No Ordinary Life
Awakenings in the Final Days of Apartheid
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Narrated by:
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Stacy Rock
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Mary Ann Byron
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By:
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Mary Ann Byron
About this listen
At 29 years old, Mary and her newlywed husband embark at a two-year diplomatic assignment to South Africa. A continued campaign of economic sanctions from the international community has pressured President De Klerk to negotiate with recently-freed Nelson Mandela to end apartheid with the end goal of democratic government. Uncertainty about the future hangs like a cloud cover over the South African heat.
It is into this powder keg environment that Mary and Patrick arrive in Cape Town in August 1992 on their first diplomatic mission as a couple. A Special Agent in Diplomatic Security, Patrick must protect the Ambassador and the American community. Negotiations have broken down again after the latest massacre, the black townships are embroiled in gang warfare, and the Ambassador's life has been threatened. Patrick immerses himself in work while Mary is left to find her way.
Stripped of her name and identity, Mary — Mrs. McGhee to the State Department. She refuses to be shuffled into passive domesticity as a "trailing spouse". After their first diplomatic dinner at the Ambassador's home, despite an argument with Patrick that threatens to send her back to the States, Mary lands a job at the American Embassy as a USAID worker. But the unrelenting stress of Patrick's job along with the constant threat of danger for both he and Mary — including surveillance 24/7 by National Party spies — takes a toll on the marriage. When an American woman is murdered by a black mob outside Cape Town, Mary is shaken to the core. After yet another massacre, Patrick insists Mary learn to shoot.
She’s aware of what it means to be part of this watershed moment in history, if the country can make it to an election before imploding. The whole world watches the drama unfold.
Mary's story takes place in Cape Town, and in the wilds of Kruger Park Game Reserve, the beauty of the wine country of the Western Province, and the captivating Atlantic coastal peninsula to the tip of Cape of Good Hope.
©2018, 2020 Mary Ann Byron (P)2020 Mary Ann ByronListeners also enjoyed...
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Jacqueline Saper, named after Jacqueline Kennedy, was born in Tehran to Iranian and British parents. At 18 she witnessed the civil unrest of the 1979 Iranian revolution and continued to live in the Islamic Republic during its most volatile times, including the Iran-Iraq War. In a deeply intimate and personal story, Saper recounts her privileged childhood in prerevolutionary Iran and how she gradually became aware of the paradoxes in her life and community - primarily the disparate religions and cultures.
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Very good
- By Matt on 11-10-21
By: Jacqueline Saper
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Safe Houses
- A Novel
- By: Dan Fesperman
- Narrated by: Dan Fesperman
- Length: 13 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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West Berlin, 1979. Helen Abell oversees the CIA's network of safe houses, rare havens for field agents and case officers amidst the dangerous milieu of a city in the grips of the Cold War. Helen's world is upended when, during her routine inspection of an agency property, she overhears a meeting between two unfamiliar people speaking a coded language that hints at shadowy realities far beyond her comprehension. Before the day is out, she witnesses a second unauthorized encounter, one that will place her in the sight lines of the most ruthless and powerful man at the agency.
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Fiction from Truth
- By Sue MB on 11-10-18
By: Dan Fesperman
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Midnight in Siberia
- A Train Journey into the Heart of Russia
- By: David Greene
- Narrated by: David Greene
- Length: 7 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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Through the stories of fellow travelers, Greene explores the challenges and opportunities facing the new Russia: a nation that boasts open elections and newfound prosperity yet still continues to endure oppression, corruption, and stark inequality. Set against the wintery landscape of Siberia, Greene’s lively travel narrative offers a glimpse into the soul of 20th century Russia: how its people remember their history and look forward to the future.
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Long String of NPR Short Reports
- By Sara on 04-13-15
By: David Greene
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Rare Danger
- A Novella
- By: Beverly Jenkins
- Narrated by: Kim Staunton
- Length: 3 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
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For Jasmine Ware, curating books for an exclusive clientele is her passion. Until an old friend, a dealer of rare books, goes missing and his partner is murdered. Linked to an artifact smuggled out of the ancient library at Timbuktu, the mystery draws Jasmine deeper into a plot that could cost her her life.
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Beverly, Beverly, Beverly why?!
- By Antoinette on 12-21-21
By: Beverly Jenkins
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Fast Times in Palestine
- A Love Affair with a Homeless Homeland
- By: Pamela J. Olson
- Narrated by: Julia Farhat
- Length: 10 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
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Pamela Olson, a small town girl from eastern Oklahoma, had what she always wanted: a physics degree from Stanford University. But instead of feeling excited for what came next, she felt consumed by dread and confusion. This irresistible memoir chronicles her journey from aimless ex-bartender to Ramallah-based journalist and foreign press coordinator for a Palestinian presidential candidate.
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Palestine from the Inside—and Out
- By Susie on 11-04-13
By: Pamela J. Olson
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Kept Secrets
- By: Traci Hunter Abramson
- Narrated by: Luone Ingram
- Length: 8 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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Unexpectedly reunited after six years, high school sweethearts Devin Shanahan and Grace Harrington cross paths and have a whirlwind wedding. A lot can change in six years, however, and they must figure out how to make their two independent lives mesh. Unable to disclose his CIA job to his new wife, when Devin is assigned a top-secret mission to Hong Kong, he tells Grace part of the truth: that he is going to work abroad for six months in finance. When the mission turns deadly and Devin doesn't know whom to trust, he must make the most difficult decision of his life to keep Grace safe.
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awesome book, would of wanted it to continue.
- By Diane Hyer on 01-13-23
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Lockdown
- Saint Squad, Book 2
- By: Traci Hunter Abramson
- Narrated by: Kim Christenson
- Length: 6 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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Only twice had she set foot inside the building since the massacre. The first time had been just a month after the tragedy .. . . The second time she had returned to the scene of the crime had been two days ago when she forced herself to enter the building to check on the temporary office for the SEAL team. The counselor she had seen in the months after the shooting had encouraged her to face her fears, but now . . . Riley wasn’t sure she was ready to face them after all.
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Truth!?!
- By Brooke Maples on 10-07-24
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Members Only
- By: Sameer Pandya
- Narrated by: Sunil Malhotra
- Length: 10 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
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Raj Bhatt is often unsure of where he belongs. Having moved to America from Bombay as a child, he knew few Indian kids. Now middle-aged, he lives mostly happily in California with a job at a university. Still, his white wife seems to fit in better than he does at times, especially at their tennis club, a place he's cautiously come to love. But it's there that, in one week, his life unravels. It begins at a meeting for potential new members: Raj thrills to find an African American couple on the list; he dreams of a more diverse club. But in an effort to connect, he makes a racist joke.
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Stick with it... so worth it!
- By Andrea R Martinez on 09-02-20
By: Sameer Pandya
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Driving Miss Norma
- One Family's Journey Saying ""Yes"" to Living
- By: Tim Bauerschmidt, Ramie Liddle
- Narrated by: Christopher Grove, Nan McNamara
- Length: 7 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
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When Miss Norma was diagnosed with uterine cancer, she was advised to undergo surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy. But instead of confining herself to a hospital bed for what could be her last stay, Norma - newly widowed after nearly seven decades of marriage - rose to her full height of five feet and told her doctor, "I'm 90 years old. I'm hitting the road." Packing what she needed, Norma took off on an unforgettable cross-country journey with three professional nomads - her retired son, Tim; his wife, Ramie; and their standard poodle, Ringo.
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so moving and inspiring
- By Travis Stone on 07-10-19
By: Tim Bauerschmidt, and others
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Six Minutes to Freedom
- How a Band of Heroes Defied a Dictator and Helped Free a Nation
- By: Kurt Muse, John Gilstrap
- Narrated by: Paul Heitsch
- Length: 10 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
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Six Minutes to Freedom is the remarkable tale of Kurt Muse's arrest and harrowing months of imprisonment; his eyewitness accounts of torture; and the plight of his family as they fled for their lives. It is also the heart-pounding account of the only American civilian ever rescued by the elite Delta Force. Timelier than ever, this is a thrilling and highly personal narrative about one man's courage and dedication to his beliefs.
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excellent book!
- By Andrew Tomlet on 07-05-21
By: Kurt Muse, and others
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Midnight in Mexico
- A Reporter's Journey through a Country's Descent into Darkness
- By: Alfredo Corchado
- Narrated by: Timothy Andres Pabon
- Length: 9 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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Noted Mexican American journalist Alfredo Corchado refuses to shrink from reporting on government corruption, murders in Juarez, or the ruthless drug cartels of Mexico. One night, Corchado received a tip that he could be the next target of the Zetas, a violent paramilitary group - and that he had 24 hours to find out if the threat was true. Midnight in Mexico is the story of one man's quest to report the truth of his country - as he races to save his own life.
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Fascinating & suspenseful historical non-fiction!
- By Ruth Barrie on 06-30-19
By: Alfredo Corchado
What listeners say about No Ordinary Life
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Victor @ theAudiobookBlog dot com
- 05-11-21
Just wow!
No Ordinary Life: Awakenings in the Final Days of Apartheid is a fascinating memoir written beautifully by former US Diplomat Mary Ann Byron. Thanks to this gripping work of nonfiction, we are having first row seats to a watershed moment in the history of the world.
The author recalls her first assignment in the early 90’s as the freshly and happily married wife of a special agent in diplomatic security. Mary and Patrick arrive in Cape Town, South Africa in August 1992 and here our story begins with civil unrest, the fight for democracy, a tense political climate, racial injustice, riots, segregation, murder and a clear and present danger to the Ambassador’s life. These are just a few incentives for you to definitely listen to this story!
The audio production of No Ordinary Life is performed by actor, musician, and narrator Stacy Rock. Right from the beginning I was completely blown away and pleasantly surprised by her dedication to this project. You can hear in her voice every emotion, smile or concern. She reads with enthusiasm and lets her talent flow freely, delighting and entertaining the listener. I never heard of Stacy before this recording, but I want to hear her again! She was the perfect choice for this audiobook and I think that she enriches the narrative experience and creates a complete level of immersion.
If you want to learn a little history and be entertained at the same time, I highly recommend No Ordinary Life: Awakenings in the Final Days of Apartheid, it’s a thought provoking work that can be even more relevant today with the fight for social justice.
After I listened to this captivating audiobook, I can definitely confirm that this author did not have an ordinary life! Pick it up and you will be instantly transported 30 years ago in a world when we, as humans, did not put too much price on our lives… but good people fought to change that and prevailed! This story would make for a fantastic movie!
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