-
Becoming Maria: Love and Chaos in the South Bronx
- Narrated by: Sonia Manzano
- Length: 8 hrs and 7 mins
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.
Becoming Maria: Love and Chaos in the South Bronx
Buy for $21.83
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Publisher's summary
The Pura Belpré Honor winner for The Revolution of Evelyn Serrano and one of America's most influential Hispanics - Maria on Sesame Street - delivers a beautifully wrought coming-of-age memoir. Set in the 1970s in the Bronx, this is the story of a girl with a dream. Emmy Award-winning actress and writer Sonia Manzano plunges us into the daily lives of a Latino family that is loving - and troubled. This is Sonia's own story rendered with an unforgettable narrative power.
When listeners meet young Sonia, she is a child living amid the squalor of a boisterous home that is filled with noisy relatives and nosy neighbors. Each day she is glued to the TV screen that blots out the painful realities of her existence and also illuminates the possibilities that lie ahead. But - click! - when the TV goes off, Sonia is taken back to real life - the cramped, colorful world of her neighborhood and an alcoholic father. But it is Sonia's dream of becoming an actress that keeps her afloat among the turbulence of her life and times. Spiced with culture, heartache, and humor, this memoir paints a lasting portrait of a girl's resilience as she grows up to become an inspiration to millions.
Listeners also enjoyed...
-
My Name Is Barbra
- By: Barbra Streisand
- Narrated by: Barbra Streisand
- Length: 48 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 3,087
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 2,745
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 2,745
Barbra Streisand is by any account a living legend, a woman who in a career spanning six decades has excelled in every area of entertainment. She is among the handful of EGOT winners (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony) and has one of the greatest and most recognizable voices in the history of popular music. She has been nominated for a Grammy 46 times, and with Yentl she became the first woman to write, produce, direct, and star in a major motion picture. In My Name Is Barbra, she tells her own story about her life and extraordinary career.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
BARBRA IS LIKE BUTTAH!
- By JoeGato57 on 11-08-23
By: Barbra Streisand
-
Being Henry
- The Fonz . . . and Beyond
- By: Henry Winkler
- Narrated by: Henry Winkler
- Length: 9 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 1,603
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 1,473
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 1,473
Henry Winkler, launched into prominence as “The Fonz” in the beloved Happy Days, has transcended the role that made him who he is. Brilliant, funny, and widely regarded as the nicest man in Hollywood (though he would be the first to tell you that it’s simply not the case, he’s really just grateful to be here), Henry shares in this achingly vulnerable memoir the disheartening truth of his childhood, the difficulties of a life with severe dyslexia, the pressures of a role that takes on a life of its own, and the path forward once your wildest dream seems behind you.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Wowww what a life, what a man
- By Paul Schabes on 10-31-23
By: Henry Winkler
-
Taste
- My Life Through Food
- By: Stanley Tucci
- Narrated by: Stanley Tucci
- Length: 6 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 4,434
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 3,893
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 3,857
Stanley Tucci grew up in an Italian American family that spent every night around the kitchen table. He shared the magic of those meals with us in The Tucci Cookbook and The Tucci Table, and now he takes us beyond the savory recipes and into the compelling stories behind them. Taste is a reflection on the intersection of food and life, filled with anecdotes about his growing up in Westchester, New York.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Should include a pdf of recipes
- By Jen Griffin on 10-23-21
By: Stanley Tucci
-
Making It So
- A Memoir
- By: Patrick Stewart
- Narrated by: Patrick Stewart
- Length: 18 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 2,016
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 1,827
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 1,827
From his acclaimed stage triumphs to his legendary onscreen work in the Star Trek and X-Men franchises, Sir Patrick Stewart has captivated audiences around the world and across multiple generations with his indelible command of stage and screen. Now, he presents his long-awaited memoir, Making It So, a revealing portrait of an artist whose astonishing life—from his humble beginnings in Yorkshire, England, to the heights of Hollywood and worldwide acclaim—proves a story as exuberant, definitive, and enduring as the author himself.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Incredible! So much more than a memoir
- By Jason on 10-04-23
By: Patrick Stewart
-
Not That Fancy
- Simple Lessons on Living, Loving, Eating, and Dusting Off Your Boots
- By: Reba McEntire
- Narrated by: Reba McEntire, Dolly Parton, Carly Pearce, and others
- Length: 6 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 439
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 404
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 404
The best things in life are really not that fancy. This audiobook featuring all-things-Reba invites you to get back to the basics of life: fun, food, friends, and family. In her first book in over two decades, actress and country music legend Reba McEntire takes you behind the scenes and shares the stories, recipes, and Oklahoma-style truths that guide her life.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
The queen didn’t disappoint
- By jojouknow on 10-18-23
By: Reba McEntire
-
Clap When You Land
- By: Elizabeth Acevedo
- Narrated by: Elizabeth Acevedo, Melania-Luisa Marte
- Length: 5 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2,574
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 2,258
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 2,243
In a novel-in-verse that brims with grief and love, National Book Award-winning and New York Times best-selling author Elizabeth Acevedo writes about the devastation of loss, the difficulty of forgiveness, and the bittersweet bonds that shape our lives.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Narration
- By VB on 06-05-20
-
My Name Is Barbra
- By: Barbra Streisand
- Narrated by: Barbra Streisand
- Length: 48 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 3,087
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 2,745
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 2,745
Barbra Streisand is by any account a living legend, a woman who in a career spanning six decades has excelled in every area of entertainment. She is among the handful of EGOT winners (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony) and has one of the greatest and most recognizable voices in the history of popular music. She has been nominated for a Grammy 46 times, and with Yentl she became the first woman to write, produce, direct, and star in a major motion picture. In My Name Is Barbra, she tells her own story about her life and extraordinary career.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
BARBRA IS LIKE BUTTAH!
- By JoeGato57 on 11-08-23
By: Barbra Streisand
-
Being Henry
- The Fonz . . . and Beyond
- By: Henry Winkler
- Narrated by: Henry Winkler
- Length: 9 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 1,603
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 1,473
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 1,473
Henry Winkler, launched into prominence as “The Fonz” in the beloved Happy Days, has transcended the role that made him who he is. Brilliant, funny, and widely regarded as the nicest man in Hollywood (though he would be the first to tell you that it’s simply not the case, he’s really just grateful to be here), Henry shares in this achingly vulnerable memoir the disheartening truth of his childhood, the difficulties of a life with severe dyslexia, the pressures of a role that takes on a life of its own, and the path forward once your wildest dream seems behind you.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Wowww what a life, what a man
- By Paul Schabes on 10-31-23
By: Henry Winkler
-
Taste
- My Life Through Food
- By: Stanley Tucci
- Narrated by: Stanley Tucci
- Length: 6 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 4,434
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 3,893
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 3,857
Stanley Tucci grew up in an Italian American family that spent every night around the kitchen table. He shared the magic of those meals with us in The Tucci Cookbook and The Tucci Table, and now he takes us beyond the savory recipes and into the compelling stories behind them. Taste is a reflection on the intersection of food and life, filled with anecdotes about his growing up in Westchester, New York.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Should include a pdf of recipes
- By Jen Griffin on 10-23-21
By: Stanley Tucci
-
Making It So
- A Memoir
- By: Patrick Stewart
- Narrated by: Patrick Stewart
- Length: 18 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 2,016
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 1,827
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 1,827
From his acclaimed stage triumphs to his legendary onscreen work in the Star Trek and X-Men franchises, Sir Patrick Stewart has captivated audiences around the world and across multiple generations with his indelible command of stage and screen. Now, he presents his long-awaited memoir, Making It So, a revealing portrait of an artist whose astonishing life—from his humble beginnings in Yorkshire, England, to the heights of Hollywood and worldwide acclaim—proves a story as exuberant, definitive, and enduring as the author himself.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Incredible! So much more than a memoir
- By Jason on 10-04-23
By: Patrick Stewart
-
Not That Fancy
- Simple Lessons on Living, Loving, Eating, and Dusting Off Your Boots
- By: Reba McEntire
- Narrated by: Reba McEntire, Dolly Parton, Carly Pearce, and others
- Length: 6 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 439
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 404
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 404
The best things in life are really not that fancy. This audiobook featuring all-things-Reba invites you to get back to the basics of life: fun, food, friends, and family. In her first book in over two decades, actress and country music legend Reba McEntire takes you behind the scenes and shares the stories, recipes, and Oklahoma-style truths that guide her life.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
The queen didn’t disappoint
- By jojouknow on 10-18-23
By: Reba McEntire
-
Clap When You Land
- By: Elizabeth Acevedo
- Narrated by: Elizabeth Acevedo, Melania-Luisa Marte
- Length: 5 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2,574
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 2,258
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 2,243
In a novel-in-verse that brims with grief and love, National Book Award-winning and New York Times best-selling author Elizabeth Acevedo writes about the devastation of loss, the difficulty of forgiveness, and the bittersweet bonds that shape our lives.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Narration
- By VB on 06-05-20
-
The Light We Carry
- Overcoming in Uncertain Times
- By: Michelle Obama
- Narrated by: Michelle Obama
- Length: 9 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 11,042
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 9,955
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 9,913
There may be no tidy solutions or pithy answers to life’s big challenges, but Michelle Obama believes that we can all locate and lean on a set of tools to help us better navigate change and remain steady within flux. In The Light We Carry, she opens a frank and honest dialogue with listeners, considering the questions many of us wrestle with: How do we build enduring and honest relationships? How can we discover strength and community inside our differences? What tools do we use to address feelings of self-doubt or helplessness? What do we do when it all starts to feel like too much?
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
Very Disappointing—Too Ego-filled
- By Patricia Webb on 11-29-22
By: Michelle Obama
-
The Color of Water
- A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother
- By: James McBride
- Narrated by: JD Jackson, Susan Denaker
- Length: 8 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2,855
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 2,495
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 2,492
Who is Ruth McBride Jordan? A self-declared "light-skinned" woman evasive about her ethnicity, yet steadfast in her love for her 12 Black children. James McBride, journalist, musician, and son, explores his mother's past, as well as his own upbringing and heritage, in a poignant and powerful debut, The Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Awesome
- By Michael on 05-30-17
By: James McBride
-
Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns)
- By: Mindy Kaling
- Narrated by: Mindy Kaling, Michael Schur, B. J. Novak
- Length: 4 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 16,870
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 14,768
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 14,734
Mindy Kaling has lived many lives: the obedient child of immigrant professionals, a timid chubster afraid of her own bike, a Ben Affleck–impersonating Off-Broadway performer and playwright, and, finally, a comedy writer and actress prone to starting fights with her friends and coworkers with the sentence “Can I just say one last thing about this, and then I swear I’ll shut up about it?”
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
If you like Mindy, you'll enjoy this listen.
- By Lisa on 01-04-12
By: Mindy Kaling
-
Comedy Comedy Comedy Drama
- A Memoir
- By: Bob Odenkirk
- Narrated by: Bob Odenkirk, Steve Rudnick, Leo Benvenuti
- Length: 7 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2,338
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 2,053
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 2,041
Bob Odenkirk’s career is inexplicable. And yet he will try like hell to explicate it for you. Charting a “Homeric” decades-long “odyssey” from his origins in the seedy comedy clubs of Chicago to a dramatic career full of award nominations - with a side trip into the action-man world that is baffling to all who know him - it’s almost like there are many Bob Odenkirks! But there is just one and one is plenty. Featuring humorous tangents, wild characters, and Bob’s trademark unflinching drive, Comedy Comedy Comedy Drama is a classic tale told by a determined idiot.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Not great
- By D. Moore on 04-12-22
By: Bob Odenkirk
-
Olga Dies Dreaming
- A Novel
- By: Xochitl Gonzalez
- Narrated by: Almarie Guerra, Inés del Castillo, Armando Riesco
- Length: 11 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2,095
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 1,871
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,862
It’s 2017, and Olga and her brother, Pedro “Prieto” Acevedo” are bold-faced names in their hometown of New York. Prieto is a popular Congressman representing their gentrifying Latinx neighborhood in Brooklyn while Olga is the tony wedding planner for Manhattan’s powerbrokers. Despite their alluring public lives, behind closed doors things are far less rosy. Sure, Olga can orchestrate the love stories of the one percent, but she can’t seem to find her own...until she meets Matteo, who forces her to confront the effects of long-held family secrets.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Funny, romantic, serious, substantial—all of these things and more
- By Diana on 01-07-22
By: Xochitl Gonzalez
-
Waxing On
- The Karate Kid and Me
- By: Ralph Macchio
- Narrated by: Ralph Macchio
- Length: 5 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 912
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 832
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 826
Since The Karate Kid first crane-kicked its way into the pop culture stratosphere in June 1984, there hasn’t been a week Ralph Macchio hasn’t heard friendly shouts of “Wax on, wax off” or “Sweep the leg!” Now, with Macchio reprising his role as Daniel LaRusso in the number one ranked Netflix show Cobra Kai, he is finally ready to look back at this classic movie and give the fans something they’ve long craved.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Love Ralph
- By VINLV on 10-20-22
By: Ralph Macchio
-
I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter
- By: Erika L. Sánchez
- Narrated by: Kyla Garcia
- Length: 9 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 6,504
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 5,653
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 5,655
Perfect Mexican daughters do not go away to college. And they do not move out of their parents' house after high school graduation. Perfect Mexican daughters never abandon their family. But Julia is not your perfect Mexican daughter. That was Olga's role. Then a tragic accident on the busiest street in Chicago leaves Olga dead and Julia left behind to reassemble the shattered pieces of her family. And no one seems to acknowledge that Julia is broken, too. Instead, her mother seems to channel her grief into pointing out every possible way Julia has failed.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
FOR LATINAS WHO ARE OFTEN TOLD THEY "SOUND WHITE"
- By Alex on 12-14-18
By: Erika L. Sánchez
-
She's Come Undone
- By: Wally Lamb
- Narrated by: Linda Stephens
- Length: 18 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2,090
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,818
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,834
Meet Dolores Price. She's 13, wise-mouthed but wounded, having bid her childhood goodbye. Beached like a whale in front of her bedroom TV, she spends the next few years nourishing herself with the Mallomars, potato chips, and Pepsi her anxious mother supplies. When she finally rolls into young womanhood at 257 pounds, Dolores is no stronger and life is no kinder. But this time she's determined to rise to the occasion and give herself one more chance before really going belly-up.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Really disappointing narrator!
- By Jessica Williams on 01-21-12
By: Wally Lamb
-
Running with Scissors
- A Memoir
- By: Augusten Burroughs
- Narrated by: Augusten Burroughs
- Length: 7 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 2,088
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,171
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 1,170
Running with Scissors is the true story of a boy whose mother (a poet with delusions of being Anne Sexton) gave him away to be raised by her psychiatrist, a dead ringer for Santa and a lunatic in the bargain.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
NOT what I was expecting
- By Art H on 04-25-03
-
The Distance Between Us
- A Memoir
- By: Reyna Grande
- Narrated by: Yareli Arizmendi
- Length: 11 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 900
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 787
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 785
In this inspirational and unflinchingly honest memoir, acclaimed author Reyna Grande describes her childhood torn between the United States and Mexico, and shines a light on the experiences, fears, and hopes of those who choose to make the harrowing journey across the border. Reyna Grande vividly brings to life her tumultuous early years in this “compelling...unvarnished, resonant” (BookPage) story of a childhood spent torn between two parents and two countries.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
opened my eyes to the beauty of our stories
- By Evelyn on 09-18-20
By: Reyna Grande
-
Who Do You Love
- A Novel
- By: Jennifer Weiner
- Narrated by: Sarah Steele, JD Jackson
- Length: 13 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,917
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,714
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,707
Rachel Blum and Andy Landis are eight years old when they meet late one night in an ER waiting room. Born with a congenital heart defect, Rachel is a veteran of hospitals, and she's intrigued by the boy who shows up all alone with a broken arm. He tells her his name. She tells him a story. After Andy's taken back to the emergency room and Rachel's sent back to her bed, they think they'll never see each other again.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
Performer
- By Christine C. on 01-14-17
By: Jennifer Weiner
-
Orange Mint and Honey
- By: Carleen Brice
- Narrated by: Cherise Booth
- Length: 8 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 43
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 35
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 34
After grad school, Shay Dixon feels like she's had enough for awhile. Inspired by her spiritual adviser - a soul-soothing blues player named Nina Simon - Shay calls her estranged mother Nona for the first time in years, and shocks herself by asking if it would be okay to come home for a while.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
One For The Money
- By DiaRose on 09-25-17
By: Carleen Brice
Related to this topic
-
Chanel Bonfire
- By: Wendy Lawless
- Narrated by: Wendy Lawless
- Length: 6 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 69
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 61
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 63
By the time Wendy Lawless turned 17, she'd known for quite some time that she didn't have a normal mother. But that didn't stop her from wanting one.... Georgann Rea didn't bake cookies or go to PTA meetings; she wore a mink coat and always had a lit Dunhill plugged into her cigarette holder. She went through men like Kleenex, and didn't like dogs or children. Georgann had the ice queen beauty of a Hitchcock heroine and the cold heart to match.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Not an Engaging Listen
- By Sobriquet on 03-13-13
By: Wendy Lawless
-
Tiger, Tiger
- A Memoir
- By: Margaux Fragoso
- Narrated by: Susan Bennett
- Length: 12 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 233
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 200
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 200
One summer day, Margaux Fragoso meets Peter Curran at the neighborhood swimming pool, and they begin to play. She is seven; he is 51. When Peter invites her and her mother to his house, the little girl finds a child’s paradise of exotic pets and an elaborate backyard garden. Her mother, beset by mental illness and overwhelmed by caring for Margaux, is grateful for the attention Peter lavishes on her, and he creates an imaginative universe for her, much as Lewis Carroll did for his real-life Alice.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
a weirdly loving diatribe against pervs.
- By Dane Flakeman on 05-21-11
By: Margaux Fragoso
-
Orange Mint and Honey
- By: Carleen Brice
- Narrated by: Cherise Booth
- Length: 8 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 43
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 35
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 34
After grad school, Shay Dixon feels like she's had enough for awhile. Inspired by her spiritual adviser - a soul-soothing blues player named Nina Simon - Shay calls her estranged mother Nona for the first time in years, and shocks herself by asking if it would be okay to come home for a while.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
One For The Money
- By DiaRose on 09-25-17
By: Carleen Brice
-
She's Come Undone
- By: Wally Lamb
- Narrated by: Linda Stephens
- Length: 18 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2,090
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,818
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,834
Meet Dolores Price. She's 13, wise-mouthed but wounded, having bid her childhood goodbye. Beached like a whale in front of her bedroom TV, she spends the next few years nourishing herself with the Mallomars, potato chips, and Pepsi her anxious mother supplies. When she finally rolls into young womanhood at 257 pounds, Dolores is no stronger and life is no kinder. But this time she's determined to rise to the occasion and give herself one more chance before really going belly-up.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Really disappointing narrator!
- By Jessica Williams on 01-21-12
By: Wally Lamb
-
The Other Side of Paradise
- A Memoir
- By: Staceyann Chin
- Narrated by: Staceyann Chin
- Length: 9 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 194
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 179
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 176
Stacyann Chin has appeared on television and radio, including The Oprah Winfrey Show , CNN, and PBS, discussing issues of race and sexuality. But it is her extraordinary voice that launched her career as a performer, poet, and activist. Here, she shares her unforgettable story of triumph against all odds in this brave and fiercely candid memoir.
No one knew Staceyann's mother was pregnant until a dangerously small baby was born on the floor of her grandmother's house in Jamaica, on Christmas Day.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Incredible life, incredible performer
- By RyRy on 10-21-19
By: Staceyann Chin
-
How to Be an American Housewife
- A Novel
- By: Margaret Dilloway
- Narrated by: Laural Merlington, Emily Durante
- Length: 7 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 238
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 196
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 197
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.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
big disappointment
- By Kirsten on 04-12-12
-
Chanel Bonfire
- By: Wendy Lawless
- Narrated by: Wendy Lawless
- Length: 6 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 69
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 61
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 63
By the time Wendy Lawless turned 17, she'd known for quite some time that she didn't have a normal mother. But that didn't stop her from wanting one.... Georgann Rea didn't bake cookies or go to PTA meetings; she wore a mink coat and always had a lit Dunhill plugged into her cigarette holder. She went through men like Kleenex, and didn't like dogs or children. Georgann had the ice queen beauty of a Hitchcock heroine and the cold heart to match.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Not an Engaging Listen
- By Sobriquet on 03-13-13
By: Wendy Lawless
-
Tiger, Tiger
- A Memoir
- By: Margaux Fragoso
- Narrated by: Susan Bennett
- Length: 12 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 233
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 200
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 200
One summer day, Margaux Fragoso meets Peter Curran at the neighborhood swimming pool, and they begin to play. She is seven; he is 51. When Peter invites her and her mother to his house, the little girl finds a child’s paradise of exotic pets and an elaborate backyard garden. Her mother, beset by mental illness and overwhelmed by caring for Margaux, is grateful for the attention Peter lavishes on her, and he creates an imaginative universe for her, much as Lewis Carroll did for his real-life Alice.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
a weirdly loving diatribe against pervs.
- By Dane Flakeman on 05-21-11
By: Margaux Fragoso
-
Orange Mint and Honey
- By: Carleen Brice
- Narrated by: Cherise Booth
- Length: 8 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 43
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 35
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 34
After grad school, Shay Dixon feels like she's had enough for awhile. Inspired by her spiritual adviser - a soul-soothing blues player named Nina Simon - Shay calls her estranged mother Nona for the first time in years, and shocks herself by asking if it would be okay to come home for a while.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
One For The Money
- By DiaRose on 09-25-17
By: Carleen Brice
-
She's Come Undone
- By: Wally Lamb
- Narrated by: Linda Stephens
- Length: 18 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2,090
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,818
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,834
Meet Dolores Price. She's 13, wise-mouthed but wounded, having bid her childhood goodbye. Beached like a whale in front of her bedroom TV, she spends the next few years nourishing herself with the Mallomars, potato chips, and Pepsi her anxious mother supplies. When she finally rolls into young womanhood at 257 pounds, Dolores is no stronger and life is no kinder. But this time she's determined to rise to the occasion and give herself one more chance before really going belly-up.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Really disappointing narrator!
- By Jessica Williams on 01-21-12
By: Wally Lamb
-
The Other Side of Paradise
- A Memoir
- By: Staceyann Chin
- Narrated by: Staceyann Chin
- Length: 9 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 194
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 179
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 176
Stacyann Chin has appeared on television and radio, including The Oprah Winfrey Show , CNN, and PBS, discussing issues of race and sexuality. But it is her extraordinary voice that launched her career as a performer, poet, and activist. Here, she shares her unforgettable story of triumph against all odds in this brave and fiercely candid memoir.
No one knew Staceyann's mother was pregnant until a dangerously small baby was born on the floor of her grandmother's house in Jamaica, on Christmas Day.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Incredible life, incredible performer
- By RyRy on 10-21-19
By: Staceyann Chin
-
How to Be an American Housewife
- A Novel
- By: Margaret Dilloway
- Narrated by: Laural Merlington, Emily Durante
- Length: 7 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 238
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 196
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 197
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.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
big disappointment
- By Kirsten on 04-12-12
-
Darling Days
- A Memoir
- By: iO Tillett Wright
- Narrated by: iO Tillett Wright
- Length: 10 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 409
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 377
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 373
Born into the beautiful bedlam of downtown New York in the eighties, iO Tillett Wright came of age at the intersection of punk, poverty, heroin, and art. This was a world of self-invented characters, glamorous superstars, and strung-out sufferers, ground zero of drag and performance art. Still, no personality was more vibrant and formidable than iO's mother's. Rhonna, a showgirl and young widow, was a mercurial, erratic glamazon. She was iO's fiercest defender and only authority in a world with few boundaries and even fewer indicators of normal life.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Can’t wait for more from this Author!
- By Team Hobson on 07-24-19
-
Trading Dreams at Midnight
- By: Diane McKinney-Whetstone
- Narrated by: Shari Peele
- Length: 10 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 37
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 26
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 25
Diane McKinney-Whetstone, the award-winning and best-selling author of Tumbling, presents Trading Dreams at Midnight - - an Essence Book Club Recommended Read. Back in 1984, 15-year-old Neena's mother left and never came back. And now Neena is following in her footsteps.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Hard to follow
- By Nevada on 08-13-10
-
Disgruntled
- By: Asali Solomon
- Narrated by: Bahni Turpin
- Length: 9 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 65
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 56
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 59
Kenya Curtis is only eight years old, but she knows that she's different, even if she can't put her finger on how or why. It's not because she's black - most of the other students in the fourth-grade class at her West Philadelphia elementary school are, too. Maybe it's because she calls her father - a housepainter-slash-philosopher - "Baba" or because her parents' friends gather to pour out libations "from the Creator, for the Martyrs" and discuss "the community".
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Loved It!!!
- By ayodele higgs on 05-20-15
By: Asali Solomon
-
Caramelo
- By: Sandra Cisneros
- Narrated by: Sandra Cisneros
- Length: 15 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 78
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 65
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 64
Lala Reyes’ grandmother is descended from a family of renowned rebozo, or shawl-makers. The striped (caramelo) is the most beautiful of all, and the one that makes its way, like the family history it has come to represent, into Lala’s possession. The novel opens with the Reyes’ annual car trip - a caravan overflowing with children, laughter, and quarrels - from Chicago to “the other side”, Mexico City. It is there, each year, that Lala hears her family’s stories, separating the truth from the “healthy lies” that have ricocheted from one generation to the next.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Love, family, history, and fantasy, Caramelo
- By Michele on 08-07-20
By: Sandra Cisneros
-
The Star Side of Bird Hill
- By: Naomi Jackson
- Narrated by: Robin Miles
- Length: 7 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 90
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 82
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 82
Two sisters, ages 10 and 16, are exiled from Brooklyn to Bird Hill in Barbados, after their mother can no longer care for them. The young Phaedra and her older sister, Dionne, live, for the summer of 1989, with their grandmother, Hyacinth, a midwife and practitioner of the local spiritual practice of obeah. Dionne spends the summer in search of love, testing her grandmother's limits, and wanting to go home. Phaedra explores Bird Hill, where her family has lived for generations.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
My absolute favorite book of all time
- By Eme on 07-16-15
By: Naomi Jackson
-
Homesick for Another World
- Stories
- By: Ottessa Moshfegh
- Narrated by: Alyssa Bresnahan, Richard Poe
- Length: 8 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 299
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 265
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 265
There's something eerily unsettling about Ottessa Moshfegh's stories, something almost dangerous, while also being delightful and even laugh-out-loud funny. Her characters are all unsteady on their feet in one way or another; they all yearn for connection and betterment, though each in very different ways, but they are often tripped up by their own baser impulses and existential insecurities.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Funny, Dynamic Writing
- By Sofia Macht on 06-13-18
By: Ottessa Moshfegh
-
She Got Up Off the Couch
- By: Haven Kimmel
- Narrated by: Haven Kimmel
- Length: 8 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 274
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 186
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 187
When we last saw Zippy, she was oblivious to the storm that was brewing in her home. Her mother, Delonda, had literally just gotten up off the couch and ridden her rickety bicycle down the road. Her dad was off somewhere, gambling or "working." And Zippy was lost in her own fabulous world of exploring the fringes of Moorland, Indiana.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Great fun !!
- By Kim on 04-20-11
By: Haven Kimmel
-
Children Playing Before a Statue of Hercules (Unabridged Selections)
- By: Edited by David Sedaris
- Narrated by: David Sedaris, Mary-Louise Parker, Cherry Jones
- Length: 2 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 359
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 216
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 217
Children Playing Before a Statue of Hercules is a collection of short stories, some classic, others impending, selected and introduced by David Sedaris.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Great stories but only 5 of 17 are included
- By Terri Kirk on 07-13-12
-
American Street
- By: Ibi Zoboi
- Narrated by: Robin Miles
- Length: 8 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 796
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 709
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 712
On the corner of American Street and Joy Road, Fabiola Toussaint thought she would finally find une belle vie - a good life. But after they leave Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Fabiola's mother is detained by US immigration, leaving Fabiola to navigate her loud American cousins - Chantal, Donna, and Princess - the grittiness of Detroit's West Side, a new school, and a surprising romance all on her own.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A lot to unpack
- By AudioBookHoe on 07-18-17
By: Ibi Zoboi
-
True Stories from an Unreliable Eyewitness
- A Feminist Coming of Age
- By: Christine Lahti
- Narrated by: Christine Lahti
- Length: 5 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 33
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 32
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 31
For decades, actress and director Christine Lahti has captivated the hearts and minds of her audience through iconic roles in Chicago Hope, Running on Empty, Housekeeping, And Justice for All, Swing Shift, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, God of Carnage, and The Blacklist. Now, in True Stories from an Unreliable Eyewitness, this acclaimed performer channels her creativity inward to share her own story for the first time.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Christine Lahti, Actress, Activist and A+ Author!
- By L. Cat Schultz on 10-26-18
By: Christine Lahti
-
Lifted by the Great Nothing
- By: Karim Dimechkie
- Narrated by: Neil Shah
- Length: 8 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 48
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 46
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 46
Max doesn't remember his mother, who was murdered by burglars before they emigrated from Beirut to New Jersey. He lives with his father, Rasheed, who is enamored of his concept of American culture - baseball and barbeques - and tries to shed his Lebanese heritage completely.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Excellent
- By Cheyenne on 06-13-15
By: Karim Dimechkie
-
Boy, Snow, Bird
- By: Helen Oyeyemi
- Narrated by: Susan Bennett, Carra Patterson
- Length: 9 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 647
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 576
-
Story3.5 out of 5 stars 580
In the winter of 1953, Boy Novak arrives by chance in a small town in Massachusetts, looking, she believes, for beauty - the opposite of the life she' s left behind in New York. She marries a local widower and becomes stepmother to his winsome daughter, Snow Whitman. A wicked stepmother is a creature Boy never imagined she' d become, but elements of the familiar tale of aesthetic obsession begin to play themselves out when the birth of Boy' s daughter, Bird, who is dark-skinned, exposes the Whitmans as light-skinned African Americans passing for white.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
For Literary Lovers
- By M. Shipe on 04-25-14
By: Helen Oyeyemi
What listeners say about Becoming Maria: Love and Chaos in the South Bronx
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
- Jose Barillas
- 04-15-20
The book listener
I liked the book it really spoke to me and I really liked the performance my name is Maria I really like the fact that you played a character named Maria on Sesame Street overall it was really really well done
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Gregory Gonzalez
- 12-25-20
Amazing
This is the greatest performance by a narrator in all my years listening to Audible and the narration is so powerful it almost takes over the story, but it can’t because it is Sonia Manzano herself. I loved it. I’m convinced now that not only is “Maria from Sesame Street” a national treasure, but the real Sonia Manzon is a Universal treasure.
I listened to this will quarantining with covid. I was looking back for comfort snd thought, “Why not listen to the story of that kindly Latina woman that made me feel so comfortable as a child.” I was a Latino boy from the Bronx trying to sound his syllables correctly and watching her. Now I’m a lawyer looking for inspiration and listening to her amazing story told with wit and daring. Thank you Sonia for this book and for all those childhood memories.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Ivette Wright
- 01-11-23
Fantastic!
I absolutely love it when the auto-biography is read by the actual person, it makes everything so much livelier. You hear her personality come through. She was so candid and some parts a bit traumatic yet she spoke about them as to say “this was my life”. I pray she was able to break the cycle.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 01-12-23
Wonderful!
Well written, so much fun to hear the story of someone I've seen on TV since I was 2, and who grew up in the same part of the Bronx I did. I'm looking forward to more books from this author!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall3 out of 5 stars
-
Performance1 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Ginny Hannan
- 01-05-23
different narrator needed
I have heard so many great things about this book. I also grew up loving Sonia on TV. However, I couldn't make it past 5 minutes into the audible version because she sounded like she was yelling. I plan to read the print version though.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!