Normal
A Mother and Her Beautiful Son
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
$0.99/mo for the first 3 months
Prime members: New to Audible? Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Normal
Buy for $22.49
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Ellen Archer
-
Matt Gumley
About this listen
A moving memoir from the mother of a child with Treacher Collins Syndrome, with a foreword by R.J. Palacio, author of Wonder
For Magda Newman, normal was a goal—she wanted her son Nathaniel to be able to play on the playground, swim at the beach, enjoy the moments of childhood that are often taken for granted. But Nathaniel's severe Treacher Collins syndrome—a craniofacial condition—meant that other concerns came first. Could he eat without the aid of a gastrointestinal tube? Could he hear? Would he ever be able to breathe effortlessly?
In this moving memoir, Newman, with the help of her son, tells the story of raising Nathaniel, from the shock she and her husband faced when he was born, to the inspiration of Nathaniel's own strength and quirky humor. All this while also facing both non-Hodgkins and Hodgkins lymphoma diagnoses of her own. This uplifting story of a family tackling complex and terrifying circumstances with love and resilience is a true testament to Magda and her family, and to families everywhere who quietly but courageously persist.
©2020 Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (P)2020 Houghton Mifflin HarcourtListeners also enjoyed...
-
The In-Between
- Unforgettable Encounters During Life's Final Moments
- By: Hadley Vlahos R.N.
- Narrated by: Hadley Vlahos R.N.
- Length: 7 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 3,411
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 3,230
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 3,230
Talking about death and dying is considered taboo in polite company, and even in the medical field. Our ideas about dying are confusing at best: Will our memories flash before our eyes? Regrets consume our thoughts? Does a bright light appear at the end of a tunnel? For most people, it will be a slower process, one eased with preparedness, good humor, and a bit of faith. At the forefront of changing attitudes around palliative care is hospice nurse Hadley Vlahos, who shows that end-of-life care can teach us just as much about how to live as it does about how we die.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Author's Reach is Beyond Her Grasp
- By CW on 07-26-23
-
While You Were Out
- An Intimate Family Portrait of Mental Illness in an Era of Silence
- By: Meg Kissinger
- Narrated by: Meg Kissinger
- Length: 11 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 267
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 249
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 249
Growing up in the 1960s in the suburbs of Chicago, Meg Kissinger’s family seemed to live a charmed life. With eight kids and two loving parents, the Kissingers radiated a warm, boisterous energy. Whether they were spending summer days on the shores of Lake Michigan, barreling down the ski slopes, or navigating the trials of their Catholic school, the Kissingers always knew how to live large and play hard. But behind closed doors, a harsher reality was unfolding.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Thoughtful and mindful
- By James Thomas McIntyre on 09-11-23
By: Meg Kissinger
-
Birdie & Harlow
- Life, Loss, and Loving My Dog So Much I Didn’t Want Kids (…Until I Did)
- By: Taylor Wolfe
- Narrated by: Taylor Wolfe
- Length: 7 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 282
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 276
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 276
Meant to be a last-minute anniversary gift for her then boyfriend (and now husband), the highly energetic and loud-mouthed Vizla puppy named Harlow turns out to be the best snap decision twenty-year-old Taylor ever makes—and the beginning of the most epic friendship she ever has. As Wolfe’s resistance to 9-5’s and traditional adulthood grows, Harlow becomes the perfect companion for her eccentricities in a world that thrives on conformity.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
So special
- By Anonymous User on 10-10-23
By: Taylor Wolfe
-
When Life Gives You Pears
- The Healing Power of Family, Faith, and Funny People
- By: Jeannie Gaffigan
- Narrated by: Liz Noth, Jeannie Gaffigan, Jim Gaffigan
- Length: 8 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 1,241
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 1,087
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 1,082
In an audiobook that is The Big Sick meets Dad Is Fat, Jeannie Gaffigan, writer/director/producer/accused supermom and wife of best-selling author/comedian Jim Gaffigan, writes with humor and heart about the pear-sized brain tumor she had removed, the toll it took on her enormous family, and the priceless lessons she learned along the way.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Thanks God for reminding me who is in control
- By C. A. Pierson on 10-17-19
By: Jeannie Gaffigan
-
Between Two Kingdoms
- A Memoir of a Life Interrupted
- By: Suleika Jaouad
- Narrated by: Suleika Jaouad
- Length: 13 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 4,053
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 3,612
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 3,588
In the summer after graduating from college, Suleika Jaouad was preparing, as they say in commencement speeches, to enter “the real world”. She had fallen in love and moved to Paris to pursue her dream of becoming a war correspondent. The real world she found, however, would take her into a very different kind of conflict zone. It started with an itch - first on her feet, then up her legs, like a thousand invisible mosquito bites. Then a trip to the doctor and, a few weeks shy of her 23rd birthday, a diagnosis: leukemia, with a 35 percent chance of survival.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
This was painful.
- By Meredith Nutrition on 07-31-22
By: Suleika Jaouad
-
Finding Chika
- A Little Girl, an Earthquake, and the Making of a Family
- By: Mitch Albom
- Narrated by: Mitch Albom
- Length: 4 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 2,065
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 1,791
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 1,783
Chika Jeune was born three days before the devastating earthquake that decimated Haiti in 2010. She spent her infancy in a landscape of extreme poverty, and when her mother died giving birth to a baby brother, Chika was brought to The Have Faith Haiti Orphanage that Albom operates in Port Au Prince. With no children of their own, the 40-plus children who live, play, and go to school at the orphanage have become family to Mitch and his wife, Janine. But at age five, Chika is suddenly diagnosed with something a doctor there says "no one in Haiti can help you with."
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
BUY READ AND RECOMMEND THIS BOOK
- By The Birds. on 11-05-19
By: Mitch Albom
-
The In-Between
- Unforgettable Encounters During Life's Final Moments
- By: Hadley Vlahos R.N.
- Narrated by: Hadley Vlahos R.N.
- Length: 7 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 3,411
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 3,230
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 3,230
Talking about death and dying is considered taboo in polite company, and even in the medical field. Our ideas about dying are confusing at best: Will our memories flash before our eyes? Regrets consume our thoughts? Does a bright light appear at the end of a tunnel? For most people, it will be a slower process, one eased with preparedness, good humor, and a bit of faith. At the forefront of changing attitudes around palliative care is hospice nurse Hadley Vlahos, who shows that end-of-life care can teach us just as much about how to live as it does about how we die.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Author's Reach is Beyond Her Grasp
- By CW on 07-26-23
-
While You Were Out
- An Intimate Family Portrait of Mental Illness in an Era of Silence
- By: Meg Kissinger
- Narrated by: Meg Kissinger
- Length: 11 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 267
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 249
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 249
Growing up in the 1960s in the suburbs of Chicago, Meg Kissinger’s family seemed to live a charmed life. With eight kids and two loving parents, the Kissingers radiated a warm, boisterous energy. Whether they were spending summer days on the shores of Lake Michigan, barreling down the ski slopes, or navigating the trials of their Catholic school, the Kissingers always knew how to live large and play hard. But behind closed doors, a harsher reality was unfolding.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Thoughtful and mindful
- By James Thomas McIntyre on 09-11-23
By: Meg Kissinger
-
Birdie & Harlow
- Life, Loss, and Loving My Dog So Much I Didn’t Want Kids (…Until I Did)
- By: Taylor Wolfe
- Narrated by: Taylor Wolfe
- Length: 7 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 282
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 276
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 276
Meant to be a last-minute anniversary gift for her then boyfriend (and now husband), the highly energetic and loud-mouthed Vizla puppy named Harlow turns out to be the best snap decision twenty-year-old Taylor ever makes—and the beginning of the most epic friendship she ever has. As Wolfe’s resistance to 9-5’s and traditional adulthood grows, Harlow becomes the perfect companion for her eccentricities in a world that thrives on conformity.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
So special
- By Anonymous User on 10-10-23
By: Taylor Wolfe
-
When Life Gives You Pears
- The Healing Power of Family, Faith, and Funny People
- By: Jeannie Gaffigan
- Narrated by: Liz Noth, Jeannie Gaffigan, Jim Gaffigan
- Length: 8 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 1,241
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 1,087
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 1,082
In an audiobook that is The Big Sick meets Dad Is Fat, Jeannie Gaffigan, writer/director/producer/accused supermom and wife of best-selling author/comedian Jim Gaffigan, writes with humor and heart about the pear-sized brain tumor she had removed, the toll it took on her enormous family, and the priceless lessons she learned along the way.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Thanks God for reminding me who is in control
- By C. A. Pierson on 10-17-19
By: Jeannie Gaffigan
-
Between Two Kingdoms
- A Memoir of a Life Interrupted
- By: Suleika Jaouad
- Narrated by: Suleika Jaouad
- Length: 13 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 4,053
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 3,612
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 3,588
In the summer after graduating from college, Suleika Jaouad was preparing, as they say in commencement speeches, to enter “the real world”. She had fallen in love and moved to Paris to pursue her dream of becoming a war correspondent. The real world she found, however, would take her into a very different kind of conflict zone. It started with an itch - first on her feet, then up her legs, like a thousand invisible mosquito bites. Then a trip to the doctor and, a few weeks shy of her 23rd birthday, a diagnosis: leukemia, with a 35 percent chance of survival.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
This was painful.
- By Meredith Nutrition on 07-31-22
By: Suleika Jaouad
-
Finding Chika
- A Little Girl, an Earthquake, and the Making of a Family
- By: Mitch Albom
- Narrated by: Mitch Albom
- Length: 4 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 2,065
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 1,791
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 1,783
Chika Jeune was born three days before the devastating earthquake that decimated Haiti in 2010. She spent her infancy in a landscape of extreme poverty, and when her mother died giving birth to a baby brother, Chika was brought to The Have Faith Haiti Orphanage that Albom operates in Port Au Prince. With no children of their own, the 40-plus children who live, play, and go to school at the orphanage have become family to Mitch and his wife, Janine. But at age five, Chika is suddenly diagnosed with something a doctor there says "no one in Haiti can help you with."
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
BUY READ AND RECOMMEND THIS BOOK
- By The Birds. on 11-05-19
By: Mitch Albom
-
Tell Me Everything
- A Memoir
- By: Minka Kelly
- Narrated by: Minka Kelly
- Length: 8 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 1,158
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 1,083
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 1,083
Fans know her as the spoiled, rich cheerleader Lyla Garrity on Friday Night Lights or as the affluent, mysterious Samantha on the HBO megahit Euphoria. But as revealed for the first time in this book, Minka Kelly’s life has been anything but easy. Raised by a single mother who worked as a stripper and struggled with addiction, Minka spent years waking up in strange apartments as she and her mom bounced around the country, relying on friends and relatives to take them in. Now an established actress and philanthropist, Minka takes this next step in her career as a writer.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Had me until the white privileged and cis comments
- By Rachel Gilbert on 06-02-23
By: Minka Kelly
-
True Grit and Grace
- Turning Tragedy into Triumph
- By: Amberly Lago
- Narrated by: Amberly Lago
- Length: 4 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 33
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 32
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 32
True Grit and Grace tells the story of a woman's life forever altered by a horrific motorcycle accident that shattered her right leg. Despite the initial recommendation to amputate, she endured 34 surgeries to save it. However, as a sexual-abuse and divorce survivor, she determined to save not only her leg, but her career, her dreams, and her dignity.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Amazing!!
- By Аmazon Customer on 08-06-23
By: Amberly Lago
-
Life's That Way
- By: Jim Beaver
- Narrated by: Jim Beaver
- Length: 10 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 79
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 66
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 66
Actor Jim Beaver (Supernatural, Deadwood, Justified) and his wife Cecily Adams (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine's Moogie) were at the peaks of their careers and happily raising a beautiful two-year old daughter, Madeline. Then tragedy struck, not once, but twice. What followed was laid down by Jim in a moving, poignant, and uplifting journal of the following year, a year filled with heartbreak as well as enormous gifts and invaluable lessons, not just for Jim and his family but for listeners who traveled along with him on his journey.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
worth it
- By kelly on 10-04-19
By: Jim Beaver
-
Live Your Life
- My Story of Loving and Losing Nick Cordero
- By: Amanda Kloots, Anna Kloots
- Narrated by: Amanda Kloots
- Length: 10 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 1,480
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 1,340
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 1,338
Amanda Kloots bravely reflects on love, loss, and life with her husband, Broadway star, and Tony Award nominee Nick Cordero, whose public battle with COVID-19 and tragic death made headlines around the world.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Beautiful, sweet, heartbreaking
- By brisbh on 06-19-21
By: Amanda Kloots, and others
-
Love Without Borders
- How Bold Faith Opens the Door to Embracing the Unexpected
- By: Angela Braniff
- Narrated by: Angela Braniff
- Length: 4 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 792
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 705
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 704
From the founder of This Gathered Nest YouTube channel, an uplifting story of Angela Braniff’s unusual path to becoming the mother to seven children through various methods of adoption and biological approaches, encouraging women and mothers to embrace the unique purpose that God has put in their lives.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
I Wanted To Love This...
- By Rachel T. on 04-29-20
By: Angela Braniff
-
A Heart That Works
- By: Rob Delaney
- Narrated by: Rob Delaney
- Length: 3 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 1,063
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 972
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 969
In 2016, Rob Delaney’s one-year-old son, Henry, was diagnosed with a brain tumor. The family had moved from Los Angeles to London with their two young boys when Rob’s wife was pregnant with Henry, their third. The move was an adventure that would bind them even more tightly together as they navigated the novelty of London, the culture clashes, and the funhouse experience of Rob’s fame—thanks to his role as co-creator and co-star of the hit series Catastrophe. Henry’s illness was a cataclysm that changed everything about their lives.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Outstanding
- By michelle pollock on 12-08-22
By: Rob Delaney
-
The Beauty of Living Twice
- By: Sharon Stone
- Narrated by: Sharon Stone
- Length: 7 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,053
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 915
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 909
Sharon Stone, one of the most renowned actresses in the world, suffered a massive stroke that cost her not only her health, but her career, family, fortune, and global fame. In The Beauty of Living Twice, Stone chronicles her efforts to rebuild her life and writes about her slow road back to wholeness and health. In a business that doesn’t accept failure, in a world where too many voices are silenced, Stone found the power to return, the courage to speak up, and the will to make a difference in the lives of men, women, and children around the globe.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Change after a close encounter with Death
- By Maktoum Saeed Al-Maktoum on 04-04-21
By: Sharon Stone
-
It Was an Ugly Couch Anyway
- And Other Thoughts on Moving Forward
- By: Elizabeth Passarella
- Narrated by: Elizabeth Passarellla
- Length: 7 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 51
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 45
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 45
We've all had to make decisions in our lives about what to keep and what to toss—habits, attitudes, friends, even homes. In this new collection of essays, Elizabeth Passarella explores the ups and downs of moving forward—both emotionally and logistically—with her welcome candor and sense of humor that listeners have come to love. It Was an Ugly Couch Anyway will make listeners laugh, cry, and feel a little less alone as they navigate their own lives that are filled with uncertainty, change, and things beyond their control.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Amazing Read/Listen
- By Amy Bullins on 06-15-23
-
Where the Light Enters
- Building a Family, Discovering Myself
- By: Jill Biden
- Narrated by: Jill Biden
- Length: 6 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 994
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 860
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 855
"How did you get this number?" Those were the first words Jill Biden spoke to US senator Joe Biden when he called her out of the blue to ask her on a date. Growing up, Jill had wanted two things: a marriage like her parents' - strong, loving, and full of laughter - and a career. An early heartbreak had left her uncertain about love until she met Joe. But as they grew closer, Jill faced difficult questions: How would politics shape her family and professional life? And was she ready to become a mother to Joe's two young sons?
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Wonderfully Jill
- By AmazonUserInNYC on 05-07-19
By: Jill Biden
-
Better
- How I Let Go of Control, Held on to Hope, and Found Joy in My Darkest Hour
- By: Amy Robach
- Narrated by: Amy Robach
- Length: 7 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 131
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 116
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 115
"I have breast cancer." When Good Morning America anchor Amy Robach revealed her shocking diagnosis on live television in November 2013, the seasoned news reporter embarked on the most difficult and illuminating journey of her life. In this intimate memoir, she retraces the 12 months following her announcement and speaks candidly, for the first time, about how her illness affected her family life and her marriage, tapped in to her deepest fears and strengths, and transformed her in ways she never could have imagined.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Read this book!
- By sonyabegonia on 10-16-15
By: Amy Robach
-
Enough
- Notes from a Woman Who Has Finally Found It
- By: Shauna M. Ahern
- Narrated by: Shauna M. Ahern
- Length: 5 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 72
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 68
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 68
Like so many American women, Shauna M. Ahern spent decades feeling not good enough about her body, about money, and about her worth in this culture. For a decade, with the help of her husband, she ran a successful food blog, wrote award-winning cookbooks, and raised two children. In the midst of this, at age 48, she suffered a mini-stroke. Tests revealed she would recover fully, but when her doctor impressed upon her that emotional stress can cause physical damage, she dove deep inside herself to understand and let go of a lifetime of damaging patterns of thought.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
So far best book of 2020
- By CuzImHappy on 02-11-20
By: Shauna M. Ahern
-
Messenger
- The Legacy of Mattie J. T. Stepanek and Heartsongs
- By: Jeni Stepanek
- Narrated by: Jeni Stepanek
- Length: 11 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 26
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 21
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 19
Oprah Winfrey has called him an inspiration, Maya Angelou saw him as a kindred spirit and fellow poet, and Jimmy Carter described Mattie Stepanek as the "most remarkable person I have ever known". When Jerry Lewis received his lifetime achievement award at the Oscars, footage of Mattie played behind him. Five years after his death from a rare neuromuscular disease, Mattie is still being celebrated for his indomitable spirit and message of hope.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Loved Jeni telling Mattie’s story
- By Hello Mrs. on 12-29-22
By: Jeni Stepanek
What listeners say about Normal
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
- Amazon Customer
- 02-08-20
Beautiful
I have no word to say how much I loved that audio book. What an inspiration of courage and strength. It also helped me appreciate every little things I have and shew me the great impact we have when we choose kindness and tolerance.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!