
Counting Backwards
A Novel
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Narrated by:
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Amanda Stribling
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Carolyn Jania
About this listen
Told in two alternating narratives bound by a shocking parallel of issues such as reproductive rights and society's expectations of women and mothers, Counting Backwards is a compelling reminder that progress is rarely a straight line and always hard-won. "Erin Brockovich for our times." (Jill Santopolo, New York Times bestselling author)
New York, 2022. Jessa Gidney is trying to have it all--a high-powered legal career, a meaningful marriage, and hopefully, one day, a child. But when her professional ambitions come up short and Jessa finds herself at a turning point, she leans into her family's history of activism by taking on pro bono work at a nearby detention center. There she meets Isobel Perez--a young mother fighting to stay with her daughter--but as she gets to know Isobel, an unsettling revelation about Isobel's health leads Jessa to uncover a horrifying pattern of medical malpractice within the detention facility. One that shockingly has ties to her own family.
Virginia, 1927. Carrie Buck is an ordinary young woman in the center of an extraordinary legal battle at the forefront of the American eugenics conversation. From a poor family, she was only six years old when she first became a ward of the state. Uneducated and without any support, she spends her youth dreaming about a different future--one separate from her exploitative foster family--unknowing of the ripples her small, country life will have on an entire nation.
As Jessa works to assemble a case against the prison and the crimes she believes are being committed there, she discovers the landmark Supreme Court case involving Carrie Buck with shockingly similar implications to the one before her now. Her connection to the case, however, is deeper and much more personal than she ever knew--sending her down new paths that will leave her forever changed and determined to fight for these women, no matter the cost.
". . . a riveting, compelling story--but it's also an important one, reminding us that history's darkest aspects can echo forward into our present day and that there is so much work left to do in the fight for freedom and equality."—Kelly Rimmer, New York Times bestselling author of The German Wife.
©2025 Jacqueline Friedland (P)2025 Harper MuseListeners also enjoyed...
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Could not put it down. Stayed awake in the middle of the night to read it.
- By Debra Colodny on 07-02-25
By: Tova Mirvis
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Name Not Taken
- A Novel
- By: Madeleine Henry
- Narrated by: Natalie Naudus
- Length: 8 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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Devon Ferrell and Richard Belmont are engaged, in love, and from two different worlds. Devon is as eager to please Richard’s elite parents as she is to leave the traumas of her childhood behind. After all, the Belmonts are her family now. But being brought into the fold is unbalancing her. There are the piercing stares from Richard’s brother, the confounding whispers about Devon’s moods and health. It’s as if the Belmonts are looking for reasons to reject her, to fill her with self-doubt and put her on edge. It’s working. And no one seems to be on Devon’s side. Not even Richard.
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narrator pronunciation
- By kristen mcdade on 04-16-25
By: Madeleine Henry
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The Great Mann
- A Novel
- By: Kyra Davis Lurie
- Narrated by: Ian Hackney
- Length: 9 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
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In 1945, Charlie Trammell steps off a cross-country train into the vibrant tapestry of Los Angeles. Lured by his cousin Marguerite’s invitation to the esteemed West Adams Heights, Charlie is immediately captivated by the Black opulence of L.A.’s newly rechristened “Sugar Hill.” Settling in at a local actress’s energetic boarding house, Charlie discovers a different way of life—one brimming with opportunity—from a promising career at a Black-owned insurance firm, the absence of Jim Crow, to the potential of an unforgettable romance. But nothing dazzles quite like James “Reaper” Mann.
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Historical facts Inventive Story
- By JRR on 07-03-25
By: Kyra Davis Lurie
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The Library of Lost Dollhouses
- A Novel
- By: Elise Hooper
- Narrated by: Emily Rankin, Caroline Hewitt
- Length: 9 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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Tildy Barrows, Head Curator of a beautiful archival library in San Francisco, is meticulously dedicated to the century’s worth of inventory housed in her beloved Beaux Art building. She loves the calm and order in the shelves of books and walls of art. But Tildy’s life takes an unexpected turn when she, first, learns the library is on the verge of bankruptcy and, second, discovers two exquisite never-before-seen dollhouses.
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Delightful and captivating novel
- By Kerozelvin on 04-06-25
By: Elise Hooper
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Come Fly with Me
- A Novel
- By: Camille Di Maio
- Narrated by: Carly Robins, Dominique Salvacion, Sherri Slater
- Length: 10 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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Judy Goodman and Beverly Caldwell have different reasons for putting continents and oceans between themselves and their disparate pasts, but they have the same desire—to earn a coveted position on an elite team of stewardesses for Pan American Airlines. For Judy, running away from an oppressive marriage in small-town Pennsylvania is a risk she must take. And for Beverly, leaving behind the gilded cage of New York society will allow her to pursue a future of her own making.
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Enjoyable story and characters
- By Buckeye91 on 07-07-25
By: Camille Di Maio
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Fagin the Thief
- A Novel
- By: Allison Epstein
- Narrated by: Will Watt
- Length: 11 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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Long before Oliver Twist stumbled onto the scene, Jacob Fagin was scratching out a life for himself in the dark alleys of nineteenth-century London. Born in the Jewish enclave of Stepney shortly after his father was executed as a thief, Jacob's whole world is his open-minded mother, Leah. But Jacob’s prospects are forever altered when a light-fingered pickpocket takes Jacob under his wing and teaches him a trade that pays far better than the neighborhood boys could possibly dream.
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Superb story telling and performance
- By Janice on 03-04-25
By: Allison Epstein
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33 Place Brugmann
- A Novel
- By: Alice Austen
- Narrated by: Shiromi Arserio, Jilly Bond, Nicholas Boulton, and others
- Length: 11 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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On the eve of the Nazi occupation, in the heart of Brussels, life for the residents of 33 Place Brugmann is about to change forever. Charlotte Sauvin, an art student raised by her beloved architect father in apartment 4L, knows all the details of the building and its people: how light falls on wood floors and voices echo off the marble staircase, the distinct knock of her dear friend, Julian Raphaël, the son of the art dealer’s family across the hall. Then the Raphaëls disappear, leaving everything behind but their priceless art collection, which has simply vanished.
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A wonderful book
- By iggynut on 04-12-25
By: Alice Austen
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Jane and Dan at the End of the World
- By: Colleen Oakley
- Narrated by: Hillary Huber
- Length: 8 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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Jane and Dan have been married for nineteen years, but Jane isn’t sure they’re going to make it to twenty. The mother of two feels unneeded by her teenagers, and her writing career has screeched to an unsuccessful halt. Her one published novel sold under five hundred copies. Worse? She’s pretty sure Dan is cheating on her. When the couple goes to the renowned upscale restaurant La Fin du Monde to celebrate their anniversary, Jane thinks it’s as good a place as any to tell Dan she wants a divorce.
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Stupendously Stupid
- By Mike B. on 04-06-25
By: Colleen Oakley
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The Book Club for Troublesome Women
- A Novel
- By: Marie Bostwick
- Narrated by: Lisa Flanagan
- Length: 11 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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By early 1960s standards, Margaret Ryan, Viv Buschetti, and Bitsy Cobb, suburban housewives in a brand-new "planned community" in Northern Virginia, appear to have it all. The fact that "all" doesn't feel like enough leaves them feeling confused and guilty, certain the fault must lie with them. Things begin to change when they form a book club with Charlotte Gustafson—the eccentric and artsy "new neighbor" from Manhattan—and read Betty Friedan's just-released book, The Feminine Mystique.
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More Women Need to Read This
- By Amazon Customer on 05-02-25
By: Marie Bostwick
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A Girl Within a Girl Within a Girl
- A Novel
- By: Nanda Reddy
- Narrated by: Khaya Fraites
- Length: 10 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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On an ordinary day in an upscale Atlanta suburb, Maya is making breakfast for her two sons, when her husband drops a red-and-blue striped envelope on the counter and asks a devastating question: Who is Sunny? Maya is sent reeling back to her childhood in Guyana—a time when Sunny was her only name. Unbeknownst to her husband, Maya is not who she claims to be. The letter, from her long-lost sister Roshi, now threatens to expose her true identity and shatter the seemingly perfect existence Maya worked so hard to build.
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Amazing book!
- By Amazon Customer on 07-02-25
By: Nanda Reddy
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Hungerstone
- By: Kat Dunn
- Narrated by: Perdita Weeks
- Length: 10 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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It’s the height of the industrial revolution and ten years into Lenore’s marriage to steel magnate Henry, their relationship has soured. When Henry’s ambitions take them from London to the remote British moorlands to host a hunting party, a shocking carriage accident brings the mysterious Carmilla into their lives. Carmilla, who is weak and pale during the day but vibrant at night. Carmilla, who stirs up something deep within Lenore. And before long, girls from the local villages fall sick, consumed by a terrible hunger . . .
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I love when women
- By Holly Cooper on 05-22-25
By: Kat Dunn
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Sister Europe
- A Novel
- By: Nell Zink
- Narrated by: Lisa Flanagan
- Length: 6 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
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Naema, an elderly princess dedicated to her pet causes, is in a bind: struck by a malady that maroons her in Montreux, she’s unable to host an exclusive gala dinner in Berlin to honor the author Masud al-Huzeil for his lifetime achievement in Arabic literature. Not only is she unable to attend, RSVPs have been slow to materialize, and she’s reduced to begging the ancient award winner to find some attendees at the last minute. Masud invites his old friend Demian, a native Berliner, who in turn invites his two best friends.
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a look into such a different world.
- By Rochelle Jewel Shapiro on 05-15-25
By: Nell Zink
Powerful story about hope and resilience
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WOW what a great timely book.A must read for every women.I hope you enjoy this book as much as I have.
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A bit tedious in the middle.
I was glad the ending wasn’t as predictable as it might have been.
Relevant to today’s immigration and reproductive rights situation
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Brilliant. Timely. Compelling. A MUST read.
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Mind-blowing experience.
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Excellent research and writing on such an important issue. Gratitude and thanks for writing this EXCELLENT book!
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