We Are Called to Rise

By: Laura McBride

Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell, Kirby Heyborne, Madeleine Maby, Pete Simonelli

"We never know how high we are / Till we are called to rise; And then, if we are true to plan, / Our statures touch the skies." (Emily Dickinson)

Beyond Las Vegas' casinos lies a boomtown where four lives can be brought together by one split-second choice.

In the predawn hours, a woman's marriage crumbles with a single confession. Across town, an immigrant family struggles to fit in and get by in the land of opportunity. Three thousand miles away, a soldier wakes up in Walter Reed hospital with the vague feeling that he’s done something awful. In a single moment, these disparate lives intersect. Faced with seemingly insurmountable loss, each person must decide whether to give in to despair, or to find the courage and resilience to rise.

We Are Called to Rise is a story about a child's fate. It is a story about families - the ones we have and the ones we make. It challenges us to think about our responsibilities to one another and reminds us that compassion and charity can rescue us, even in our darkest moment. It is a book that will break your heart and then put it back together.

©2014 Laura McBride (P)2014 Simon & Schuster, Inc.

Intertwining Lives Reveal Despair and Hope

This is a beautiful novel. The narration is flawless with four readers presenting the four intertwining lives whose experiences encompass this story. The novel explores the psychological and physical aftermath of war. Through knowing these four characters, the reader experiences many aspects of the struggles facing families and individuals as they move through life working to overcome and continue living after having looked death in the eye and while trying to carry on living after having faced horrendous injustices in various countries in our world. This is a contemporary novel which takes place in Las Vegas, Nevada and which looks at the family life in this city of bright lights and money while also exploring human loss, despair, and resilience. The four voices of the novel include the mother of a soldier, a social worker, a child of an immigrant family, and a soldier. This author was able to express the possibility of rebirth, of starting over after tragic losses, and of living with the guilt of surviving. I enjoyed the message of finding some healing through expressing kindness to others who are also suffering. I recommend this novel. I was engrossed throughout.

Very moving

Particularly loved the reader of the boy's sections, great job! Beautiful story with interconnected characters

Its really good!

I read reviews before I chose this book and now I am surprised by the bad ones. I enjoyed every minute!

Loved it!!

Couldn't get enough of each chapter, fell in love with each character. I cried, laughed, I felt as if I was in the book.

Wow! Lots to think about.

There is much to think about & talk about as a result of listening to this novel - PTSD, immigrant lives in America, the poor, the foster care system, and more. Excellent reading by the narrator & excellent story. Don't miss this one.

A Story Full Of Empathy And Heart!!

Some of my favorites stories are the ones where a city or landscape becomes part of the narrative and on We Are Called to Rise Laura McBride makes Vegas, surrounded by its dry deserts one of its most interesting characters.

The main characters on this beautifully written novel couldn't be more different:
Bakshim is an 8 year-old son of Albanian refugee immigrants; Avis a middle-aged woman whose marriage is imploding and has a troubled son; Luis, a wounded soldier returning stateside after a difficult combat deployment in Iraq and finally Roberta who as a volunteer with the Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA), serves more like a supporting character.

The story is told on alternate chapters written from the perspective of one of these characters and McBride is able to interlink their lives in a way that feels very intense and very authentic.

The story begins with Avis, who at 53 has realized that her marriage is in deep trouble and just when she decides to do something about it her husband stops her on her tracks and asks for a divorce.

Avis's son Nate, who is just entering the L.A.P.D. force, is like Luis is a veteran of the Iraq war and is facing his own demons after coming back from his last tour. Avis knows there's something wrong with her son but is unable or unwilling to address his issues, even after witnessing his violent behavior towards his wife.

Not doubt that at its core We Are Called to Rise tells the story of Bakshim, an innocent but perceptive 8 year-old boy and his family as they struggle to assimilate into their new homeland. Bashkim’s father is unstable and due to some horrible experiences he had with officials in his native country he has a profound distaste for authority of any kind. Ironically he's violent towards Arjeta his wife, and keeps her isolated from her relatives.

As the story progresses, through a school project that encourages children to write to soldiers, Bakshim and Luis become pen pals and develop an unusual friendship.

I was impressed with the author's pitch perfect narrative inside the minds of two young mentally and physically broken war veterans. I think that she brings badly needed attention towards PSTD, violence, suicide, and so many other challenges US veterans are facing today.

The lives of these four characters come to a complete collision when the story culminates with a tragic incident that will have consequences for each and every one of them.

I think that the success of this novel has a lot to do with McBride's ability to show so much empathy for such an eclectic and diverse cast of characters.

I was going to use a few lines to end this review pointing out a few issues I had with the plot and in particular with the ending of the story, but decided against it. Instead I am choosing to respect the author's decision to write a tale that through its sadness and gloom still manages to encapsulate a sense of hope and end in an unexpected but optimistic note.

All narrators were amazing, but Cassandra Campbell as usual was outstanding.

This is a wonderful, intense and heartwarming first novel by author Laura McBride. I highly recommend it!

Not my favorite

I didn't find this very engaging, and the performances were stilted. Only the soldier's voice seemed realistic, and not often. I kept wondering what each of these had to do with the other, and I figured it out long before the ending.

From one Country

Where does We Are Called to Rise rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

We are called to Rise is ranked about middle if I were to rank my books. I choose carefully as my listening is usually during long solo drives.

Who was your favorite character and why?

The child--he was innocent and yet so very wise about about his family's disruptive relationship with each other--his Baba's imprisonment before immigration which made him volatile. So many events happened to him and yet he held on.

Which scene was your favorite?

My favorite scene was in the courtroom when the judge present the decision of child custody and the reasoning. Truly would be a village raising a family.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Same as above---however unrealistic that the court system would have a hand in creating a loving home for more than one family.

Wonderful book, weak ending

I loved the book. It was well written and captivating from the very beginning. The characters were well developed. I loved the book so much but was very disappointed by the ending. It was a week ending for such a wonderful book.

Great story and performance

Very well written and performed. I was thinking it was going to be an uplifting book but mostly it was really sad.