
On the Bright Side
Stories About Friendship, Love, and Being True to Yourself
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Narrated by:
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Melanie Shankle
About this listen
Big Mama blog founder and New York Times best-selling author Melanie Shankle helps us sort through our questions about being true to ourselves in a world gone crazy and what matters the most in the end.
These days, so many voices tell us what to do, what to think, and what kind of parent or friend or spouse to be that it's easy to feel overwhelmed and defeated. Somewhere in the midst of online arguments and crazy politics and the ups and downs of life, we've lost sight of the gifts that are all around us: kindness, love, mercy, and joy.
In On the Bright Side, Melanie Shankle reminds us of the unchanging principles we can count on in a changing world. These are lessons that Melanie has learned along the way about how to find all the joy that life has to offer - and why encouragement is never something to keep to ourselves. Melanie invites us to lead with love in all areas of our lives, exploring topics such as:
- Finding your people
- Giving up on comparing and competing
- Aging (kind of) gracefully
- Believing in ever after
- Staying mostly sane while raising kids
- Thinking before speaking
- Making decisions
- And more!
This delightful memoir highlights the joys of life told in Melanie's down-to-earth, relatable, and totally enjoyable style. On the Bright Side is a how-to guide to knowing - and living - what matters most.
©2020 Melanie Shankle (P)2020 ZondervanListeners also enjoyed...
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Everything Beautiful in Its Time
- Seasons of Love and Loss
- By: Jenna Bush Hager
- Narrated by: Jenna Bush Hager
- Length: 5 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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Now the mother of three young children, Jenna pays homage to her grandparents in this collection of heartwarming, intimate personal essays. Filled with love, laughter, and unforgettable stories, Everything Beautiful in Its Time captures the joyous and bittersweet nature of life itself. Jenna reflects on the single year in which she and her family lost Barbara and George H. W. Bush, and Jenna Welch. Jenna reveals how they navigated this difficult period with grace, faith, and nostalgic humor, uplifted by their grandparents' sage advice and incomparable spirits.
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A True Love Story
- By Unglaza on 09-12-20
By: Jenna Bush Hager
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A Fine Sight to See
- Leading Because You Were Made for It
- By: Sophie Hudson
- Narrated by: Sophie Hudson
- Length: 6 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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With relatable stories and disarming grace, popular podcaster and author Sophie Hudson cuts through the confusing, differing stances on Christian women in leadership and offers a resource that empowers women to embrace their roles as leaders.
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Spills her heart
- By Dawn Greenlee on 09-29-24
By: Sophie Hudson
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Giddy Up, Eunice
- Because Women Need Each Other
- By: Sophie Hudson
- Narrated by: Sophie Hudson
- Length: 6 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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It's easy for women to focus on what seems to separate us: differences in age, parenting styles, career goals, or maybe even core beliefs about whether leggings can adequately serve as pants (the struggle is real, y'all). The reality, though, is that we have far more in common than we realize, and since Scripture shows us the blessing of friendships across generations, it's high time we step out of our same-age, same-stage silos. Life is so much better that way.
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I laughed, I cried, I contemplated.
- By Dianne G. on 10-17-17
By: Sophie Hudson
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Made for People
- Why We Drift into Loneliness and How to Fight for a Life of Friendship
- By: Justin Whitmel Earley
- Narrated by: Justin Earley
- Length: 5 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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In Made for People—by bestselling author of The Habits of the Household—Justin Whitmel Earley explains why God made us to experience deep friendship and how we can cultivate them despite a culture of busyness, disconnection, and fear of vulnerability. Through personal stories, research, and biblical wisdom, Justin paints of a picture of God's design for "covenant friendships."
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Well written and MUCH needed
- By Amazon Customer on 08-25-23
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How to Stay Married
- By: Harrison Scott Key
- Narrated by: Harrison Scott Key, Lauren Key
- Length: 8 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
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One gorgeous autumn day, Harrison discovers that his wife—the sweet, funny, loving mother of their three daughters, a woman “who’s spent just about every Sunday of her life in a church”—is having an affair with a family friend. This revelation propels the hysterical, heartbreaking events in How to Stay Married, casting our narrator onto “the factory floor of hell,” where his wife was now in love with a man who “wears cargo shorts, on purpose.” What will he do? Kick her out?
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A book that holds the details of your marriage
- By Karla on 07-16-23
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Church of the Small Things: Audio Bible Studies
- By: Melanie Shankle
- Narrated by: Melanie Shankle
- Length: 1 hr and 47 mins
- Original Recording
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It doesn’t matter how old we are or what kind of work we do, we’ve all wondered at times, “Does my life really matter?” Do the everyday events and messy moments make any kind of difference? Is it okay to be fulfilled by the simple acts of raising kids, working in an office, and cooking chicken for dinner?
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Wish it was longer
- By M D. on 09-15-20
By: Melanie Shankle
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Everyday Holy
- By: Melanie Shankle
- Narrated by: Melanie Shankle
- Length: 5 hrs
- Unabridged
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It seems to be a rite of passage for every woman: one day you wake up and think, “Wait. This is the life I signed up for?!” We’ve all been there. Melanie Shankle is just brave enough to say it out loud. And Everyday Holy is your invitation to reexamine your life and find the little pieces that create a beautiful picture of a big God. It’s a common theme: Am I okay? Is my life significant? And how do we measure significance, anyway?
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Great Devotional
- By Laura Abel on 08-27-24
By: Melanie Shankle
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Stand All the Way Up
- Stories of Staying in It When You Want to Burn It All Down
- By: Sophie Hudson
- Narrated by: Sophie Hudson
- Length: 5 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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If you’re anything like Sophie Hudson, your initial reaction to the hard stuff - the pieces and parts of life that keep you up at night, relentlessly reminding you that the “simple and easy” path is somehow a turn you must’ve missed along the way - is to try to figure out how to make it go away. You might wonder if it’s possible to just ignore it, or, better yet, to burn it all down. But what Sophie found during a particularly difficult stretch is that the Lord, through his word and his people, faithfully reveals how to get up, straighten up, and stand all the way up.
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Soul restoring
- By Tidy Touch on 09-23-24
By: Sophie Hudson
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When Doing It All Is Undoing You
- Meeting God in Your Unmet Expectations
- By: Alyssa Joy Bethke
- Narrated by: Alyssa Joy Bethke
- Length: 7 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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In When Doing It All is Undoing You, Alyssa Bethke helps listeners understand the difference between what is in and what is out of our control, and she examines how our striving for approval, balance, happiness, and lofty ideals often masks underlying fear and disappointment. She acknowledges that even when we do all the right things, the outcome we hope for is not guaranteed, and addresses the disillusionment so many of us feel when the life we have looks nothing like the life we envisioned.
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So relatable as a wife and mother.
- By Lauren on 11-21-24
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I Feel Bad About My Neck
- And Other Thoughts on Being a Woman
- By: Nora Ephron
- Narrated by: Nora Ephron
- Length: 3 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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With her disarming, intimate, completely accessible voice, and dry sense of humor, Nora Ephron shares with us her ups and downs in I Feel Bad About My Neck, a candid, hilarious look at women who are getting older and dealing with the tribulations of maintenance, menopause, empty nests, and life itself.
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Don't make me get out of the car...
- By Kestrel on 10-09-06
By: Nora Ephron
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Reconnected
- How 7 Screen-Free Weeks with Monks and Amish Farmers Helped Me Recover the Lost Art of Being Human
- By: Carlos Whittaker
- Narrated by: Carlos Whittaker
- Length: 6 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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Blending wisdom from the past, practices of intentionality and community, and Whittaker's signature engaging communication style, Reconnected will inspire and equip you to reset your life in a tech-saturated world. It's time to take back control of your life from technology and recover the lost art of being human. You were made for more. This is how you start living again.
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Great Read
- By Amazon Customer on 10-16-24
By: Carlos Whittaker
What listeners say about On the Bright Side
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- Katie
- 03-01-20
Please read and share with friends
I have loved all of Melanie’s book. She makes me laugh out loud while helping me to really see the bright side of life. I wish she was my best friend.
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- J
- 05-29-20
great inspirational book
I feel like this author and I would be friends. Great message and funny.
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- countrygirl
- 09-15-20
Light Hearted, funny and lots of wisdom
The author reads the book herself. She is hilarious, yet possesses a deep wisdom for women. I would say people with school-age children would love this book, but I am 59 and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
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- Leslie Rains
- 04-05-20
A delightful gem!
This book was a gem! I loved Melanie Shankle’s voice and her hilarious stories that I can relate to so well (fellow enneagram 9 here), as well as her poignant words on so many topics from why she has one child to realities of motherhood and being a woman - with scripture interwoven throughout. Thank you for such a lovely and delightful book, Melanie.
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- Harlon wisdom
- 02-25-20
Parents raising kids, read this book!
I pray this book starts a massive movement to look on the bright side of life!
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- Lisa Robbins
- 06-03-20
Excellent
I love Melanies rhythm of humor and encouragement wrapped up in a whole lot of truth! Well done, girl. I enjoyed this so much.
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- CAO
- 09-09-21
Melanie is humble and poignant
And absolutely spot on. So many times listening I thought … did she hack my Facebook and steal my stories?! And not just because we share a daughter the same age and both are children of the ‘80s. Well done!!!
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- Amazon Customer
- 01-28-21
Awesome
This is a quick read and loved every word of it! Very relatable to everything going on in this world and life in general!
P.S. Gig’em!
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- Jess H.
- 02-27-20
So good!
I have read and loved all of Melanie’s books, this one included. This is a cheerful, heartfelt, nostalgic, feel good book...Melanie has a way of making the most simple things feel holy. I love her humor and sarcasm, and I love her sincerity about finding God in all the things. I’m sad I’m already finished with the book, and I look forward to her next one!
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- marisa
- 07-22-22
My favorite author
I am always sad when I finish listening to her books. She is so funny and full of wisdom. It’s like your best friend wrote a book and described what it was like to grow up in the 80s. She writes about navigating this thing called life with all the challenges that come with it in such a funny yet serious kind of way. I just can’t get enough of Melanie and can’t wait for her next book.
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