina on 04-25-13
By: Gaile Parkin
-
I Am Not Your Baby Mother
- THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER
- By: Candice Brathwaite
- Narrated by: Candice Brathwaite
- Length: 5 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 21
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 21
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 21
It's about time we made motherhood more diverse.... When Candice fell pregnant and stepped into the motherhood playing field, she found her experience bore little resemblance to the glossy magazine photos of women in horizontal stripe tops and the pinned discussions on Mumsnet about what pushchair to buy. Leafing through the piles of prenatal paraphernalia, she found herself wondering: "Where are all the black mothers?".
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
More than what meets the eye.
- By Ash_Alpha_Mom on 12-12-23
-
The Newcomers
- Finding Refuge, Friendship, and Hope in an American Classroom
- By: Helen Thorpe
- Narrated by: Kate Handford
- Length: 15 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 171
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 146
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 147
Offering a nuanced and transformative take on immigration, multiculturalism, and America's role on the global stage, The Newcomers follows and reflects on the lives of 22 immigrant teenagers throughout the course of their 2015-2016 school year at Denver's South High School. Unfamiliar with American culture or the English language, the students range from the ages of 14 to 19 and come from nations struggling with drought, famine, or war.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Surprisingly great read.
- By Ellen V. Moore on 05-23-18
By: Helen Thorpe
-
Under Red Skies
- Three Generations of Life, Loss, and Hope in China
- By: Karoline Kan
- Narrated by: Allison Hiroto
- Length: 8 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 109
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 97
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 98
A deeply personal and shocking look at how China is coming to terms with its conflicted past as it emerges into a modern, cutting-edge superpower.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
An intimate view of real life in China
- By Lonnie G. Hardy, Jr. on 08-15-19
By: Karoline Kan
-
Threading My Prayer Rug
- One Woman's Journey from Pakistani Muslim to American Muslim
- By: Sabeeha Rehman
- Narrated by: Sabeeha Rehman
- Length: 12 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 80
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 72
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 72
Beginning with a sweetly funny, moving account of her arranged marriage, the author undercuts stereotypes and offers the refreshing view of an American life through Muslim eyes. In chapters leavened with humor, hope, and insight, she recounts an immigrant's daily struggles balancing assimilation with preserving heritage, overcoming religious barriers from within and distortions of Islam from without, and confronting issues of raising her children as Muslims - while they lobby for a Christmas tree!
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Wonderful story, ok production for audio
- By Sarah on 09-05-19
By: Sabeeha Rehman
-
Joan Is Okay
- A Novel
- By: Weike Wang
- Narrated by: Catherine Ho
- Length: 6 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 289
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 253
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 253
Joan is a thirtysomething ICU doctor at a busy New York City hospital. The daughter of Chinese parents who came to the United States to secure the American dream for their children, Joan is intensely devoted to her work, happily solitary, successful. She does look up sometimes and wonder where her true roots lie: at the hospital, where her white coat makes her feel needed, or with her family, who try to shape her life by their own cultural and social expectations.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Amazing Story!
- By amanda chambers on 01-26-22
By: Weike Wang
Related to this topic
-
Find Me Unafraid
- Love, Loss, and Hope in an African Slum
- By: Kennedy Odede, Jessica Posner
- Narrated by: Korey Jackson, Mandy Siegfried, P.J. Ochlan (foreword)
- Length: 11 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 354
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 319
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 317
Find Me Unafraid tells the uncommon love story between two uncommon people whose collaboration sparked a successful movement to transform the lives of vulnerable girls and the urban poor. With a foreword by Nicholas Kristof.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A difficult and rewarding listen
- By R. MCRACKAN on 08-23-18
By: Kennedy Odede, and others
-
Stella's Story
- Thrown Away Children, Book 1
- By: Louise Allen
- Narrated by: Melanie Crawley
- Length: 8 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 229
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 216
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 216
Named after the lager that christened her at birth, Stella's life is characterised instability and neglect. Her teenage mother abandons her in the first few weeks of her life, and left in the 'care' of her father, she ends up lying deserted in a house with no food, no water, no clothes and no warmth. She eventually lands in the care of foster carer Louise, who is determined to change her life for the better.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Heartbreaking but so wonderful to see a happy ending
- By Amazon Customer on 11-14-24
By: Louise Allen
-
The Year of Living Danishly
- Uncovering the Secrets of the World's Happiest Country
- By: Helen Russell
- Narrated by: Lucy Price-Lewis
- Length: 9 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 5,348
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 4,834
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 4,823
When she was suddenly given the opportunity of a new life in rural Jutland, journalist and archetypal Londoner Helen Russell discovered a startling statistic: the happiest place on earth isn't Disneyland but Denmark, a land often thought of by foreigners as consisting entirely of long, dark winters, cured herring, Lego and pastries. What is the secret to their success? Are happy Danes born or made?
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Interesting content. Unfortunate delivery.
- By Jennifer Soudagar on 11-13-15
By: Helen Russell
-
Under Red Skies
- Three Generations of Life, Loss, and Hope in China
- By: Karoline Kan
- Narrated by: Allison Hiroto
- Length: 8 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 109
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 97
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 98
A deeply personal and shocking look at how China is coming to terms with its conflicted past as it emerges into a modern, cutting-edge superpower.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
An intimate view of real life in China
- By Lonnie G. Hardy, Jr. on 08-15-19
By: Karoline Kan
-
Flesh Wounds
- By: Richard Glover
- Narrated by: Richard Glover
- Length: 7 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 35
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 34
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 34
A mother who invented her past, a father who was often absent, a son who wondered if this could really be his family...Richard Glover's favourite dinner-party game is called 'Who's Got the Weirdest Parents?' It's a game he always thinks he'll win. There was his mother, a deluded snob who made up large swathes of her past and who ran away with Richard's English teacher, a Tolkien devotee, nudist and stuffed toy collector.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Such a Meaningful Reflection
- By Awarenessing on 11-28-15
By: Richard Glover
-
Language Arts
- By: Stephanie Kallos
- Narrated by: Tavia Gilbert
- Length: 12 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 64
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 57
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 56
Charles Marlow is a Seattle English teacher who instructs his students to expand their worlds through language. Lately, however, with one child off to college and the pressure from his ex-wife to make plans for their severely autistic son who's about to age out of the system, he prefers the company of the ghosts he turns up in the storage boxes in his crawl space.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
The beauty of the broken
- By SJ Evans on 04-27-18
By: Stephanie Kallos
-
Find Me Unafraid
- Love, Loss, and Hope in an African Slum
- By: Kennedy Odede, Jessica Posner
- Narrated by: Korey Jackson, Mandy Siegfried, P.J. Ochlan (foreword)
- Length: 11 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 354
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 319
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 317
Find Me Unafraid tells the uncommon love story between two uncommon people whose collaboration sparked a successful movement to transform the lives of vulnerable girls and the urban poor. With a foreword by Nicholas Kristof.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A difficult and rewarding listen
- By R. MCRACKAN on 08-23-18
By: Kennedy Odede, and others
-
Stella's Story
- Thrown Away Children, Book 1
- By: Louise Allen
- Narrated by: Melanie Crawley
- Length: 8 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 229
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 216
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 216
Named after the lager that christened her at birth, Stella's life is characterised instability and neglect. Her teenage mother abandons her in the first few weeks of her life, and left in the 'care' of her father, she ends up lying deserted in a house with no food, no water, no clothes and no warmth. She eventually lands in the care of foster carer Louise, who is determined to change her life for the better.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Heartbreaking but so wonderful to see a happy ending
- By Amazon Customer on 11-14-24
By: Louise Allen
-
The Year of Living Danishly
- Uncovering the Secrets of the World's Happiest Country
- By: Helen Russell
- Narrated by: Lucy Price-Lewis
- Length: 9 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 5,348
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 4,834
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 4,823
When she was suddenly given the opportunity of a new life in rural Jutland, journalist and archetypal Londoner Helen Russell discovered a startling statistic: the happiest place on earth isn't Disneyland but Denmark, a land often thought of by foreigners as consisting entirely of long, dark winters, cured herring, Lego and pastries. What is the secret to their success? Are happy Danes born or made?
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Interesting content. Unfortunate delivery.
- By Jennifer Soudagar on 11-13-15
By: Helen Russell
-
Under Red Skies
- Three Generations of Life, Loss, and Hope in China
- By: Karoline Kan
- Narrated by: Allison Hiroto
- Length: 8 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 109
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 97
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 98
A deeply personal and shocking look at how China is coming to terms with its conflicted past as it emerges into a modern, cutting-edge superpower.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
An intimate view of real life in China
- By Lonnie G. Hardy, Jr. on 08-15-19
By: Karoline Kan
-
Flesh Wounds
- By: Richard Glover
- Narrated by: Richard Glover
- Length: 7 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 35
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 34
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 34
A mother who invented her past, a father who was often absent, a son who wondered if this could really be his family...Richard Glover's favourite dinner-party game is called 'Who's Got the Weirdest Parents?' It's a game he always thinks he'll win. There was his mother, a deluded snob who made up large swathes of her past and who ran away with Richard's English teacher, a Tolkien devotee, nudist and stuffed toy collector.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Such a Meaningful Reflection
- By Awarenessing on 11-28-15
By: Richard Glover
-
Language Arts
- By: Stephanie Kallos
- Narrated by: Tavia Gilbert
- Length: 12 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 64
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 57
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 56
Charles Marlow is a Seattle English teacher who instructs his students to expand their worlds through language. Lately, however, with one child off to college and the pressure from his ex-wife to make plans for their severely autistic son who's about to age out of the system, he prefers the company of the ghosts he turns up in the storage boxes in his crawl space.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
The beauty of the broken
- By SJ Evans on 04-27-18
By: Stephanie Kallos
-
Runaway Girl
- A Beautiful Girl. Trafficked for Sex. Is There Nowhere to Hide?
- By: Casey Watson
- Narrated by: Kate Lock
- Length: 10 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 65
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 58
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 59
Brought to Casey as a short-term emergency placement, 14-year-old Adrianna arrives with nothing but her gratitude. Having turned herself in to a social services office some 100 miles away, she has no possessions, no English and, apparently, no history - not that she's willing to share, anyway. She is a beautiful young Polish girl, with the bearing of a ballerina, but is terrified, malnourished and unwell.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
Reader
- By Valerie Howard on 03-06-22
By: Casey Watson
-
A Long Way from Home
- By: Cathy Glass
- Narrated by: Denica Fairman
- Length: 8 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 276
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 250
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 248
The true story of two-year-old Anna, abandoned by her natural parents, left alone in a neglected orphanage. Elaine and Ian had travelled halfway round the world to adopt little Anna. She couldn't have been more wanted, loved and cherished. So why was she now in foster care and living with me? It didn't make sense.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
confused all around
- By MessyMama on 08-04-18
By: Cathy Glass
-
Maeve's Times
- In Her Own Words
- By: Maeve Binchy
- Narrated by: Kate Binchy
- Length: 11 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 99
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 87
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 87
From the royal wedding to boring airplane companions, Samuel Beckett to Margaret Thatcher, "senior moments" to life as a waitress, Maeve's Times gives us wonderful insight into a changing Ireland as it celebrates the work of one of our best-loved writers in all its diversity - revealing her characteristic directness, laugh-out-loud humor, and unswerving gaze into the true heart of a matter.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A GLIMPSE THROUGH MAEVE'S LOOKING GLASS
- By jstrfic on 08-08-17
By: Maeve Binchy
-
Bend, Not Break
- A Life in Two Worlds
- By: Ping Fu, MeiMei Fox
- Narrated by: Robin Miles
- Length: 10 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 115
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 98
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 98
Ping Fu knows what it’s like to be a child soldier, a factory worker, and a political prisoner. To be beaten and raped for the crime of being born into a well-educated family. To be deported with barely enough money for a plane ticket to a bewildering new land. To start all over, without family or friends, as a maid, waitress, and student. Ping Fu also knows what it’s like to be a pioneering software programmer, an innovator, a CEO, and Inc. magazine’s Entrepreneur of the Year.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A true account as good as any Horatio Alger story!
- By Roy B. Paschal on 01-14-13
By: Ping Fu, and others
-
Without You, There Is No Us
- My Time with the Sons of North Korea's Elite
- By: Suki Kim
- Narrated by: Janet Song
- Length: 8 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 930
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 812
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 812
Every day, three times a day, the students march in two straight lines, singing praises to Kim Jong-il and North Korea: Without you, there is no motherland. Without you, there is no us. It is a chilling scene, but gradually Suki Kim, too, learns the tune and, without noticing, begins to hum it. It is 2011, and all universities in North Korea have been shut down for an entire year, the students sent to construction fields - except for the 270 students at the all-male Pyongyang University of Science and Technology (PUST).
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
The King and I meets Mary Poppins
- By Michael on 02-22-15
By: Suki Kim
-
A Woman of Firsts
- The midwife who built a hospital and changed the world
- By: Edna Adan Ismail, Wendy Holden
- Narrated by: Edna Adan Ismail
- Length: 13 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 21
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 20
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 20
Edna saw first-hand how poor healthcare, lack of education and ancient superstitions had devastating effects on Somaliland’s people, especially its women. When she suffered the trauma of FGM herself as a young girl at the bidding of her mother, Edna’s determination was set.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Author Read and So Moving
- By Clementa Frederiksen on 03-04-24
By: Edna Adan Ismail, and others
-
Carly's Voice
- Breaking Through Autism
- By: Arthur Fleischmann, Carly Fleischmann
- Narrated by: Patrick Lawlor, Cassandra Campbell
- Length: 11 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 389
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 348
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 352
At the age of two, Carly Fleischmann was diagnosed with severe autism and an oral motor condition that prevented her from speaking. Doctors predicted that she would never intellectually develop beyond the abilities of a small child. Although she made some progress after years of intensive behavioral and communication therapy, Carly remained largely unreachable. Then, at age 10, Carly had a breakthrough....
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A peek inside...
- By Yolanda on 08-09-13
By: Arthur Fleischmann, and others
-
44 Scotland Street
- By: Alexander McCall Smith
- Narrated by: Robert Ian Mackenzie
- Length: 11 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 1,791
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 1,421
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 1,417
The brilliant Alexander McCall Smith became an international sensation with his New York Times best-selling No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency novels. His award-winning wit, made famous through that series, is fully on display in 44 Scotland Street.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Smith's answer to Maupin
- By Amazon Customer on 10-23-05
-
Dreams from My Father
- A Story of Race and Inheritance
- By: Barack Obama
- Narrated by: Barack Obama
- Length: 14 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 566
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 489
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 485
In this lyrical, unsentimental, and compelling memoir, the son of a Black African father and a White American mother searches for a workable meaning to his life as a Black American. It begins in New York, where Barack Obama learns that his father - a figure he knows more as a myth than as a man - has been killed in a car accident. This sudden death inspires an emotional odyssey - first to a small town in Kansas, from which he retraces the migration of his mother’s family to Hawaii, and then to Kenya, where he meets the African side of his family.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Powerful
- By Gene R. on 10-26-21
By: Barack Obama
-
What Is Not Yours Is Not Yours
- Stories
- By: Helen Oyeyemi
- Narrated by: Ann Marie Gideon, Piter Marek, Bahni Turpin
- Length: 7 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 155
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 133
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 135
In "Books and Roses", one special key opens a library, a garden, and clues to at least two lovers' fates. In "Is Your Blood as Red as This?", an unlikely key opens the heart of a student at a puppeteering school. "'Sorry' Doesn't Sweeten Her Tea" involves a "house of locks", where doors can be closed only with a key - with surprising unobservable developments. And in "If a Book Is Locked There's Probably a Good Reason for That Don't You Think", a key keeps a mystical diary locked (for good reason).
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
clever
- By jared rogerson on 03-15-18
By: Helen Oyeyemi
-
Daring to Drive
- A Saudi Woman's Awakening
- By: Manal al-Sharif
- Narrated by: Lameece Issaq
- Length: 10 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 441
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 390
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 393
A ferociously intimate memoir by a devout woman from a modest family in Saudi Arabia who became the unexpected leader of a courageous movement to support women's right to drive.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
The rain begins with a single drop
- By Sara on 07-01-17
By: Manal al-Sharif
-
The Quilter's Apprentice
- Elm Creek Quilts, Book 1
- By: Jennifer Chiaverini
- Narrated by: Christina Moore
- Length: 8 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,546
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,381
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,381
An engaging tale full of warmth and wisdom, The Quilter’s Apprentice is the first novel in best-selling author Jennifer Chiaverini’s Elm Creek Quilts series. Sarah McClure takes a job helping elderly Sylvia Compson prepare her family estate for sale. Sylvia, a master quilter, agrees to share the tricks of the trade with Sarah. As the two women grow close, Sylvia shares her family’s tragic past, compelling Sarah to look at her own life more closely.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
A Mixed Bag
- By Potato Potato on 09-19-13
What listeners say about The Rubbish-Picker's Wife
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- PO
- 05-13-17
Personal, warm, insightful
A wonderfully crafted story of how one person, with a big heart and a can-do attitude, can change the world...one child, one family, one mahalla, at a time...and then change many many more people, in Fushe Kosova and around the world. Elizabeth's story is one you read about with amazement- and you'll feel it in your heart. Read this and you will feel like you live there, with every muddy step, and your life will be changed after this journey to Kosova.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful