Great Big Beautiful Life Audiobook By Emily Henry cover art

Great Big Beautiful Life

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Great Big Beautiful Life

By: Emily Henry
Narrated by: Julia Whelan
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About this listen

A REESE’S BOOK CLUB PICK ∙ AN INSTANT #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER ∙ Two writers compete for the chance to tell the larger-than-life story of a woman with more than a couple of plot twists up her sleeve in this dazzling and sweeping novel from Emily Henry.

As featured in
The New York TimesRolling StonePeople ∙ Good Morning America ∙ NPR ∙ Vogue ∙ The Cut ∙ USA TodayCosmopolitanHarper's BazaarMarie Claire Glamour ∙ E! Online ∙ The New York Post ∙ Bustle ∙ Reader's Digest ∙ BBC ∙ PopSugar ∙ SheReads ∙ Paste ∙ and more!

Alice Scott is an eternal optimist still dreaming of her big writing break. Hayden Anderson is a Pulitzer-prize winning human thundercloud. And they’re both on balmy Little Crescent Island for the same reason: to write the biography of a woman no one has seen in years—or at least to meet with the octogenarian who claims to be the Margaret Ives. Tragic heiress, former tabloid princess, and daughter of one of the most storied (and scandalous) families of the twentieth century.

When Margaret invites them both for a one-month trial period, after which she’ll choose the person who’ll tell her story, there are three things keeping Alice’s head in the game.

One: Alice genuinely likes people, which means people usually like Alice—and she has a whole month to win the legendary woman over.

Two: She’s ready for this job and the chance to impress her perennially unimpressed family with a Serious Publication.

Three: Hayden Anderson, who should have no reason to be concerned about losing this book, is glowering at her in a shaken-to-the core way that suggests he sees her as competition.

But the problem is, Margaret is only giving each of them pieces of her story. Pieces they can’t swap to put together because of an ironclad NDA and an inconvenient yearning pulsing between them every time they’re in the same room.

And it’s becoming abundantly clear that their story—just like the tale Margaret’s spinning—could be a mystery, tragedy, or love ballad . . . depending on who’s telling it.

©2025 Emily Henry (P)2025 Penguin Audio
Editors Select Women's Fiction
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Critic reviews

"Her best-selling romances have made her a new standard-bearer of the genre."—The New York Times


“Readers can count on Em-Hen to transport them to a kinder, sunnier, and funnier galaxy where happy endings can be counted on . . . Henry’s magic elixir, it seems, is to return again and again to a simple boy-meets-girl formula while writing textured novels populated with vivid characters that never feel formulaic: she takes us back to a time when we believed, with all our being, that love conquers all.”—The Boston Globe

“A sweeping love story about the choices we make and the threads that knit us together. Thoughtful, moving, and deliciously tender. Emily Henry is as captivating as ever. I love everything she does.”—B.K. Borison, New York Times bestselling author of First Time Caller

What listeners say about Great Big Beautiful Life

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Just, wow.

Absolutely loved it. The story within a story had me just as hooked. I felt so protective of Hayden and Alice. The fully fleshed out characters that they are, had me moving through their days like I was a friend along for the ride. I fully intend to read this book as I pre-ordered a physical copy. However, the narration by Julia Whelan had to take precedence. She is so talented. Her Margaret was awesome. Emily Henry always does a beautiful job of weaving in complex themes of grief, love, loss, joy and making them so balanced. I am never toyed with as a reader. Truly her best work to date. Though, Beach Read is right behind this for me.

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6 people found this helpful

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Gripping from beginning to end

I devoured this audiobook. Loved the depth of characters, its setting, and the performance of the narrators.

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3 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Another treasure from our girl

What wasn’t to love? I’m here for not only Emily but also for Julia. These two are a power team that is unmatched. I sobbed (I don’t cry with many books) about a handful of times… and idk… maybe it’s where I am in my own life timeline, but this story struck a goddamned nerve. It was a perfect balance of everything that makes a great story. At the core, it’s a love story…. Covering different forms of love. But is was so much more. I love all EH books, but this one… THIS ONE HIT DIFFERENT. I was ill prepared. I’ll be thinning about this one for a long time.

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2 people found this helpful

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An emotional story about more than just romantic love

5⭐️ Listen i dont make the rules but this is a 5⭐️ 🫶🏻

Edit after reading the last 25% of the book again: One thing that attracts me to Emily Henry’s books is that they are so much more than just a romantic love story. It is a book about emotions and letting yourself feel them. It is a book about learning to let others love you the way you deserve to be loved. It is about family and friendship. It is always a beautiful story that deserves to be read.

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A story within a story

This is by far my favorite Emily Henry book. The story within a story added a level of complexity and mystery. I can’t wait for her next book.

And Julia Whalen, the perfect voice actor for this one.

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Great storytelling

This was a very entertaining story as read by Julian Whelan. I thought the pacing of the story was near perfect. This is the best book by Emily Henry that I have read. I will say though that I believe Emily Henry and Lily Chu must have attended the same conference or somehow obtained the same writing prompt: two journalists compete to write story of a reclusive elderly woman celebrity and unexpectedly fall in love in the process. Lily Chu’s Drop Dead has the same underlying premise. But two very different books—I liked both.

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This is the best of Emily Henry

I don’t cry when I read, but this one brought out the water works. It was a beautiful story perfectly written. Her best work yet.

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The story within a story!

I know this is getting mixed reviews but I really enjoyed it & I love a story within a story! There is a little bit of the middle of this book you’re kind of like ok this isn’t going anywhere but it does! This book didn’t break my heart & it’s not groundbreaking but it’s entertaining & very similar to the seven husbands of Evelyn Hugo which I loved. There were several times I had to look at the cover to make sure Emily Henry was listed as the author not Taylor Jenkins Reid. The romance definitely takes a back seat in this one & it didn’t really bother me at all! I will say I hate the cover of this book…. Emily Henry’s writing has evolved and I wish her covers were doing the same.

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Parental love is complicated but thankfully, almost always beautiful

Parental love is complicated but thankfully, almost always beautiful. I loved the story and the ending.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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My favorite book I’ve read yet!

Ugly tears at the end!! This has got to be one of my, if not my favorite books I’ve read yet. What a beautiful story about life and love!

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