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North to Paradise
- A Memoir
- Narrated by: Kwesi Busia
- Length: 3 hrs and 15 mins
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Publisher's summary
The inspiring true story of one man’s treacherous boyhood journey from a rural village in Ghana to the streets of Barcelona—and the path that led him home.
Ousman Umar is a shaman’s son born in a small village in Ghana. Though his mother died giving birth, he spent a contented childhood working the fields, setting traps in the jungle, and living off the land. Still, as strange and wondrous flying machines crisscrossed the skies overhead, Ousman dreamed of a different life. And so, when he was only twelve years old, he left his village and began what would be a five-year journey to Europe.
Every step of the way, as he traveled across the Sahara desert, through the daunting metropolises of Accra, Tripoli, Benghazi, and Casablanca, and over the sea aboard a packed migrant dinghy, Ousman was handed off like merchandise by a loose network of smugglers and in the constant, foreboding company of “sinkers”: other migrants who found themselves penniless and alone on their way north, unable to continue onward or return home.
But on a path rife with violence, exploitation, and racism, Ousman also encountered friendship, generosity, and hope. North to Paradise is a visceral true story about the stark realities of life along the most dangerous migrant route across Africa; it is also a portrait of extraordinary resilience in the face of unimaginable challenges, the beauty of kindness in strangers, and the power of giving back.
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Horrific
- By B.S.Johnston on 04-02-24
By: Daoud Hari
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The Girl Who Smiled Beads
- A Story of War and What Comes After
- By: Clemantine Wamariya, Elizabeth Weil
- Narrated by: Robin Miles
- Length: 9 hrs
- Unabridged
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Clemantine Wamariya was six years old when her mother and father began to speak in whispers, when neighbors began to disappear, and when she heard the loud, ugly sounds her brother said were thunder. In 1994, she and her fifteen-year-old sister, Claire, fled the Rwandan massacre and spent the next six years migrating through seven African countries, searching for safety—perpetually hungry, imprisoned and abused, enduring and escaping refugee camps, finding unexpected kindness, witnessing inhuman cruelty. They did not know whether their parents were dead or alive.
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Narrator detracts from story
- By Laura on 01-16-19
By: Clemantine Wamariya, and others
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Strength in What Remains
- A Journey of Remembrance and Forgetting
- By: Tracy Kidder
- Narrated by: Tracy Kidder
- Length: 8 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
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In this new book, Kidder gives us the superb story of a hero for our time. Strength in What Remains is a wonderfully written, inspiring account of one man’s remarkable American journey and of the ordinary people who helped him–a brilliant testament to the power of will and of second chances.
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My Favorite of Kidder's Books
- By Roy on 08-31-09
By: Tracy Kidder
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End of the Spear
- By: Steve Saint
- Narrated by: Todd Busteed
- Length: 8 hrs and 35 mins
- Abridged
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Steve Saint was five years old when his father, missionary pilot Nate Saint, was speared to death by a primitive Ecuadorian tribe. In adulthood, Steve, having left Ecuador for a successful business career, never imagined making the jungle his home again. But when that same tribe asks him to help them, Steve, his wife, and their teenage children move back to the jungle. There, Steve learns long-buried secrets about his father's murder, confronts difficult choices, and finds himself caught between two worlds.
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One of my favorite books
- By N. Land on 02-28-23
By: Steve Saint
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Enrique's Journey
- By: Sonia Nazario
- Narrated by: Catherine Byers
- Length: 10 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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Based on the Los Angeles Times newspaper series that won two Pulitzer Prizes, one for feature writing and another for feature photography, Enrique's Journey is the timeless story of families torn apart, the yearning to be together again, and a boy who will risk his life to find the mother he loves.
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Missing Chapter 8 and Epilogue!
- By Bobby Reed on 07-01-14
By: Sonia Nazario
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Infidel
- By: Ayaan Hirsi Ali
- Narrated by: Ayaan Hirsi Ali
- Length: 16 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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This New York Times best-seller is the astonishing life story of award-winning humanitarian Ayaan Hirsi Ali. A deeply respected advocate for free speech and women's rights, Hirsi Ali also lives under armed protection because of her outspoken criticism of the Islamic faith in which she was raised.
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Tough, Candid Assessment
- By Paul Mullen on 02-18-08
By: Ayaan Hirsi Ali
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A Moonless, Starless Sky
- Ordinary Women and Men Fighting Extremism in Africa
- By: Alexis Okeowo
- Narrated by: Kamali Minter
- Length: 7 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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In A Moonless, Starless Sky Okeowo weaves together four narratives that form a powerful tapestry of modern Africa: a young couple, kidnap victims of Joseph Kony's LRA; a Mauritanian waging a lonely campaign against modern-day slavery; a women's basketball team flourishing amid war-torn Somalia; and a vigilante who takes up arms against the extremist group Boko Haram.
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Amazing and Inspirational Stories
- By F L. on 01-01-18
By: Alexis Okeowo
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Find Me Unafraid
- Love, Loss, and Hope in an African Slum
- By: Kennedy Odede, Jessica Posner
- Narrated by: Korey Jackson, Mandy Siegfried, P.J. Ochlan (foreword)
- Length: 11 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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Find Me Unafraid tells the uncommon love story between two uncommon people whose collaboration sparked a successful movement to transform the lives of vulnerable girls and the urban poor. With a foreword by Nicholas Kristof.
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A difficult and rewarding listen
- By R. MCRACKAN on 08-23-18
By: Kennedy Odede, and others
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They Said They Wanted Revolution
- A Memoir of My Parents
- By: Neda Toloui-Semnani
- Narrated by: Neda Toloui-Semnani
- Length: 8 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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In 1979, Neda Toloui-Semnani’s parents left the United States for Iran to join the revolution. But the promise of those early heady days in Tehran was warped by the rise of the Islamic Republic. With the new regime came international isolation, cultural devastation, and profound personal loss for Neda. Her father was arrested and her mother was forced to make a desperate escape, pregnant and with Neda in tow.
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I learned so much. Great pacing, felt like I time-traveled
- By Jess Fuchs on 02-07-22
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Zeitoun
- By: Dave Eggers
- Narrated by: Firdous Bamji
- Length: 10 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
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When HurricaneKatrina struck New Orleans, Abdulrahman Zeitoun - a prosperous Syrian-American and father of four - chose to stay through the storm to protect his house and contracting business. In the eerie days after the storm, he traveled the flooded streets in a secondhand canoe, passing on supplies and rescuing those he could. A week later, on September 6, 2005, Zeitoun abruptly disappeared.
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Something bold, ebullient, yet quiet
- By Darwin8u on 10-08-13
By: Dave Eggers
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Mighty Be Our Powers
- How Sisterhood, Prayer, and Sex Changed a Nation at War; a Memoir
- By: Leymah Gbowee, Carol Mithers
- Narrated by: Kimberly Scott
- Length: 9 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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As a young woman growing up in Africa, 17-year-old Leymah Gbowee was crushed by a savage war when violence reached her native Monrovia, depriving her of the education she yearned for and claiming the lives of relatives and friends. As war continued to ravage Liberia, Gbowee’s bitterness turned to rage-fueled action as she realized that women bear the greatest burden in prolonged conflicts.
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Mighty Be Our Powers: How Sisterhood, Prayer, and
- By Kathy on 10-07-11
By: Leymah Gbowee, and others
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The Monk of Mokha
- By: Dave Eggers
- Narrated by: Dion Graham
- Length: 8 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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Mokhtar Alkhanshali grew up in San Francisco, one of seven siblings raised by Yemeni immigrants in a tiny apartment. At age 24, unable to pay for college, he works as a doorman. Until: a statue of an Arab raising a cup of coffee awakens something in him. He sets out to learn the rich history of coffee in Yemen and the complex art of tasting and identifying varietals. He travels to Yemen, collects samples of beans, eager to bring improved cultivation methods to the farmers. And he is on the verge of success when civil war engulfs Yemen in 2015 and he is trapped in Sana'a.
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MOVING THE NEEDLE
- By Dog Fish on 02-20-18
By: Dave Eggers
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Walking the Bowl
- A True Story of Murder and Survival Among the Street Children of Lusaka
- By: Chris Lockhart, Daniel Mulilo Chama
- Narrated by: Hlonela Ngqwebo
- Length: 9 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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Based on years of investigative reporting and unprecedented fieldwork, Walking the Bowl immerses readers in the daily lives of four unforgettable characters: Lusabilo, a determined waste picker; Kapula, a burned-out brothel worker; Moonga, a former rock crusher turned beggar; and Timo, an ambitious gang leader. These children navigate the violent and poverty-stricken underworld of Lusaka, one of Africa’s fastest growing cities.
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Amazing. Horrifying. But true.
- By Daniel W. Fox, Jr. on 03-23-22
By: Chris Lockhart, and others
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The Aquariums of Pyongyang
- By: Chol-hwan Kang, Pierre Rigoulot
- Narrated by: Stephen Park
- Length: 7 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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Amid escalating nuclear tensions, Kim Jong-un and North Korea's other leaders have kept a tight grasp on their one-party state, quashing any nascent opposition movements and sending all suspected dissidents to its brutal concentration camps for "re-education". Kang Chol-Hwan is the first survivor of one of these camps to escape and tell his story to the world, documenting the extreme conditions in these gulags and providing a personal insight into life in North Korea.
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Riveting!!
- By Iread on 11-12-20
By: Chol-hwan Kang, and others
What listeners say about North to Paradise
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Michael R.
- 02-02-24
Inspiring and perfect for our time!
I absolutely love this book! I love how the author shared his life, I love the performance, and I am in awe of the story itself. Emigrants seeking a better life is one of mankind’s oldest stories, and remains in the headlines throughout the world. Here in the US today it is a major point of contention, I wish more Americans would read this book and see the world through an emigrants eyes. At one time all of our families were emigrants, think about that and be kind when you meet someone trying to make a better life for themselves and their families.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Susan
- 02-08-24
Heartrending nd eye opening
Very sad story, but also inspiring. This was a tough listen Opened my eyes to other parts of the world.
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- ProfLSW
- 02-06-24
Reframing Immigration:Immigrants
This is a must-read for all humanitarians. I will never again be look at an immigrant with disregard. This biographic narrative brings real treachery, determination, and survival to the fore. The God-forsaken journey of overcoming all odds offers hope for those of us who are privileged and those who are not.
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- Ellen Gilmartin
- 02-11-24
Fascinating
While I know intellectually that my privileged life as a citizen of the USA is not typical in the world, it is hearing the stories of those who have experienced a lot of suffering that really make me start to understand.
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- Steven Repstock
- 02-18-24
Couldn't stop listening
Ousman's story puts me in his shoes and showed me a life I couldn't have imagined.
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- Arron
- 05-21-22
Inspiring and captivating story!
Loved it! Great reminder of how good we have it in the west! Hard to imagine a 12 year old going through all this!
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2 people found this helpful
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- Shlomi
- 02-03-24
cool book about the story of immigration
quick book read from the experience of one immigrant who made it.
a very easy read
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- JC56987
- 02-04-24
Amazing very young man
The story was incredible. Such a long arduous journey. So many hardships. Yet kindness of strangers. Ousman's story truly humbled me.
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- Dorothy
- 07-07-23
Review
5 stars.gives a great understanding of what motivates migrants and the hardships they endure. 1
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4 people found this helpful
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- Gaby Mtz
- 08-02-22
A heartbreaking story, one in a million
A heartbreaking book, but also a hopeful one. This is the kind of book that meant to inspire us to be better and do more.
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3 people found this helpful