Shakespeare Saved My Life
Ten Years in Solitary with the Bard
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Narrated by:
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Cassandra Campbell
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By:
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Laura Bates
About this listen
Shakespeare professor and prison volunteer Laura Bates thought she had seen it all. That is until she decided to teach Shakespeare in a place the bard had never been before - supermax solitary confinement. In this unwelcoming place, surrounded by inmates known as the worst of the worst, is Larry Newton. A convicted murderer with several escape attempts under his belt and a brilliantly agile mind on his shoulders, Larry was trying to break out of prison at the same time Laura was fighting to get her program started behind bars. Thus begins the most unlikely of friendships, one bonded by Shakespeare and lasting years - a friendship that, in the end, would save more than one life.
©2013 Laura Bates (P)2015 TantorListeners also enjoyed...
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- Narrated by: David Menasche
- Length: 4 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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David Menasche lived for his work as a high school English teacher. His passion inspired his students, and between lessons on Shakespeare and sentence structure, he forged a unique bond with his kids, buoying them through personal struggles while sharing valuable life lessons.
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Truly Inspiring!!
- By Trish on 07-13-14
By: David Menasche
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Letters to an Incarcerated Brother
- Encouragement, Hope, and Healing for Inmates and Their Loved Ones
- By: Hill Harper
- Narrated by: Kevin R. Free
- Length: 10 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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After the publication of the best-selling Letters to a Young Brother, accomplished actor and speaker Hill Harper began to receive an increasing number of moving letters from inmates who yearned for a connection with a successful role model. With disturbing statistics on African-American incarceration on his mind (one in six black men were incarcerated as of 2001, and one in three can now expect to go to prison some time in their lifetimes), Harper set out to address the specific needs of inmates.
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great read and a amazing book . every black man no matter where should read it.
- By Anonymous User on 06-25-24
By: Hill Harper
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True Notebooks
- A Writer's Year at Juvenile Hall
- By: Mark Salzman
- Narrated by: Paul Boehmer
- Length: 9 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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Surprising, charming, upsetting, enlightening, and ultimately hopeful - driven by the insight and humor of Salzman’s voice and by the intelligence, candor, and strength of his students, whose writing appears throughout the book - True Notebooks is itself a reward of the self-expression Mark Salzman teaches: a revelatory meditation on the process, power, and meaning of writing.
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Funny, witty and honest! Loved the book!!
- By Erika on 11-24-03
By: Mark Salzman
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The 57 Bus
- A True Story of Two Teenagers and the Crime That Changed Their Lives
- By: Dashka Slater
- Narrated by: Robin Miles
- Length: 5 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
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If it weren't for the 57 bus, Sasha and Richard never would have met. Both were high school students from Oakland, California, one of the most diverse cities in the country, but they inhabited different worlds. Sasha, a white teen, lived in the middle-class foothills and attended a small private school. Richard, a black teen, lived in the crime-plagued flatlands and attended a large public one. Each day, their paths overlapped for a mere eight minutes. But, one afternoon, on the bus ride home from school, a single reckless act left Sasha severely burned.
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An Unusual True-Crime Event...Beautifully Written.
- By Mary Burnight on 02-21-18
By: Dashka Slater
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The Pursuit of Happyness (Abridged)
- By: Chris Gardner
- Narrated by: Andre Blake
- Length: 5 hrs and 42 mins
- Abridged
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At the age of 20, Chris Gardner arrived in San Francisco to pursue a promising career in medicine. However, he surprised everyone and himself by setting his sights on the competitive world of high finance. Yet no sooner had he landed an entry-level position at a prestigious firm, Gardner found himself caught in a web of incredibly challenging circumstances that left him part of the city's working homeless with his toddler son.
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Very Good Story!
- By Lito Da Critic on 06-02-06
By: Chris Gardner
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Where Mercy Is Shown, Mercy Is Given
- By: Duane 'Dog' Chapman
- Narrated by: Alan Sklar
- Length: 9 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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Considered by many to be the world's greatest bounty hunter, Duane "Dog" Chapman has become famous for capturing fugitives on Dog the Bounty Hunter, his number-one-rated show on A&E. But his job doesn't end when he cuffs his man - or woman. Having personally struggled against abuse, addiction, and a life of crime, Dog knows a thing or two about the path that these fugitives cuffed in the back of his car are on.
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Slow narration - I wish the author narrated more
- By HappyQuails on 02-22-11
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Getting Life
- An Innocent Man’s 25-Year Journey from Prison to Peace
- By: Michael Morton
- Narrated by: Roger Wayne
- Length: 9 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
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On August 13, 1986, just one day after his 32nd birthday, Michael Morton went to work at his usual time. By the end of the day, his wife Christine had been savagely bludgeoned to death in the couple's bed - and the Williamson County Sherriff's office in Texas wasted no time in pinning her murder on Michael, despite an absolute lack of physical evidence. Michael was swiftly sentenced to life in prison for a crime he had not committed
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A must read
- By Kevlar314 on 04-23-15
By: Michael Morton
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When They Call You a Terrorist
- A Black Lives Matter Memoir
- By: Patrisse Cullors, asha bandele, Angela Davis - foreword
- Narrated by: Angela Davis - foreword, Angela Davis, Patrisse Cullors
- Length: 6 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
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When They Call You a Terrorist is the essential audiobook for every conscientious American. From one of the cofounders of the Black Lives Matter movement comes a poetic audiobook memoir and reflection on humanity. Necessary and timely, Patrisse Cullors' story asks us to remember that protest in the interest of the most vulnerable comes from love.
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Everyone should listen!
- By Mary J. Bunker on 01-26-18
By: Patrisse Cullors, and others
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Unholy Messenger
- The Life and Crimes of the BTK Serial Killer
- By: Stephen Singular
- Narrated by: Alan Sklar
- Length: 10 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
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To all appearances, Dennis Rader was a model citizen in the small town of Park City, Kansas, where he had lived with his family almost his entire life. He was a town compliance officer, a former Boy Scout leader, the president of his church congregation, and a seemingly ordinary father and husband. But Rader's average life belied the existence of his dark, sadistic other self: he was the BTK serial killer.
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It's a Christian Book!!
- By Nick on 07-07-16
By: Stephen Singular
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A Fractured Mind
- My Life with Multiple Personality Disorder
- By: Robert B. Oxnam
- Narrated by: William Dufris
- Length: 9 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
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At the peak of his professional career, after having led the Asia Society for nearly a decade, Oxnam was haunted by periodic blackouts and episodic rages. After his family and friends intervened, Oxnam received help from a psychiatrist, Dr. Jeffery Smith, and entered a rehab center. It wasn't until 1990, during a session with Dr. Smith, that the first of Oxnam's 11 alternate personalities, an angry young boy named Tommy, suddenly emerged.
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A solid look at a rare disorder
- By O. Canosa on 11-23-07
By: Robert B. Oxnam
What listeners say about Shakespeare Saved My Life
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Big
- 03-19-19
Provocative
A powerful story on several levels. Made me want to read Shakespeare and to rethink the prisons we put ourselves in. Laura and Larry are people I’d like to know!
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- Heather Johnson
- 08-21-23
Must Read!
This is such an important story for the general public and educators alike.
The story is excellent but it would have been stronger with a different reader.
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- Chad
- 09-21-20
A powerful look at life behind bars
The author, who volunteers extensively in prison (particularly supermax), tells the story of her experiences there, what she sees in prison, of the life prisoners lead. Most notably, there is one prisoner in particular she talks about. A man who went to prison as a teenager and faces life without the possibility of parole. As a prisoner, he's committed violent acts in the past, but now the older version of this man is quiet, compassionate and intelligent, and devours Shakespeare with a passion the author only dreams of seeing in her ordinary college students.
To be clear, this book is about prison, not about shakespeare. Despite the author's fan of the subject, it's clear the inmate's passion for Shakespeare is simply due to them being utterly starved of any other intellectual distraction. Although it is interesting how the book will draw comparisons between situations faced by the characters in Shakespeare's plays and those faced by the inmates before they become prisoners, causing them to see those situations in a different light.
I am uncomfortable with how the author sometimes draws comparisons between her experiences and those of the inmates. For example, she on multiple occasions refers to having spent ten years in solitary confinement, when what she really means is she make weekly visits to the prison to volunteer.
Her accomplishments are definitely notable though. She spent a huge amount of time in a risky and intimidating situation, helping to educate prisoners. Although it did accord her some degree of fame, it had a negative impact on her career, in which "publish or perish" is the watchword. So she certainly made sacrifices for what she believes in.
The underlying narrative is clearly the mistreatment of people in prison. How we treat prisoners in ways that would be deemed torture and abuse in any other context. That we should think of imprisonment as a tool for reform, not punishment. Curiously, though, the author never actually comes out and says this. The closest is sharing the prisoner's own opinions on reform. Perhaps she felt the lesson would be more powerful if treated with a bit of subtlety.
I largely recommend this book so that we can all better understand the criminal justice system, and the unfairness and inefficacy thereof. This story makes it clear that criminal justice reform is greatly needed in the US.
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- Michele
- 11-23-20
Interesting Story On Many Levels
I really enjoyed the book. I wish there was a follow up after all these years. I found Newton and Dr Bates had a great relationship on so many different levels with a lot of respect for each other.
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- Kelly
- 07-29-16
Redemption & Friendship Change the World.
I expected a little more analysis of Shakespeare, and that was an element which I both dreaded and anticipated. What the book gave me though was an intimate glimpse into a very sweet relationship between the author and man who was spending life in prison and a great deal of it in segregation. This man was a murderer and a thief, but he was also human. He desired an education, a relationship and connections with the outside world. The author let us see that part of the man. I found it intriguing and complicated; I found it to be real and sweet and entertaining. This is one of those books that will make you think and feel. Now, if it had been a bit longer and had explored Shakespeare more as I expected based on the title and the editor's description this book may have received 5 stars.
Cassandra Campbell's narration was beautifully subtle. I felt as though I was listening to the author tell her own story -- not like someone else reading her book. I love when a narrator can meld seamlessly into the story and virtually disappear. Ms. Campbell does that here.
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3 people found this helpful
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- K J Malone
- 08-05-16
amazing must listen
a lot of thought to do after the listen with respect to how what Larry undergoes in isolation relates to other mental health challenges
amazing insights
narrator wonderfully on track in her voice changes for the different characters, significantly improved the listen
almost has me wanting to read Shakespeare. when she gets the book out on it I might
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1 person found this helpful
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- F. Rubino
- 02-26-23
Life without parole…ever.
Story of a friendship between a Shakespeare Professor and 17 y/o murderer who enters a college level Shakespeare program at age 30 and becomes a changed man and discovered that he must breakout of his own self imposed prison.
The two learned from each other about overcoming life’s difficulties .
I highly recommend this book to people who work in the prison system as well as college professors and all others.
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- Michael Clementi
- 07-14-17
An amazing tale of the human spirit.
I thoroughly enjoyed this audiobook. Fantastic story, - well read. An incredible for tale of justice, injustice, and the triumph of the human spirit.
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- Hanh Nguyen
- 04-20-24
Newton’s perseverance
I love how Larry persevered all through his obstacles and stayed strong. It’s now 14 years since this book was written, I am praying that he continues to stay strong and continues to leave footprints wherever he goes.
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- Suzanne Hathaway
- 05-24-24
Changed lives
I loved this book and I have never read any Shakespeare. I did not want it to end!
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