Bookends
A Memoir of Love, Loss, and Literature
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Narrated by:
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Zibby Owens
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By:
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Zibby Owens
About this listen
A deeply personal memoir about one woman’s journey to finding her voice and rewriting her story by the creator and host of the award-winning podcast Moms Don’t Have Time to Read Books™.
Zibby Owens has become a well-known personality in the publishing world. Her infectious energy, tasteful authenticity, and smart, steadfast support of authors started in childhood, a precedent set by the profound effect books and libraries had on her own family.
But after losing her closest friend on 9/11 and later becoming utterly stressed out and overwhelmed by motherhood, Zibby was forgetting what made her her. She turned to books and writing for help.
Just when things seemed particularly bleak, Zibby unexpectedly fell in love with a tennis pro turned movie producer who showed her the path to happiness: away from type-A perfectionism and toward letting things unfold organically. What unfolded was a meaningful career, a great love, and finally, her voice, now heard by millions of listeners.
An honest and moving story about relationships, love, food issues, the writing life, and finding one’s true calling, Bookends will inspire and uplift.
©2022 Zibby Owens (P)2022 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.Listeners also enjoyed...
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Critic reviews
“[Owens] treats listeners to her characteristic honesty whether she's describing crippling self-consciousness or later love and finding her métier. Owens's style is gentle, easy on the ears, and relatable.”—AudioFile Magazine
“This gut-wrenching yet beautiful memoir, narrated by the author herself, gives listeners a look into the life of a well-known personality. What makes this audiobook stand out is that as Owens reads, she shows genuine emotion at the many losses, and triumphs, in her life.… This memoir is a must-listen for any lover of literature.”—Library Journal
“Owens (Princess Charming), host of the podcast Moms Don’t Have Time to Read Books and cofounder of Zibby Books, chronicles her path from shy, bookish child to busy mom and media company CEO in this zippy debut…Owens’s infectious enthusiasm radiates with charm, as do her earnest reflections on motherhood. Bibliophiles will breeze through this.”—Publishers Weekly
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By: Lincee Ray
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A Fine Romance
- By: Candice Bergen
- Narrated by: Candice Bergen
- Length: 14 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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A Fine Romance begins with Bergen's charming first husband, French director Louis Malle, whose huge appetite for life broadened her horizons and whose occasional darkness never diminished their love for each other. But her real romance begins when she discovers overpowering love for her daughter after years of ambivalence about motherhood.
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up the speed to 1.5 and Candace sounds way better
- By Susan M. Mitchell on 06-03-15
By: Candice Bergen
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Everything You Ever Wanted
- A Memoir
- By: Jillian Lauren
- Narrated by: Jillian Lauren
- Length: 8 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
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In her younger years, Jillian Lauren was a college dropout, a drug addict, and an international concubine in the Prince of Brunei's harem, an experience she immortalized in her best-selling memoir, Some Girls. In her 30s, Jillian's most radical act is learning the steadying power of love when she and her rock star husband adopt an Ethiopian child with special needs.
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Great for adoptive families
- By berry bomb on 07-06-22
By: Jillian Lauren
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Confessions of a Latter-Day Virgin
- A Memoir
- By: Nicole Hardy
- Narrated by: Nicole Hardy
- Length: 10 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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When Nicole Hardy’s eye-opening "Modern Love" column appeared in the New York Times, the response from readers was overwhelming. Hardy’s essay, which exposed the conflict between being true to herself as a woman and remaining true to her Mormon faith, struck a chord with women coast-to-coast. Now in her funny, intimate, and thoughtful memoir, Nicole Hardy explores how she came, at the age of 35, to a crossroads regarding her faith and her identity.
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This Book Spoke to Me
- By Allison on 04-08-14
By: Nicole Hardy
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Get Lucky
- By: Katherine Center
- Narrated by: Morgan Hallett
- Length: 8 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
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Filled with wit and heart, Get Lucky by Katherine Center explores the deep bonds of sisterhood. Sarah Harper’s whole world revolved around her job at a New York advertising agency before an email snafu got her fired. Now she’s seeking refuge at her sister Mackie’s home in Houston. But Mackie, who’s unable to get pregnant, is also down-and-out these days. So Sarah decides to do something good and becomes a surrogate mother.
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Finding what matters most in life
- By bizymom7 on 10-12-24
By: Katherine Center
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Diary of a Stage Mother's Daughter
- By: Melissa Francis
- Narrated by: Cris Dukehart
- Length: 9 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
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When Melissa Francis was eight years old, she won the role of lifetime: playing Cassandra Cooper Ingalls, the little girl who was adopted with her brother (played by young Jason Bateman) by the Ingalls family on the world’s most famous prime-time soap opera, Little House on the Prairie. But behind the scenes, her success was fueled by the pride, pressure, and sometimes grinding cruelty of her stage mother.
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Awesome book - really enjoyed it.
- By Jane C. Bailey on 11-16-12
By: Melissa Francis
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The Opposite of Loneliness
- Essays and Stories
- By: Marina Keegan
- Narrated by: Emily Woo Zeller
- Length: 5 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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Marina Keegan's star was on the rise when she graduated magna cum laude from Yale in May 2012. She had a play that was to be produced at the New York International Fringe Festival and a job waiting for her at the New Yorker. Tragically, five days after graduation, Marina died in a car crash. Even though she was just 22 when she died, Marina left behind a rich, expansive trove of prose that, like her title essay, captures the hope, uncertainty, and possibility of her generation.
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Probably buy the book too.
- By Soupergirl on 09-14-15
By: Marina Keegan
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Instant Mom
- By: Nia Vardalos
- Narrated by: Nia Vardalos
- Length: 7 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
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Some families are created in different ways but are still, in every way, a family. Writer and star of My Big Fat Greek Wedding Nia Vardalos firmly believed she was supposed to be a mom, but Mother Nature and modern medicine had put her in a headlock. So she made a choice that shocked friends, family, and even herself: with only 14 hours' notice, she adopted a preschooler.
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Witty and Heartfelt
- By Beth M. Honeycutt on 07-03-24
By: Nia Vardalos
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Good Mourning
- By: Elizabeth Meyer
- Narrated by: Cris Dukehart
- Length: 6 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
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Elizabeth Meyer stumbled upon a career in the midst of planning her own father's funeral, which she turned into an upbeat party with Rolling Stones music, thousands of dollars worth of her mother's favorite flowers, and a personalized eulogy. Starting out as a receptionist, Meyer quickly found she had a knack for helping people cope with their grief as well as creating fitting send-offs for some of the city's most high-powered residents.
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Great Listen!
- By rmp on 09-08-15
By: Elizabeth Meyer
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Fat Girl Walking
- Sex, Food, Love, and Being Comfortable in Your Skin...Every Inch of It
- By: Brittany Gibbons
- Narrated by: Lauren Fortgang
- Length: 6 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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Fat Girl Walking is a collection of stories from my life, my thoughts about the issues that I have faced as a woman, wife, mom, daughter, daughter-in-law, and Internet personality in regards to my weight. I have tried to be as honest as I possibly could - apologies in advance to my husband and parents, but hopefully any discomfort you feel is quickly replaced by laughter.
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One Woman's Body; One Woman's Story
- By Meghan Matt on 06-03-15
By: Brittany Gibbons
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Miss Fortune
- Fresh Perspectives on Having It All from Someone Who Is Not Okay
- By: Lauren Weedman
- Narrated by: Lauren Weedman
- Length: 8 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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Lauren Weedman is not okay. She's living what should be the good life in sunny Los Angeles. After a gig as a correspondent with The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, she scored parts in blockbuster movies, which led to memorable recurring roles on HBO's Hung and Looking. She had a loving husband and an adorable baby boy. In these comedic essays, she turns a piercingly observant, darkly funny lens on the ways her life is actually not okay.
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Good
- By Ajules29 on 04-02-16
By: Lauren Weedman
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Wildflower
- By: Drew Barrymore
- Narrated by: Drew Barrymore
- Length: 7 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
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Wildflower is a portrait of Drew's life in stories as she looks back on the adventures, challenges, and incredible experiences of her earlier years. It includes tales of living on her own at 14 (and how laundry may have saved her life), getting stuck in a gas station overhang on a cross-country road trip, saying good-bye to her father in a way only he could have understood, and many more adventures and lessons that have led her to the successful, happy, and healthy place she is today.
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Hold the shrieking !
- By Dawne on 11-27-15
By: Drew Barrymore
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Chicken Soup for the Soul - Find Your Happiness
- 101 Inspirational Stories about Finding Your Purpose, Passion, and Joy
- By: Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen
- Narrated by: Cynthia Barrett
- Length: 11 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
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What makes you happy? Others share how they found their passion, purpose, and joy in life in these 101 personal and exciting stories that are sure to inspire and encourage listeners to find their own happiness. Chicken Soup for the Soul: Find Your Happiness will encourage listeners to pursue their dreams, find their passion and seek joy in their life with its 101 personal and inspiring stories. This book continues Chicken Soup for the Soul’s focus on inspiration and hope, reminding us that we all can find our own happiness.
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I got even more depressed
- By Tom on 09-08-14
By: Jack Canfield, and others
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Nearly Normal
- Surviving the Wilderness, My Family and Myself
- By: Cea Sunrise Person
- Narrated by: Cea Sunrise Person
- Length: 9 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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In her best-selling memoir North of Normal, Cea wrote with grace about her unconventional childhood - her early years living in a tipi in Alberta with her pot-smoking, free-loving counterculture family. But her struggles do not end when she leaves her family at the age of 13 to become a model. Honest and daring, Nearly Normal reveals the many ways that Cea's unconventional childhood continues to reverberate through the years.
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This one is just not for me
- By Pamela Plimpton on 03-15-19
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Small Admissions
- A Novel
- By: Amy Poeppel
- Narrated by: Carly Robins
- Length: 9 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
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Despite her innate ambition and summa cum laude smarts, Kate Pearson has turned into a major slacker. After being dumped by her handsome French "almost fiancé", she abandons her grad school plans and spends her days lolling on the couch, leaving her apartment only when a dog-walking gig demands it. Her friends don't know what to do other than pass tissues and hope for a comeback while her practical sister, Angela, pushes every remedy she can think of, from trapeze class to therapy to job interviews.
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For fans of "Where'd You Go, Bernadette ?"
- By RueRue on 01-16-17
By: Amy Poeppel
What listeners say about Bookends
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Booklady
- 03-08-23
Interesting memoir of a brilliant and tireless writer!
Her book covers tragic losses in her life from 9/11 to COVID 19. It also includes divorce ( though she hardly mentions it) to raising four children, and then finding true love at 40. She went from being a shy child to creating her own podcast and publishing business. Though she was born into privilege, her thoughtfulness and empathy shines throughout the book. Being that I too published my memoir right at the start of COVID, I applaud her perseverance and courage.
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- Tami G
- 08-15-22
Loved this book & reading books!
Thank you Zibby Owens for writing such a touching memoir and demonstrating that we should never give up on our dreams!
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5 people found this helpful
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- Etoile NEOhio
- 07-30-22
A path through grief and trauma
The Holmes and Rahe Stress Scale was developed to help us gauge our risk for a serious health crisis based on life events that cause stress. I'm my last 12 months my numbers are off the charts. Reading about Zibby's life and her grief, loses, and traumas helped me not feel quite so "at sea" as I wrap up this year of my own loses, changes, and work at figuring out who I am at this stage of my life. It is better to read/ listen to books than most other vices that might tempt one. Thanks Zibby for living your life out loud through this book!
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1 person found this helpful
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- Mari
- 01-21-23
Meaningful Memoir
I enjoyed learning more about Zibby since I am an ambassador for her publishing company. I laughed, cried, and reflected throughout the book.
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- Iryna H
- 04-09-23
Fresh, honest, brave book that resonates
This book is an easy and pleasant listen. It is engaging and current. This book is a product of our times with its mental health crisis and slow acceptance of the fact that everybody has feelings and issues, but some deal with them better than others. The author is so sincere in her book that I truly feel that I know her, even though we never met. She is a brave woman who put herself out there exposing very intimate details of her life. She knew very well that she will be a subject of scrutiny and jealousy due to her privilege, as proven by negative comments, but she had the courage to tell her truth regardless. Yes, memoir is not complete because she did not include her first husband or children. It is a book about her personal growth, not a piece of chick lit filled with relationship drama and gossip. I actually respect her only more for this.
There were moments when I did not like the narration, but in the end, it is exactly what this book needed- the author’s voice. You can feel her sincerity, at time she giggles, other times she cries -just like life itself. It was a truly great experience. Very many people with anxiety disorders and depression will feel a little less lonely. It is therapeutic. Thank you, Zibby
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- Laura Love Dawson
- 07-12-23
Exactly what I needed
After desperately sifting through tons of podcasts, articles, blogs, and tiktoks about grieving I finally came across this book. I did t want it to end as most of us never want to put a good book down or pause an amazing audible. This is one of those books.
I just got word of losing a dear friend this week. So unexpected, yet as I am in constant search of healing through literature I was just as unexpected that this would even help, but it did. It helped a lot. It made me want to start writing again. It made me want to read again. It made me want to live the life that my friend will never be able to live after his last breath. It he left so many examples of why life is worth loving and living to our full potential. I can’t thank Zibby enough for this book.
My words won’t do the justice or praise this deserves. This is my first ever book review so it’s all over the place, I know. I do one better and promise to recommend it to everyone who will listen.
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- Sally Dean
- 10-02-22
Thread of Books: Marvelous Idea
Found you via QWERTY. Now I’m a fan of Zibby and QWERTY.
A book for moms or people who have moms. And for lovers of Books.
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5 people found this helpful
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- Laura
- 02-11-23
A fun, light mom memoir
I was looking for something light and easy to listen to while tackling a home project. This book fulfilled that mission.
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- faith
- 07-15-22
Fabulous
Enjoyed every moment. Wonderful read. Inspiring author. Great audio book for moms. Highly recommended. East listen.
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4 people found this helpful
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- Sara Neufeld
- 08-15-22
An amazing woman and the books that shaped her
I listened to the audiobook and felt like I was in a conversation with a friend. I loved learning how Zibby found her purpose and related so deeply to her struggles with grief, writing and anxiety in early motherhood. And what a clever way to shape a memoir: by recalling the books she was reading at each stage of life. Zibby has earned a loyal follower in me, and I can’t wait to see where her journey leads her next.
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2 people found this helpful