Slaves in the Family Audiobook By Edward Ball cover art

Slaves in the Family

 Preview
LIMITED TIME OFFER

3 months free
Try for $0.00
Offer ends July 31, 2025 at 11:59PM PT.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 3 months. Cancel anytime.

Slaves in the Family

By: Edward Ball
Narrated by: Edward Ball
Try for $0.00

$0.00/mo. after 3 months. Offer ends July 31, 2025 at 11:59PM PT. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $33.74

Buy for $33.74

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

This program is read by the author.

Twenty years after this celebrated work of narrative nonfiction won the National Book Award and changed the American conversation about race, Slaves in the Family makes its audio debut, with a new preface by the author.

The Ball family hails from South Carolina - Charleston and thereabouts. Their plantations were among the oldest and longest-standing plantations in the South. Between 1698 and 1865, close to 4,000 Black people were born into slavery under the Balls or were bought by them.

In Slaves in the Family, Edward Ball recounts his efforts to track down and meet the descendants of his family's slaves. Part historical narrative, part oral history, part personal story of investigation and catharsis, Slaves in the Family is, in the words of Pat Conroy, "a work of breathtaking generosity and courage, a magnificent study of the complexity and strangeness and beauty of the word ‘family.'"

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©1998, 2014 Text copyright Edward Ball, Preface copyright Edward Ball (P)2019 Macmillan Audio Americas Social Sciences Nonfiction Africa Social justice
Detailed Family History • Captivating Storytelling • Extraordinary Narration • Honest Writing • Thorough Research
Highly rated for:
All stars
Most relevant  
It was hard to keep the lineage and family tree straight. The author did a good job trying to help me keep it straight. I think maybe for me to read it in print would help. We like to think that the slave issue is not our issue and with freedom people should “get over it”. The author reminds us that even though the past can’t be changed we can change the future. The past should be a guide and a prod to help us all do better. White and black. We all see things through the filter of what had gone before. This book is a great reminder that to change there must be respect, kindness and most of all charity. If you like history or sociology this book is for you

Gives a good insight for moving forward today

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Amazing and courageous telling of a family story, the good and the bad. A sharing of the lives of those held captive for profit. American history told as it should be told - honestly. Thank you.

A history restored and families lost found

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Great book. Author honestly told the story of his family in a very human way. I learned a lot and enjoyed it very much. I didn’t want to stop listening.

I learned so much

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
This story needs to be put on the screen. it reminded me of Miss Jane Pitman.

Where's the movie!!!!!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Edward Ball is a toning for the misery his ancestors wrought in their slave owning. His tone is matter of fact. The writing is good.
It is a bit long. I recommend doing tasks while listening. Hiking, cleaning, and yard work were my favorites.
I am not sure I could summarize this in one sentence. It wasn't as focused as it might have been. If it were it would have been cut a bit. The Ball history is rich zand well-documented

It's personal

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I found this book to be absolutely captivating. I am a big believer that history affects future generations in a thousand ways. This is such an important step to acknowledge the past which is something that seems to invoke terror in people. To acknowledge the horror of slavery… what will happen to me? What will happen to another person. In fact the terror is just the unknown. This kind of dialogue will begin nothing more horrible than healing a wound that has been open for almost 300 years. But broaching that cavernous, gaping lesion in our society looks like a mammoth undertaking. We can begin the process one apology, one acknowledgment, one word , one book, at a time. This is the start. Ten stars. I think I’ll listen again. Also the narration was amazing.

Riveting

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
This book was a very good and highly researched account of one’s family tree. It made me interested in learning about mine as well.

Yes

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I could not stop listening to this story. I recently read an article that mentioned this book and wanted to know more about the Ball family. Well done.

Fascinating Story

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
We couldn’t believe all the research that went into the writing of this book. But even more than that, we appreciate the author’s transparency and honesty in sharing his family story. The relationships developed between the author and descendants of slaves gives hope for tomorrow.

A family history worth reading!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
My Grandmother was a Ball so I needed to know my distant family's story. I'm sorry for what my family did.

The story of my family.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews