Reaching Out
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Reaching Out
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Narrated by:
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Adrian Vargas
About this listen
From the perspective of the young adult he was then, Francisco Jiménez describes the challenges he faced in his efforts to continue his education. During his college years, the very family solidarity that allowed Francisco to survive as a child is tested. Not only must he leave his family behind when he goes to Santa Clara University, but while Francisco is there, his father abandons the family and returns to Mexico.
This is the story of how Francisco coped with poverty, with his guilt over leaving his family financially strapped, with his self-doubt about succeeding academically, and with separation. Once again his telling is honest, true, and inspiring.
©2008 Francisco Jimenez (P)2009 Audible, Inc.Listeners also enjoyed...
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By: C. Nicole Mason
-
The Circuit
- By: Francisco Jiménez
- Narrated by: Adrian Vargas
- Length: 2 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 245
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 183
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 186
Beautifully and authentically rendered by actor and playwright Adrian Vargas, these twelve stories tell of the almost unendurable journey most migrant campesinos undertake to find the "American Dream."
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5 out of 5 stars
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Short Stories Masterpiece
- By LifeLearner on 02-02-20
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Rats Saw God
- By: Rob Thomas
- Narrated by: Johnny Heller
- Length: 6 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 42
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 34
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 34
By his senior year, Steve York has come through the worst two years of his life. His parents have divorced, and his girlfriend has betrayed him. Worse yet, after running away to live with his mother in San Diego, forays into the drug culture have turned his A-average into a thing of the past. Steve's only hope to graduate on time and avoid summer school is to write a 100-page paper for his guidance counselor. Unfortunately, he has to write about something he knows, and all he knows well are the last two years of his life.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Real
- By Mary on 06-26-09
By: Rob Thomas
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City of Spies
- By: Sorayya Khan
- Narrated by: Soneela Nankani
- Length: 9 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 33
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 27
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 27
Eleven-year-old Aliya Shah lives a double life in Islamabad, Pakistan - at home with her Pakistani father and Dutch mother, and at the American School, where Aliya tries to downplay that she is a "half-and-half." But when a hit-and-run driver kills the son of the family's servant, Sadiq, who is also Aliya's dear friend, her world is turned upside down. After she discovers the truth behind the tragedy - a terrible secret that burdens her heart - her conflicted loyalties are tested as never before.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Beautifully written and narrated
- By Wayne on 11-05-17
By: Sorayya Khan
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Fairyland
- A Memoir of My Father
- By: Alysia Abbott
- Narrated by: Alysia Abbott
- Length: 10 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 122
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 110
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 109
A beautiful, vibrant memoir about growing up motherless in 1970s and 80s San Francisco with an openly gay father. After his wife dies in a car accident, bisexual writer and activist Steve Abbott moves with his two-year-old daughter to San Francisco. There they discover a city in the midst of revolution, bustling with gay men in search of liberation - few of whom are raising a child. Steve throws himself into San Francisco's vibrant cultural scene.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Great representation of the time
- By AvidReader22 on 06-07-19
By: Alysia Abbott
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Breaking Night
- A Memoir of Forgiveness, Survival, and My Journey from Homeless to Harvard
- By: Liz Murray
- Narrated by: Liz Murray
- Length: 14 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 910
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 813
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 812
Liz Murray was born to loving but drug-addicted parents in the Bronx. In school she was taunted for her dirty clothing and lice-infested hair, eventually skipping so many classes that she was put into a girls' home. At age 15, Liz found herself on the streets when her family finally unraveled. She learned to scrape by, foraging for food and riding subways all night to have a warm place to sleep. Then, when Liz's mother died of AIDS, she decided to take control of her own destiny.
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5 out of 5 stars
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unbelievably inspiring
- By Amazon Customer on 03-17-12
By: Liz Murray
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Murder of a Small-Town Honey
- A Scumble River Mystery, Book 1
- By: Denise Swanson
- Narrated by: Christine Leto
- Length: 7 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 718
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 638
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Story4 out of 5 stars 639
When Skye Denison left Scumble River years ago, she swore she'd never return. But after a bout with her boyfriend and credit card rejection, she's back to home sweet - homicide....
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2 out of 5 stars
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unacceptable production
- By Music Lover on 06-28-13
By: Denise Swanson
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Dreams from My Father
- A Story of Race and Inheritance
- By: Barack Obama
- Narrated by: Barack Obama
- Length: 14 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 566
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 489
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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.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Powerful
- By Gene R. on 10-26-21
By: Barack Obama
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In the Country
- Stories
- By: Mia Alvar
- Narrated by: Nancy Wu, Don Castro
- Length: 13 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 58
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 53
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Story4 out of 5 stars 55
These nine globe-trotting, unforgettable stories from Mia Alvar, a remarkable new literary talent, vividly give voice to the women and men of the Filipino diaspora. Here are exiles, emigrants, and wanderers uprooting their families from the Philippines to begin new lives in the Middle East, the United States, and elsewhere - and sometimes turning back again.
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5 out of 5 stars
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My introduction to Filipino literature and culture
- By Amazon Customer on 03-28-16
By: Mia Alvar
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A Chance in the World
- An Orphan Boy, a Mysterious Past, and How He Found a Place Called Home
- By: Steve Pemberton
- Narrated by: Steve Pemberton
- Length: 8 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 159
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 139
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Story5 out of 5 stars 137
A Chance in the World is the unbelievably true story of a wounded and broken boy destined to become a man of resilience, determination, and vision. Through it all, Steve's story teaches us that no matter how broken our past, no matter how great our misfortunes, we have it in us to create a new beginning and to build a place where love awaits.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Good Book
- By Amazon Customer on 08-19-20
By: Steve Pemberton
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Finding Fish
- A Memoir
- By: Antwone Q. Fisher
- Narrated by: Thomas Penny
- Length: 12 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 98
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 89
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Story5 out of 5 stars 87
Baby Boy Fisher was raised in institutions from the moment of his birth in prison to a single mother. He ultimately came to live with a foster family, where he endured near-constant verbal and physical abuse. In his midteens he escaped and enlisted in the navy, where he became a man of the world, raised by the family he created for himself. Finding Fish shows how, out of this unlikely mix of deprivation and hope, an artist was born.
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5 out of 5 stars
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This book will not disappoint you.
- By Joseph on 10-16-16
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The UnAmericans
- Stories
- By: Molly Antopol
- Narrated by: Jennifer Van Dyck
- Length: 7 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 124
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 111
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Story4 out of 5 stars 111
Again and again, Molly Antopol’s deeply sympathetic characters struggle for footing in an uncertain world, hounded by forces beyond their control. Their voices are intimate and powerful and they resonate with searing beauty. Antopol is a superb young talent, and The UnAmericans will long be remembered for its wit, humanity, and heart.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Sensational stories! Brilliant new author.
- By MidwestGeek on 05-04-14
By: Molly Antopol
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Undocumented
- A Dominican Boy’s Odyssey from a Homeless Shelter to the Ivy League
- By: Dan-el Padilla Peralta
- Narrated by: Dan-el Padilla Peralta
- Length: 8 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 430
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 388
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 387
Dan-el Padilla Peralta has lived the American dream. As a boy he came here legally with his family. Together they left Santo Domingo behind, but life in New York City was harder than they imagined. Their visas lapsed, and Dan-el's father returned home. But Dan-el's courageous mother was determined to make a better life for her bright sons. Undocumented is a classic story of the triumph of the human spirit. It also is the perfect cri de coeur for the debate on comprehensive immigration reform.
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5 out of 5 stars
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A must read, but
- By Louise de Marillac on 10-10-15
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The Great Failure
- A Bartender, a Monk, and My Unlikely Path to Truth
- By: Natalie Goldberg
- Narrated by: Natalie Goldberg
- Length: 6 hrs and 46 mins
- Original Recording
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 31
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 24
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Story5 out of 5 stars 23
"The Great Failure is a boundless embrace, leaving nothing out. I wanted to learn the truth, to become whole. If I could touch the dark nature in someone else, I could know it in myself." So begins Natalie Goldberg in this candid exploration of her life. Here, Goldberg makes sense of primary relationships between father and daughter, teacher and student, and exemplifies the accomplishment available when creating daily writing practices.
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5 out of 5 stars
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If you have been let down by anyone. Listen
- By Mia on 04-19-18
By: Natalie Goldberg
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The Girl from the Train
- By: Irma Joubert
- Narrated by: Sarah Zimmerman
- Length: 11 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,002
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 911
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 913
Six-year-old Gretl Schmidt is on a train bound for Auschwitz. Jakób Kowalski is planting a bomb on the tracks. As World War II draws to a close, Jakób fights with the Polish resistance against the crushing forces of Germany and Russia. They mean to destroy a German troop transport, but Gretl's unscheduled train reaches the bomb first. Gretl is the only survivor.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Excellent story covering the middle of the 20th C.
- By john on 04-12-16
By: Irma Joubert
What listeners say about Reaching Out
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 05-25-23
Reaction to Reaching Out
What a privilege to read the works of Francisco Jimenez and share his life experiences. The reader can learn things about country that can realized no other tan in a life’s journey story form. Also, good for acquiring a little Spanish.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Ruben Dario Villa
- 09-28-23
Beautiful story
This book is great for everyone. Especially touching for the many first-gen college students in higher Ed today.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
- Cynthia
- 06-11-10
Excellent for English learners
Audio is clear, with believable emotion in the narrator's voice. Pronunciations of Spanish words and names sound authentic, which helps the reader feel like Jimenez could be the one speaking. Although anyone could relate to the themes of perseverance and success through hard work, immigrants dreaming of college will find it particularly relevant. Enjoyable!
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Marco M.
- 10-10-17
Inspirational
The autobiography of Francisco Jimenez has inspired me for a decade. I love to read and listen to his life because I can identify periods of my life with his life. This book can inspire and encourage mexican immigrant students.
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1 person found this helpful