
Out of the Darkness
The Story of Mary Ellen Wilson
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Narrated by:
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Deb Thomas
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By:
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Eric A. Shelman
About this listen
In New York City, in April of 1874, a most unusual event took place. A severely abused nine-year-old girl named Mary Ellen Wilson became the first child in America to be rescued from an abusive home. She had been beaten, burned, slashed with scissors, locked in a closet, and had never been outside of her tenement home in over 7 years. Thanks to the concern and dedication of a missionary named Etta Wheeler, the child was finally saved from her cruel captors. Henry Bergh's ASPCA - yes, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals - was instrumental in securing her rescue. When no other agencies would become involved, the ASPCA used its power and influence to not only save Mary Ellen, but to charter the first organization of its kind to prevent cruelty to children, the NYSPCC - the New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. This book remains the only book that tells the dramatic story of Mary Ellen's life and rescue.
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- By missmarples on 12-31-14
By: Brian McGinty
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The Captivity of the Oatman Girls
- The History of the Young Sisters Who Were Abducted by Native Americans in the 1850s
- By: Charles River Editors
- Narrated by: Scott Clem
- Length: 1 hr and 17 mins
- Unabridged
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On the North American continent, Native American tribes carried out abductions against the new European settlers from the time they first set foot on eastern shores. Some of the women taken in the colonial to early American period went on to become respected figures in their new environments, while others lived out their lives as slaves.
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Worst narrator ever, couldn’t listen more than 10 minutes
- By linda michelle morrow on 12-13-20
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Against Medical Advice
- One Family's Struggle with an Agonizing Medical Mystery
- By: James Patterson, Hal Friedman
- Narrated by: Kevin T. Collins
- Length: 5 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
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Cory Friedman woke up one morning when he was five years old with the uncontrollable urge to twitch his neck. From that day forward his life became a hell of irrepressible tics and involuntary utterances, and Cory embarked on an excruciating journey from specialist to specialist to discover the cause of his disease. Soon it became unclear what tics were symptoms of his disease and what were side effects of the countless combinations of drugs. The only certainty is that it kept getting worse. Simply put: Cory Friedman's life was a living hell.
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Good Story
- By Nicole on 11-06-08
By: James Patterson, and others
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Broken
- The Most Shocking Childhood Story Ever Told. An Inspirational Author Who Survived It.
- By: Shy Keenan
- Narrated by: Judy Mason
- Length: 10 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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I was born and broken in Birkenhead, abused from infancy by a network of every kind of pervert from ‘thinks it’s love’ to ‘show it hurts’. I was unwanted, beaten, sold, swapped, photographed, filmed, left for dead, corrupted, blamed, betrayed, ignored and orphaned. But I was also born with a fire inside me. I call it my Phoenix Fire. I am no victim—that word only describes what happened to me. Nor am I a survivor because that implies I am over it. I am a Phoenix—a work in progress. This is my story....
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Unbelievable Story
- By Amazon Customer on 09-07-23
By: Shy Keenan
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Just Ignore Him
- A BBC Two Between the Covers book club pick
- By: Alan Davies
- Narrated by: Alan Davies
- Length: 8 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
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Through even the joyous and innocent memories, the pain of Davies' lifelong grief and profound betrayal is unfiltered, searing and beautifully articulated. Just Ignore Him is not only an autobiography, it is a testament to a survivor's resilience and courage.
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This is my five-star this year
- By Kristofer Jarl on 11-18-20
By: Alan Davies
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Mengele
- The Complete Story
- By: Gerald Posner, John Ware, Michael Berenbaum - introduction
- Narrated by: Bruce Mann
- Length: 15 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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Based on exclusive and unrestricted access to more than 5,000 pages of personal writings and family photos, this definitive biography of German physician and SS-Hauptsturmfuhrer Josef Mengele (1911-1979) probes the personality and motivations of Auschwitz's "Angel of Death". From May 1943 through January 1945, Mengele selected who would be gassed immediately, who would be worked to death, and who would serve as involuntary guinea pigs for his spurious and ghastly human experiments (twins were Mengele's particular obsession).
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ONE OF THE WORST BOOKS I HAVE EVER READ
- By PAUL on 08-02-20
By: Gerald Posner, and others
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Running on Red Dog Road
- And Other Perils of an Appalachian Childhood
- By: Drema Hall Berkheimer
- Narrated by: Bailey Carr
- Length: 6 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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Gypsies, faith-healers, moonshiners, and snake handlers weave through Drema's childhood in 1940s Appalachia after her father is killed in the coal mines, her mother goes off to work as a Rosie the Riveter, and she is left in the care of devout Pentecostal grandparents. What follows is a spitfire of a memoir that feels like a novel with intrigue, sweeping emotion, and indisputable charm. Drema's coming of age is colored by tent revivals with Grandpa, poetry-writing hobos, and traveling carnivals, and through it all, she serves witness to a multi-generational family.
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real life
- By Richard M. on 10-05-22
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The Foxfire Book of Appalachian Women
- Stories of Landscape and Community in the Mountain South
- By: Kami Ahrens
- Narrated by: Reyna Star
- Length: 12 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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The Foxfire Magazine, a literary journal first published in 1967 in Rabun Gap, Georgia, was founded on the belief that stories and meaning could be found in Appalachian spaces, not only in classics such as Shakespeare. Filled with poetry and prose from local students and authors, the magazine also featured interviews with relatives and neighbors. These oral histories conducted by students from the Rabun Gap-Nacoochee School quickly became the star of the magazine. Now, pulled from the vast Foxfire archive, come twenty-one oral histories from southern Appalachian women.
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Great stories. Needs better narration
- By Mhall1111 on 01-02-25
By: Kami Ahrens
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People Who Eat Darkness
- The True Story of a Young Woman Who Vanished from the Streets of Tokyo - and the Evil That Swallowed Her Up
- By: Richard Lloyd Parry
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 13 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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Lucie Blackman - tall, blond, 21 years old - stepped out into the vastness of Tokyo in the summer of 2000 and disappeared. The following winter, her dismembered remains were found buried in a seaside cave. The seven months in between had seen a massive search for the missing girl involving Japanese policemen, British private detectives, and Lucie’s desperate but bitterly divided parents. Had Lucie been abducted by a religious cult or snatched by human traffickers? Who was the mysterious man she had gone to meet? And what did her work as a hostess in the notorious Roppongi district of Tokyo really involve?
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This is the audiobook against I rate all others.
- By El_Ron on 03-08-13
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Sold on a Monday
- A Novel
- By: Kristina McMorris
- Narrated by: Brian Hutchison
- Length: 9 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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2 CHILDREN FOR SALE. In 1931, near Philadelphia, ambitious reporter Ellis Reed photographs the gut-wrenching sign posted beside a pair of siblings on a farmhouse porch. With the help of newspaper secretary Lily Palmer, Ellis writes an article to accompany the photo. Capturing the hardships of American families during the Great Depression, the feature story generates national attention and Ellis's career skyrockets. But the piece also leads to consequences more devastating than he and Lily ever imagined - and it will risk everything they value to unravel the mystery and set things right.
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Not what I anticipated...
- By Lashawn on 10-13-18
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Half Broke Horses
- A True-Life Novel
- By: Jeannette Walls
- Narrated by: Jeannette Walls
- Length: 7 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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Jeannette Walls's memoir The Glass Castle was "nothing short of spectacular" ( Entertainment Weekly). Now, in Half Broke Horses, she brings us the story of her grandmother, told in a first-person voice that is authentic, irresistible, and triumphant.
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A BETTER BOOK THAN "THE GLASS CASTLE"
- By Kathryn on 01-10-10
By: Jeannette Walls
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Out of Darkness
- By: Ashley Hope Pérez
- Narrated by: Benita Robledo, Lincoln Hoppe
- Length: 12 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
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New London, Texas, 1937. Naomi Vargas and Wash Fuller know about the lines in East Texas as well as anyone. They know the signs that mark them. They know the people who enforce them. But sometimes the attraction between two people is so powerful it breaks through even the most entrenched color lines. And the consequences can be explosive.
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Without Public Rant, How Many Would Discover a Gem
- By Roswatheist on 09-25-21
What listeners say about Out of the Darkness
Highly rated for:
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- Becky
- 07-13-18
So disturbing
I find it so hard to believe anyone would mistreat a child. Poor defenseless innocence stolen!
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2 people found this helpful
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- VinellaGal2000
- 01-01-18
Loved this book!
Not realizing I was reading a book about how two organizations I am very fond of and support, how they were started! The timeline of the story amazed me! How one organization started another!
If you like historically true stories, this may be the book for you! I believe it is worth the read or listen!
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- CJ
- 03-05-19
Hope for mankind
Incredibly written and wonderfully performed. A truly in depth view into how some children and animals were treated in the early days of American history. This book brought me to tears more than once. Thank you for this Mr. Shelman.
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- Barbra Guffee
- 06-25-14
historical fiction
Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?
Yes it was easy to listen to and kept my attention
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
Yes, it was very easy to listen to. Some audio books can distract from the story.
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7 people found this helpful
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- D. DeVries
- 11-04-15
Humanity at it's worst and best.
If you could sum up Out of the Darkness in three words, what would they be?
Interesting - History - overcoming
What do you think the narrator could have done better?
Many of her voices...I was not really happy with...too much...over acting...southern voices in New York...was out of place to me. Her narrating did not stop me from listening & enjoying the book...but some character voices became irritating to me.
Any additional comments?
This was a book that I did want to listen to all in one sitting...but it took two sittings. The writer had a lot of history..which some say dragged on, but I didn't feel that way. I enjoyed all of the book.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Zulma Perrony
- 12-16-24
how this little girl was so innocent to even not holding a grudge to the person's that abused her
it got me almost in tears 😢 . really love the book. and like the there was and update
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- Maria T. Halliday
- 01-05-15
Good narration
She did all different voices, which I enjoyed. I wish more time was spent on the story of Mary Ellen a bit more, but it was, overall, a good book!
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8 people found this helpful
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- Mark Edingburg
- 06-27-19
great review for my 1st audible
This was my first audible book ever, and I found I could not put it down.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Amazon Customer
- 07-13-19
So sad yet so beautiful
Very sad but also beautiful. Mary Ellen's resilience is amazing. What a strong little girl.
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- Joe
- 12-03-19
Great one
Even though I didn’t care at all for the narrator changing voices, I couldn’t stop listening. I recommend this one
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