Woe to Live On Audiobook By Daniel Woodrell, Ron Rash - introduction cover art

Woe to Live On

A Novel

Preview
Get this deal Try for $0.00
Offer ends January 21, 2026 11:59pm PT
Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible? Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Just $0.99/mo for your first 3 months of Audible Premium Plus.
1 audiobook per month of your choice from our unparalleled catalog.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, podcasts, and Originals.
Auto-renews at $14.95/mo after 3 months. Cancel anytime.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Woe to Live On

By: Daniel Woodrell, Ron Rash - introduction
Narrated by: Bernard Setaro Clark
Get this deal Try for $0.00

$14.95/mo after 3 months. Cancel anytime. Offer ends January 21, 2026 11:59pm PT.

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $22.49

Buy for $22.49

LIMITED TIME OFFER | Get 3 months for $0.99 a month

$14.95/mo thereafter-terms apply.
A young man witnesses the unrestrained violence of the Civil War along the American frontier in this brutally honest novel from the author of Winter's Bone.

Set in the border states of Kansas and Missouri, Woe to Live On explores the nature of lawlessness and violence, friendship and loyalty, through the eyes of young recruit Jake Roedel. Where he and his fellow First Kansas Irregulars go, no one is safe, no one can be neutral. Roedel grows up fast, experiencing a brutal parody of war without standards or mercy. But as friends fall and families flee, he questions his loyalties and becomes an outsider even to those who have become outlaws.

“A renegade Western that celebrates the genre while bushwhacking its most cherished traditions.” —Chicago Tribune
Fiction Genre Fiction Historical Fiction Literary Fiction War & Military Westerns
Historical Fiction • Authentic Language • Perfect Narration Match • Action Packed • Unique Perspective • Original Voice

Highly rated for:

All stars
Most relevant
As a Civil War reenactor stories like this remind me of the hardships men on both sides faced on a daily basis, especially in the border States.

As good as the movie.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

A great book made even more enjoyable to listen to by having the right narrator!

Very well written and read!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

The timeliness and timelessness of this book are striking. No doubt this story could today be written with a Ukraine venue. Some of the invaders will forever lose their humanity. They will take scalps. Others,like our protagonist, will be haunted by what they have seen and done. Hope lies in humanity’s resilience and capacity for selflessness. But what is the essence of man? Unimaginable cruelty? Love borne of family, whether based on blood or circumstance? Even Holt and Jake can be family. Woodrell has created a unique prism through which to view those questions.

Haunting Masterpiece

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

If you’re not from the South, raised in the South, you’ll never understand. Two thumbs up!

With a rebel yell…

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

The narration made the book .... of you like 1800 stories that aren’t Poe like this is better than most.

As good as the movie

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

See more reviews