
Miss Brenda and the Loveladies
A Heartwarming True Story of Grace, God, and Gumption
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

Buy for $24.47
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Pam Ward
-
Bahni Turpin
-
Johanna Parker
-
Adenrele Ojo
About this listen
One woman's fight to provide hope for the hopeless...
Seven ex-cons who changed her heart forever…
For Brenda Spahn, entrepreneur and businesswoman, wealth was a lifestyle - until a brush with the law threatened to send her to prison. In those dark moments, Brenda made a promise to God.
Spared incarceration, a renewed Brenda glimpsed into the lives of women serving time in one of the worst places in America - the JuliaTutwiler Prison for Women in Wetumpka, Alabama. What she saw prompted a God-inspired vision.
With a heart to help and a will that couldn't be crushed, Brenda fought the system and overcame tremendous obstacles to take ex-cons into her home and help them navigate the alien world of life on the outside.
This is the story of Brenda's journey from rags to riches to redemption. It's the story of the first unlikely year of her "Whole Way House" and of the extraordinary lives of the first seven women who came to call her "Miss Brenda". It's a story that testifies to the power of faith and how God changes hearts every day.
©2014 Brenda Spahn and Irene Zutell (P)2014 Blackstone AudiobooksListeners also enjoyed...
-
Call Your Daughter Home
- By: Deb Spera
- Narrated by: Robin Miles, Adenrele Ojo, Brittany Pressley
- Length: 11 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It's 1924 in Branchville, South Carolina, and three women have come to a crossroads. Gertrude, a mother of four, must make an unconscionable decision to save her daughters. Retta, a first-generation freed slave, comes to Gertrude's aid by watching her children, despite the gossip it causes in her community. Annie, the matriarch of the influential Coles family, offers Gertrude employment at her sewing circle, while facing problems of her own at home.
-
-
Lovely story/perfect narration
- By christi mccoy on 07-08-19
By: Deb Spera
-
Everybody, Always
- Becoming Love in a World Full of Setbacks and Difficult People
- By: Bob Goff
- Narrated by: Bob Goff
- Length: 5 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In his entertaining and inspiring follow-up to Love Does, Bob Goff takes listeners on a journey into the secret of living without fear, constraint, or worry. This liberated existence we all long for is as simple to say as it is difficult to do: We are called to love everybody, always – even when it’s really difficult.
-
-
Did not realize this was a christian book
- By Amazon Customer on 04-03-19
By: Bob Goff
-
All My Knotted-Up Life
- A Memoir
- By: Beth Moore
- Narrated by: Beth Moore
- Length: 8 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
All My Knotted-Up Life is a beautifully crafted portrait of resilience and survival, a poignant reminder of God’s enduring faithfulness, and proof positive that if we ever truly took the time to hear people’s full stories . . . we’d all walk around slack-jawed.
-
-
Finished in one day
- By nedmac mama on 02-22-23
By: Beth Moore
-
Unshakable Hope
- Building Our Lives on the Promises of God
- By: Max Lucado
- Narrated by: Ben Holland
- Length: 4 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
We’ve never been more educated and entertained. We have technological tools our parents could only dream of, and we are saturated with information, amusement, and recreation. Yet more than ever, we are starving for hope. After 40 years of counseling and ministry, Max Lucado has learned that nothing lifts the desperate, weary heart like the promises of God. In a world full of despair, depression, anxiety, and instability, we do not need more opinions or hunches; we need the definitive declarations of our mighty and loving God.
-
-
As always great
- By E. Murphy on 12-29-18
By: Max Lucado
-
The Love Stories of the Bible Speak
- Biblical Lessons on Romance, Friendship, and Faith
- By: Shannon Bream
- Narrated by: Shannon Bream
- Length: 7 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Bible reveals not just butterflies and broken hearts. In Scripture, we see God’s beautiful design for the partnership of marriage. We witness friendships that cross all boundaries. We watch as families navigate the many seasons of life. Our guiding example for them all is the deepest, most abiding, foundational love ever known: God’s unconditional love for His people. In The Love Stories of the Bible Speak, Shannon Bream draws lessons from the good, the bad, and the ugly of Biblical romances, friendships, and families.
-
-
Uplifting and motivational book
- By Joseph Sullivan on 03-31-23
By: Shannon Bream
-
High Achiever
- The Incredible True Story of One Addict's Double Life
- By: Tiffany Jenkins
- Narrated by: Tiffany Jenkins
- Length: 8 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
With heart-racing urgency and unflinching honesty, Jenkins takes you inside the grips of addiction and the desperate decisions it breeds. She is a born storyteller who lived an incredible story, from blackmail by an ex-boyfriend to a soul-shattering deal with a drug dealer, and her telling brims with suspense and unexpected wit. But the true surprise is her path to recovery. Tiffany breaks through the stigma and silence to offer hope and inspiration to anyone battling the disease - whether it’s a loved one or themselves.
-
-
I Get it, You Were an Addict
- By Jim Thompson on 10-16-19
By: Tiffany Jenkins
-
Call Your Daughter Home
- By: Deb Spera
- Narrated by: Robin Miles, Adenrele Ojo, Brittany Pressley
- Length: 11 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It's 1924 in Branchville, South Carolina, and three women have come to a crossroads. Gertrude, a mother of four, must make an unconscionable decision to save her daughters. Retta, a first-generation freed slave, comes to Gertrude's aid by watching her children, despite the gossip it causes in her community. Annie, the matriarch of the influential Coles family, offers Gertrude employment at her sewing circle, while facing problems of her own at home.
-
-
Lovely story/perfect narration
- By christi mccoy on 07-08-19
By: Deb Spera
-
Everybody, Always
- Becoming Love in a World Full of Setbacks and Difficult People
- By: Bob Goff
- Narrated by: Bob Goff
- Length: 5 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In his entertaining and inspiring follow-up to Love Does, Bob Goff takes listeners on a journey into the secret of living without fear, constraint, or worry. This liberated existence we all long for is as simple to say as it is difficult to do: We are called to love everybody, always – even when it’s really difficult.
-
-
Did not realize this was a christian book
- By Amazon Customer on 04-03-19
By: Bob Goff
-
All My Knotted-Up Life
- A Memoir
- By: Beth Moore
- Narrated by: Beth Moore
- Length: 8 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
All My Knotted-Up Life is a beautifully crafted portrait of resilience and survival, a poignant reminder of God’s enduring faithfulness, and proof positive that if we ever truly took the time to hear people’s full stories . . . we’d all walk around slack-jawed.
-
-
Finished in one day
- By nedmac mama on 02-22-23
By: Beth Moore
-
Unshakable Hope
- Building Our Lives on the Promises of God
- By: Max Lucado
- Narrated by: Ben Holland
- Length: 4 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
We’ve never been more educated and entertained. We have technological tools our parents could only dream of, and we are saturated with information, amusement, and recreation. Yet more than ever, we are starving for hope. After 40 years of counseling and ministry, Max Lucado has learned that nothing lifts the desperate, weary heart like the promises of God. In a world full of despair, depression, anxiety, and instability, we do not need more opinions or hunches; we need the definitive declarations of our mighty and loving God.
-
-
As always great
- By E. Murphy on 12-29-18
By: Max Lucado
-
The Love Stories of the Bible Speak
- Biblical Lessons on Romance, Friendship, and Faith
- By: Shannon Bream
- Narrated by: Shannon Bream
- Length: 7 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Bible reveals not just butterflies and broken hearts. In Scripture, we see God’s beautiful design for the partnership of marriage. We witness friendships that cross all boundaries. We watch as families navigate the many seasons of life. Our guiding example for them all is the deepest, most abiding, foundational love ever known: God’s unconditional love for His people. In The Love Stories of the Bible Speak, Shannon Bream draws lessons from the good, the bad, and the ugly of Biblical romances, friendships, and families.
-
-
Uplifting and motivational book
- By Joseph Sullivan on 03-31-23
By: Shannon Bream
-
High Achiever
- The Incredible True Story of One Addict's Double Life
- By: Tiffany Jenkins
- Narrated by: Tiffany Jenkins
- Length: 8 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
With heart-racing urgency and unflinching honesty, Jenkins takes you inside the grips of addiction and the desperate decisions it breeds. She is a born storyteller who lived an incredible story, from blackmail by an ex-boyfriend to a soul-shattering deal with a drug dealer, and her telling brims with suspense and unexpected wit. But the true surprise is her path to recovery. Tiffany breaks through the stigma and silence to offer hope and inspiration to anyone battling the disease - whether it’s a loved one or themselves.
-
-
I Get it, You Were an Addict
- By Jim Thompson on 10-16-19
By: Tiffany Jenkins
-
Troublemaker
- Surviving Hollywood and Scientology
- By: Leah Remini
- Narrated by: Leah Remini
- Length: 7 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The outspoken actress, talk show host, and reality television star offers up a no-holds-barred memoir, including an eye-opening insider account of her tumultuous and heart-wrenching 30-year-plus association with the Church of Scientology.
-
-
This book is fascinating and funny! Fantastic!
- By Kim on 11-04-15
By: Leah Remini
-
The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek
- A Novel
- By: Kim Michele Richardson
- Narrated by: Katie Schorr
- Length: 9 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The hardscrabble folks of Troublesome Creek have to scrap for everything - everything except books, that is. Thanks to Roosevelt's Kentucky Pack Horse Library Project, Troublesome's got its very own traveling librarian, Cussy Mary Carter. Cussy's not only a book woman, however, she's also the last of her kind, her skin a shade of blue unlike most anyone else. Not everyone is keen on Cussy's family or the Library Project, and a Blue is often blamed for any whiff of trouble.
-
-
A LOVELY, SAD AND PROFOUND BOOK!
- By Janna Wong Healy on 08-17-19
-
The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell
- A Novel
- By: Robert Dugoni
- Narrated by: Robert Dugoni
- Length: 11 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Sam Hill always saw the world through different eyes. Born with red pupils, he was called “Devil Boy” or Sam “Hell” by his classmates; “God’s will” is what his mother called his ocular albinism. Her words were of little comfort, but Sam persevered. Sam believed it was God who sent Ernie Cantwell, the only African American kid in his class, to be the friend he so desperately needed. And that it was God’s idea for Mickie Kennedy to storm into Our Lady of Mercy like a tornado, uprooting every rule Sam had been taught about boys and girls. Forty years later, Sam, a small-town eye doctor, is no longer certain anything was by design.
-
-
Wow..allow yourself to be submerged in this book
- By Donna Smith McG on 05-18-18
By: Robert Dugoni
-
Rabbit
- The Autobiography of Ms. Pat
- By: Patricia Williams, Jeannine Amber
- Narrated by: Patricia Williams
- Length: 7 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
One of five children, Pat watched as her alcoholic mother struggled to get by on charity, cons, and petty crimes. At age seven, Pat was taught to roll drunks for money. At 12, she was targeted for sex by a man eight years her senior; by 13, she was pregnant. By 15, Pat was a mother of two. Alone at 16, Pat was determined to make a better life for her children. But with no job skills and an eighth-grade education, her options were limited. She learned quickly that hustling and humor were the only tools she had to survive.
-
-
Amazing story but dry reading
- By SpazzyMaggee on 11-03-17
By: Patricia Williams, and others
-
Peace from Broken Pieces
- How to Get Through What You're Going Through
- By: Iyanla Vanzant
- Narrated by: Iyanla Vanzant
- Length: 11 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
New York Times best-selling author Iyanla Vanzant recounts the last decade of her life and the spiritual lessons learned—from the price of success during her meteoric rise as a TV celebrity on Oprah, the Iyanla TV show (produced by Barbara Walters), to the dissolution of her marriage and her daughter's 15 months of illness and death on Christmas day.
-
-
Iyanla is Inspirational! A GREAT LISTEN!!!
- By Theresa on 12-04-11
By: Iyanla Vanzant
-
An Invisible Thread
- The True Story of an 11-Year-Old Panhandler, a Busy Sales Executive, and an Unlikely Meeting with Destiny
- By: Laura Schroff, Alex Tresniowski
- Narrated by: Pam Ward
- Length: 7 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
She was a successful ad sales rep in Manhattan. He was a homeless 11-year-old panhandler on the street. He asked for spare change; she kept walking. But then something stopped her in her tracks, and she went back. And she continued to go back, again and again. They met up nearly every week for years and built an unexpected, life-changing friendship that has today spanned almost three decades.
-
-
2 People Show How to Get Where they Hope to Go!
- By Mary Burnight on 07-06-21
By: Laura Schroff, and others
-
I Cried to Dream Again
- Trafficking, Murder, and Deliverance - A Memoir
- By: Sara Kruzan, Cori Thomas
- Narrated by: January LaVoy
- Length: 6 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
There is perhaps no crime more disturbing than the abuse of a child—and no court cases as upsetting as those in which juveniles who have faced abuse are tried for fighting back. In this gripping memoir Sara Kruzan, a survivor of childhood abuse and sex trafficking, tells the honest, disturbing, and ultimately empowering story of her journey from abuse to incarceration without parole for killing her abuser to finally gaining her liberation.
-
-
A True Warrior
- By Thixso on 02-27-24
By: Sara Kruzan, and others
-
Carry On, Warrior
- Thoughts on Life Unarmed
- By: Glennon Doyle Melton
- Narrated by: Glennon Doyle Melton
- Length: 7 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Anne Lamott meets Elizabeth Gilbert in this inspirational, side-splittingly funny exploration of the power of living with love, forgiveness, and honesty. Glennon Melton became a sensation when her personal essays started going viral. Giving language to our universal (yet often secret) experiences, her hilarious and poignant observations were read by millions, shared among friends, discussed at water coolers, quoted in The New York Times, and have inspired a social movement.
-
-
Get Ready to Exercise your Bookmarks
- By Molly on 04-17-13
-
The Masterpiece
- By: Francine Rivers
- Narrated by: Susan Bennett
- Length: 15 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A successful LA artist, Roman Velasco appears to have everything he could possibly want - money, women, fame. Only Grace Moore, his reluctant, newly hired personal assistant, knows how little he truly has. The demons of Roman's past seem to echo through the halls of his empty mansion and out across his breathtaking Topanga Canyon view. But Grace doesn't know how her boss secretly wrestles with those demons: by tagging buildings as the Bird, a notorious but unidentified graffiti artist - an alter ego that could destroy his career and land him in prison.
-
-
Did not realize this was religious....
- By Amanda on 05-08-18
By: Francine Rivers
-
Free Cyntoia
- My Search for Redemption in the American Prison System
- By: Cyntoia Brown-Long
- Narrated by: Cyntoia Brown-Long
- Length: 10 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
At the age of 16, Cyntoia Brown, a victim of sex trafficking, was arrested for killing a man who had picked her up for sex. Two years later, she was sentenced to life in prison. In this audiobook, written over the 15 years she was incarcerated, Cyntoia shares her most intimate experiences as an inmate. A coming-of-age memoir set against the shocking backdrop of a life behind bars, Free Cyntoia takes you on a spiritual journey as Cyntoia struggles to overcome a legacy of family addiction and a lifetime of feeling ostracized and abandoned by society.
-
-
Excellent!!!
- By Justicepirate on 11-22-19
-
Same Kind of Different as Me
- A Modern-Day Slave, an International Art Dealer, and the Unlikely Woman Who Bound Them Together
- By: Ron Hall, Denver Moore, Lynn Vincent - contributor
- Narrated by: Daniel Butler, Barry Scott
- Length: 9 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Meet Denver, raised under plantation-style slavery in Louisiana until he escaped the “Man” in the 1960’s by hopping a train. Untrusting, uneducated, and violent, he spends 18 years on the streets of Dallas and Fort Worth. Meet Ron Hall, a self-made millionaire in the world of high-priced deals—an international arts dealer who moves between upscale New York galleries and celebrities. It seems unlikely that these two men would meet under normal circumstances, but when Deborah Hall, Ron's wife, meets Denver, she sees him through God's eyes of compassion.
-
-
Stays with me...
- By Rebekah Sue Carolla on 09-23-18
By: Ron Hall, and others
-
This Thing of Ours
- How Faith Saved My Mafia Marriage
- By: Cammy Franzese
- Narrated by: Cammy Franzese
- Length: 5 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A handsome Italian film producer. A beautiful Mexican dancer. A match made on a movie set and a lavish Beverly Hills wedding. The beginning of Camille Franzese's story takes on the shade of an exotic fairy tale. But a closer look at her marriage to mafia capo Michael Franzese exposes more than a decade of anguish endured in the shadows of her husband's crimes. The fear of arrest, the prison sentences, the house raids from federal agents - Camille lived through it all. Discover how Camille's devotion to her marriage and her faith in God's larger plan led to deliverance from devastation.
-
-
Great story, bad reader
- By Julio P. on 05-06-21
By: Cammy Franzese
What listeners say about Miss Brenda and the Loveladies
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Debbie
- 11-10-16
Grace, God . . . and Giving Back
I was so happy to find this book about the Loveladies. Our women's ministry at church collects little "goodies" for the Loveladies each year for their Christmas luncheon, so that each can have a little package at their table, just for them. You see, our church is in North Alabama, about an hour and a half from Birmingham, where the Loveladies Ministry is. Some of our own women have gone to the program there, which is now open to women suffering from abuse, addiction, and other trauma, not just parolees. I had to laugh at some of the reviews, which were skeptical about Miss Brenda . . . and her tax business, arrest and her husband's bankruptcy . . . there but for the grace of God go we . . . she put it all out there, not hiding a thing . . . so if people want to judge, then let them . . . and let them hang their own dirty panties out on the line for all to see . . . I am so very thankful that we serve a God that is NOT like that, for we'd all be doomed . . . doomed to fail . . . doomed to depression . . . doomed to being alone . . . and doomed to HELL . . . thank you, Jesus . . . for your mercy and grace . . . I laughed and cried during this book . . . nothing was hidden, it was all laid bare, and I think that's what it takes . . . otherwise it can't be fully cleansed out of our systems . . . thank you, Miss Brenda for being real with these women . . . and with all of us . . . BRAVO!!! This is a book for everyone to listen to . . . and then feel JOY!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
6 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Kerry
- 12-13-15
Loved this book!
A true story that leave you feeling good at the end. I'm sorry it's finished.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Shirley Carter
- 11-12-22
Lovely testimony of what Gods can do!
Love her style! Narrator did a great job. The only negative is, I believe too much detail of past lives was given.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- mary winston
- 09-02-17
Remarkable Story!
What an encouraging story of one woman's passion! Only negative....too many "flippin's"! Great listen!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Susan
- 04-10-20
One of the most moving books I have ever read
The story seems so unrealistic but it is a true story that shows how powerful good intentions can be when grit and determination also are present. Miss Brenda's faith in the power of God and her determination result in such a positive effect on many people's lives. I wish we could all achieve such valuable results.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Mark
- 08-27-17
cool story
I enjoyed listening to this story I have to write a 5-page paper for my class and I took a lot of good notes. it's pretty cool what Brenda did for all those ladies
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- HopeGiver
- 10-09-24
Powerful story
Brenda tells this story with love and humor and complete honesty. I highly recommend it
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Kimberly
- 10-30-16
GOD WORKS IN MYSTERIOUS WAYS!
What a bittersweet joy! I cried, I laughed, I PRAISED. We all can learn from Miss Brenda and her Whole House Philosophy! Thank you LOVELADYS and God Bless!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- christina
- 11-02-21
Stumbled up on this gem!!!
This book was so many things, rewarding, funny, sad, and Good!!! That it’s a true story makes it all the better!!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- bdg
- 01-21-24
Inspiring story of forgiveness and love
Great book and even better ministry doing the hard work for women. Highly recommend this book.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!