Six Sermons Audiobook By Asa Merritt cover art

Six Sermons

Preview

Try for $0.00
Access a growing selection of included Audible Originals, audiobooks, and podcasts.
You will get an email reminder before your trial ends.
Audible Plus auto-renews for $7.95/mo after 30 days. Upgrade or cancel anytime.

Six Sermons

By: Asa Merritt
Narrated by: Stephanie Hsu, Full Cast
Try for $0.00

$7.95 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $24.95

Buy for $24.95

Confirm purchase
Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.
Cancel

About this listen

As the tight-knit Trinity Grace Church mourns the loss of their beloved pastor, his chosen successor, Alexis, bears the weight of a hidden truth: Pastor Will took his own life.

In the stormy weeks that follow, Alexis is tasked with nothing short of restoring her congregation’s faith—even as her own is secretly crumbling.

Stephanie Hsu (Everything Everywhere All at Once) brings fire and vulnerability to the role of Alexis, a young pastor forced to confront her biggest fears while trying to solve the mystery that keeps her up at night: Why’d you do it, Will?

As hopeful as it is heartbreaking, Six Sermons will transport you to summer in Ohio, where the cicadas are loud, tensions are high, and gossip is fierce. Whether you’ve ever been in a church or not, you’ll be rooting for Alexis to win over the doubters and conquer her own demons. Listen closely.

Please note: This program contains mature language and themes, including a discussion of suicide. Listener discretion is advised.

©2023 Audible Originals, LLC (P)2023 Audible Originals, LLC
Literature & Fiction Heartfelt Inspiring Thought-Provoking
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2
About the Creator- Asa Merritt

About the Writer and Creator

A former international reporter for NPR, VICE Sports, The Guardian, and ESPN’s 30 for 30 podcast, Asa brings a compassionate documentary eye to ambitious fictional projects. His one-woman play about mass movements, True Believer, had a sold-out run in New York City. To research that piece, Asa traveled to Cairo to meet with underground performers who helped ignite the Arab Spring. For Six Sermons, Asa spent a month embedded with a team of pastors at a Lutheran church in Cincinnati, OH. Six Sermons is dedicated to the actor and musician Caz Liske, who died by suicide in Moscow in 2017. Asa lives with his family in Mexico City.

About the Creator- Matt Kagen

About the Creative Producer

As a producer and writer, Matt Kagen has worked with groundbreaking artists ranging from Young Jean Lee to Thom Yorke. In 2015, Kagen co-founded softFocus, an accelerator for emerging playwrights, and received a NYT Critic’s Pick for Torrey Townsend’s The Workshop starring Austin Pendleton. His theater interview podcast The Quickening has featured Condola Rashad, The Debate Society, Ayad Akhtar, Clare Barron, Will Eno, Sarah DeLappe, and Lila Neugebauer as guests. Previously, he served as associate artistic director of New York Stage and Film, and as assistant to artistic director John Collins of Elevator Repair Service Theater. Kagen received his MFA in Theatre Management and Producing from Columbia School of the Arts.

About the Creator- Sarah Benson

About the Director

Sarah Benson is an Obie Award-winning theater director based in New York City. Recent credits include Jackie Sibblies Drury’s Fairview (Soho Rep, TFANA & Berkeley Rep), which won the 2019 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and for which Benson was nominated for a Drama Desk for direction, and Suzan-Lori Parks’ In the Blood (Signature Theater). At Soho Rep: Richard Maxwell’s Samara with music by Steve Earle; César Alvarez and The Lisps’ Futurity (ART, Walker Arts Center and in New York with Ars Nova), which won a Callaway Award and a Lucille Lortel Award for Best Musical; Branden Jacobs-Jenkins An Octoroon (Soho Rep & TFANA); Lucas Hnath’s A Public Reading of an Unproduced Screenplay About the Death of Walt Disney; Sarah Kane’s Blasted (OBIE award, Drama Desk nomination); David Adjmi’s Elective Affinities featuring Zoe Caldwell. Benson also directed the award-winning Skittles Commercial: The Broadway Musical (Townhall) for the 2019 Super Bowl. Benson is a Vilcek Foundation awardee and moved to New York from London on a Fulbright. She has been a Director of Soho Rep since 2008 and is currently serving her last season. During Benson’s tenure, the theater has garnered fifteen Obie Awards and the Drama Desk Award for Sustained Artistic Excellence. Upcoming: Teeth by Michael R. Jackson and Anna K. Jacobs.

About the Performer- Stephanie Hsu

About the Performer

Stephanie Hsu stars in the Daniels’ A24 film, Everything Everywhere All At Once. In this independent feature produced by The Russo Brothers, Stephanie and Michelle Yeoh star as universe-jumping mother-daughter rivals. Late last year she wrapped production with the Adele Lim Lionsgate/Point Grey Feature, Joy Ride, a four-hander all-Asian-gal cast, which came out in July. Stephanie can also be seen in season 3 of Amazon’s hit show The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel as the provocative love interest to Joel Maisel, Midge's estranged husband. Stephanie originated the role of Christine Canigula in the audience favorite Broadway sensation Be More Chill. She has performed all over NYC from downtown to uptown, making her Broadway debut as Karen the Computer in SpongeBob Squarepants The Musical. Her past television and film credits include a recurring role on The Path opposite Aaron Paul, Awkwafina is Nora from Queens, Femme, Set It Up, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, and Girl Code.

About the Creator- Bill Irwin

About the Performer

Bill Irwin is an actor, director, writer, and clown. His original works include: The Regard of Flight; Largely New York; Fool Moon; Old Hats; The Happiness Lecture; and others. His theater credits include The Iceman Cometh, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, The Goat, Waiting for Godot, Endgame, and On Beckett, an evening of passages from Samuel Beckett’s work. Television appearances include The Dropout, Legion, HBO’s Confirmation, This Is Us and Mr. Noodle in Elmo’s World. His film credits include Spoiler Alert, Rachel Getting Married, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Eight Men Out, and Interstellar. His work has been honored with Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle, Barrymore, and Helen Hayes Awards. He is also a recipient of Guggenheim, Fulbright, MacArthur, and National Endowment for the Arts Fellowships.

About the Performer- Guy Boyd

About the Performer

Guy Boyd is currently a recurring character on American Rust for the Amazon/Freevee network. A veteran character actor with 50 years in TV, film, and Broadway and Off-Broadway ( August: Osage County, American Sligo), his credits include The Girl From Plainville, Madam Secretary, The Loudest Voice, The Young Pope, Taking Chance, and Sharp Objects, as well as I’m Thinking of Ending Things, Foxcatcher, Sister Act, and Streamers, to name a few. www.Guyboyd.net [guyboyd.net]

What listeners say about Six Sermons

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    461
  • 4 Stars
    85
  • 3 Stars
    40
  • 2 Stars
    11
  • 1 Stars
    11
Performance
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    499
  • 4 Stars
    60
  • 3 Stars
    13
  • 2 Stars
    4
  • 1 Stars
    6
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    450
  • 4 Stars
    70
  • 3 Stars
    30
  • 2 Stars
    18
  • 1 Stars
    14

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

This book is about pain and loss

When a small church community suffers because someone they loved and trusted dies due to suicide. The loss causes everyone to question what they all think they know about each other and even their faith. This was hard to listen to but also a blessing
You'll be glad you listen ❤️

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

9 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Character driven narrative

I absolutely loved Six Sermons. It’s brings up lots of complicated issues with tenderness and care, and everything is rooted in very believable and interesting characters. Recommended to everyone in my family, from my evangelical mother to my atheist brother!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Good Narration -- Story Didn't Delve Deep Enough

The voice acting was absolutely top notch! Believable performances by clear, crisp, engaging, pleasant voices.

The story should have worked and I'm still processing why it didn't, for me at least. I never connected with the main character (or any of the other characters). The bulk of a serious piece on mental health has to take place inside one or more characters' heads. But most of this book was from an "outside the character" perspective. I don't understand what drove and motivated them. For Christians, suicide carries deep religious implications and consequences. It's not done lightly. A suicidal pastor would have to jump over more hurdles than the average person to get to where they actually complete suicide. I just didn't see the characters struggling. I know that these "included with Audible Plus originals" have to be on the short side. But I think this was too big of a story to try to tackle in so short a time.

I found myself kind of going in and out of the story -- in terms of paying attention. It didn't keep me interested, despite the great narration. I never totally lost interest. I just couldn't stay engaged throughout the whole thing. It's a piece I might come back to another time. A serious piece like this should leave me with plenty to think about and process. But all I'm left to process are the motives of the characters. I would read (or listen to) this author again. But I don't think they hit a home run with this particular piece.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Simply beautiful -

You know how sometimes you encounter just what you need at just the time you need it?

This was most definitely that.

Told with honesty and directness - even in the uncomfortable parts - this is a story that resonates. Beautifully written. Purposefully acted. Fully received.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Thank you.

Thank you thank you. So accurate and realistic. I’m a retired female pastor and found the portrayals of clergy and congregation both true to form. Handling the grief after suicide is particularly difficult so I appreciated the book digging in to the complexity of the loss, and the importance of community to healing.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

It’s a really Good story

It’s a really good story I would say my only issue is it’s very sad, but then again that’s how real life is. I hope they make a sequel to it. That is a little more upbeat.
Characters are really good.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Not what I was expecting

I was expecting a book with a strong theological focus and I instead got a heart wrenching look into the life of people struggling. Definitely worth the time and I will be listening to it again!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

The voices and sounds

It was the most usual book I’ve ever listened to, I enjoyed it! Sad story line about suicide.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Awesome

Loved every bit it, written greatly and the characters came to life during the audio

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Wow!

I'm so happy this book popped up as a suggestion. I will never forget it. Thank you.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!