
Start by Believing
Larry Nassar's Crimes, the Institutions that Enabled Him, and the Brave Women Who Stopped a Monster
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Narrated by:
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John Barr
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Dan Murphy
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Chloe Cannon
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By:
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John Barr
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Dan Murphy
About this listen
The definitive, devastating account of the largest sex abuse scandal in American sports history - with new details and insights into the institutional failures, as well as the bravery that brought it to light.
For decades, osteopathic physician Larry Nassar built a sterling reputation as the go-to doctor for America's Olympians while treating countless others at his office on Michigan State University's campus. It was largely within the high-pressure world of competitive gymnastics that Nassar exploited young girls, who were otherwise motivated by fear and intimidation, sexually assaulting hundreds of them under the guise of medical treatment.
In Start by Believing, John Barr and Dan Murphy confront Nassar's acts, which represent the largest sex abuse scandal to impact the sporting world. Through never-before-released interviews and documents they deconstruct the epic institutional failures and individuals who enabled him. When warnings were raised, self-serving leaders chose to protect their organizations' reputations over the well-being of young people.
Following the paths traveled by courageous women - featuring a once-shy Christian attorney and a brash, outspoken Olympic medalist - Barr and Murphy detail the stories of those who fought back against the dysfunction within their sport to claim a far-from-inevitable victory. The gymnasts' uncommon perseverance, along with the help of dedicated advocates, brought criminals to justice and helped to fuel the #MeToo revolution. Start by Believing reveals the win-at-all-costs culture in elite athletics and higher education that enabled a quarter century of heinous crimes.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
©2020 John Barr, Dan Murphy (P)2020 Hachette BooksListeners also enjoyed...
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Critic reviews
""[A] hard-hitting expose.... Foregrounding several women who finally brought charges, Barr and Murphy vividly convey the sense of confusion and helplessness that beset victims.... The result is a searing indictment." (Publishers Weekly)
"[Start by Believing] features reporting so deep, broad, and incisive that it is unlikely to be surpassed...the book is a must-read." (Kirkus Reviews [starred review])
"This is a horrifying story, and an important one, powerfully and carefully told by journalists John Barr and Dan Murphy. Their meticulously reported narrative presents a riveting account of the courage of these heroic women who will forever define the beginnings of the #MeToo movement." (Christine Brennan, best-selling author and USA Today national sports columnist)
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On a cold January morning, the killer executed Assistant District Attorney Mark Hasse in broad daylight. Eight shots fired a block from the Kaufman County Courthouse. Two months later, a massacre. The day before Easter, the couple slept. Bunnies, eggs, a flower centerpiece gracing the table. Death rang their doorbell and filled the air with the rat-a-tat-tat of an assault weapon discharging round after round into their bodies. Eric Williams and his wife, Kim, celebrated the murders with grilled steaks. Williams planned to exact revenge on all those who had wronged him.
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BOR-ING!!
- By farmhouselady on 11-11-19
By: Kathryn Casey
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This Isn't Going to End Well
- The True Story of a Man I Thought I Knew
- By: Daniel Wallace
- Narrated by: Michael Crouch
- Length: 6 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
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If we’re lucky, we all encounter at least one person whose life elevates and inspires our own. For acclaimed novelist Daniel Wallace, he had one hero and inspiration for so much of what followed: his longtime friend and brother-in-law William Nealy. Seemingly perfect, impossibly cool, William was James Dean, Clint Eastwood, and MacGyver all rolled into one, an acclaimed outdoorsman, a famous cartoonist, an accomplished author, a master of all he undertook, William was the ideal that Daniel sought to emulate.
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Lovely, Deep Hearted True Story
- By DebS on 06-24-23
By: Daniel Wallace
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Little and Often
- A Memoir
- By: Trent Preszler
- Narrated by: Matt Bomer
- Length: 9 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
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Trent Preszler thought he was living the life he always wanted, with a job at a winery and a seaside Long Island home, when he was called back to the life he left behind. After years of estrangement, his cancer-stricken father had invited him to South Dakota for Thanksgiving. It would be the last time he saw his father alive. Preszler’s only inheritance was a beat-up wooden toolbox that had belonged to his father, who was a cattle rancher, rodeo champion, and Vietnam War Bronze Star Medal recipient. This family heirloom befuddled Preszler.
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So good
- By Trevor Stanco on 04-28-21
By: Trent Preszler
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Life Starts Now
- How to Create the Life You’ve Been Waiting For
- By: Chanel Dokun
- Narrated by: Chanel Dokun
- Length: 6 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
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Women are drowning in pursuit of the "good life." We chase external markers of success--building enviable careers, pursuing romantic relationships, and crafting the picture-perfect life--in attempts to soothe the aching suspicion that there must be more to life. But our efforts only leave us stressed, lonely, and tired of trying to answer the question: "Why isn't this enough?" Chanel Dokun has been there, too.
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Compelling, awakening and a delight to read.
- By Jennifer Abbott on 08-17-22
By: Chanel Dokun
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The Atlas of Happiness
- The Global Secrets of How to Be Happy
- By: Helen Russell
- Narrated by: Helen Russell
- Length: 6 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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This charming and entertaining guide offers listeners the chance to learn and be inspired by the "untranslatable" beliefs and unique perspectives on how to live a happier life from countries around the world.
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Good, but not quiet Danishly
- By G. Baker on 04-03-20
By: Helen Russell
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Reframe Your Shame
- Experience Freedom from What Holds You Back
- By: Irene Rollins
- Narrated by: Irene Rollins, Sarah Wendel
- Length: 6 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
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Discover how facing your underlying pain will allow you to overcome it and move forward. With practical insights and biblical teaching about what it takes to break the cycle of addiction and shame, Reframe Your Shame will set you on the path to freedom.
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Excellent book, full of hope
- By Susan Perry on 08-05-22
By: Irene Rollins
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Warren Buffett's Ground Rules
- Words of Wisdom from the Partnership Letters of the World's Greatest Investor
- By: Jeremy C. Miller
- Narrated by: Tom Perkins
- Length: 10 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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Compiled for the first time, and with Buffett's permission, these letters spotlight his contrarian diversification strategy, his almost religious celebration of compounding interest, his preference for conservative rather than conventional decision making, and his goal and tactics for bettering market results by at least 10 percent annually. Demonstrating Buffett's intellectual rigor, they provide a framework to the craft of investing that had not existed before.
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Absolutely fantastic
- By Matthew on 08-18-16
By: Jeremy C. Miller
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I Know What to Do, So Why Don't I Do It?
- The New Science of Self-Discipline
- By: Nick Hall
- Narrated by: Nick Hall
- Length: 10 hrs and 5 mins
- Original Recording
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You might think laziness, lack of willpower, and/or low motivation are to blame for the fact that you aren't achieving your goals. But fascinating research in the field of psychoneuroimmunology has revealed another, far more likely possibility. One with the potential to transform your life in a dramatic way.
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Big Disappointment!
- By TP on 01-29-15
By: Nick Hall
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Laugh Again
- Experience Outrageous Joy
- By: Charles R. Swindoll
- Narrated by: Wayne Campbell
- Length: 8 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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Did you hear the one about the Christian who couldn't keep from laughing? Chuck Swindoll has not only heard it, he tells it in this delightful book that gives us permission to be happy again. "When did life stop being funny?" Swindoll asks. His answer is found in this best-selling book, which speaks to all busy, joy-drained people—from the pressured businessman to the harried homemaker.
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The closing was the best part of the book.
- By David Miller on 04-04-25
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Time Management: Self Development Guide to Discipline Yourself with Goal Setting, Improve Focus and Productivity, End Procrastination and Laziness Habit and Organize Your Life for Growth and Success
- By: Cal Tracy, Brian Newport
- Narrated by: Meredith Lambert
- Length: 3 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
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In this book, I dedicated my effort to showing you the real meanings and reasons of managing your time effectively. It is not just to help you be more productive in your work but more importantly to have more time to spend with your beloved ones. At the end of the day, it is not about what you have accomplished that makes you feel fulfilled, it is who you become and those you help, care about, and inspire that matters the most. That is the ultimate purpose of this book, and I really believe that you will enjoy it.
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Time to mange your time
- By nuesto on 07-18-19
By: Cal Tracy, and others
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Little Girls in Pretty Boxes
- The Making and Breaking of Elite Gymnasts and Figure Skaters
- By: Joan Ryan
- Narrated by: Jennifer Jill Araya
- Length: 8 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
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Welcome to the world of women's gymnastics and figure skating. From starvation diets and debilitating injuries to the brutal tactics of tyrannical gymnastics guru Bela Károlyi, Little Girls in Pretty Boxes portrays the horrors endured by girls at the hands of their coaches and sometimes their own families - and is now updated with a new introduction and foreword that address the sexual abuse scandal perpetrated by USA Gymnastics national team doctor, Larry Nassar.
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Holds up 20 years later
- By Pink Amy on 04-04-21
By: Joan Ryan
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Weird
- The Power of Being an Outsider in an Insider World
- By: Olga Khazan
- Narrated by: Renata Friedman
- Length: 9 hrs
- Unabridged
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Most of us have at some point in our lives felt like an outsider, sometimes considering ourselves "too weird" to fit in. Growing up as a Russian immigrant in West Texas, Olga Khazan always felt there was something different about her. This feeling has permeated her life, and as she embarked on a science writing career, she realized there were psychological connections between this feeling of being an outsider and both her struggles and successes later in life.
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Weird is An Appropriate Title
- By Mary T. Peters on 08-06-20
By: Olga Khazan
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Miseducated
- A Memoir
- By: Brandon P. Fleming, Cornel West - foreword
- Narrated by: Brandon P. Fleming, Landon Woodson
- Length: 10 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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Brandon P. Fleming grew up in an abusive home and was shuffled through school, his passing grades a nod to his skill on the basketball court, not his presence in the classroom. He turned to the streets and drug deals by 14, saved only by the dream of basketball stardom. When he suffered a career-ending injury during his first semester at a Division I school, he dropped out of college, toiling on an assembly line, until depression drove him to the edge. Miraculously, his life was spared. Returning to college, Fleming was determined to reinvent himself as a scholar.
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so glad I lasted through the first parts...
- By Elizabeth L. on 01-19-22
By: Brandon P. Fleming, and others
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Mom Rage
- The Everyday Crisis of Modern Motherhood
- By: Minna Dubin
- Narrated by: Minna Dubin
- Length: 7 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
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Mothers aren’t supposed to be angry. Still, Minna Dubin was an angry mom: exhausted by the grueling, thankless work of full-time parenting and feeling her career slip away, she would find herself screaming at her child or exploding at her husband. When Dubin pushed past her shame and talked with other mothers about how she was feeling, she realized that she was far from alone. Mom Rage is Dubin’s groundbreaking work of reportage about an unspoken crisis of anger sweeping the country—and the world.
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It is must read for any “mom”!
- By Amazon Customer on 09-27-23
By: Minna Dubin
What listeners say about Start by Believing
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- M. St John
- 12-25-20
Very well done
This book satisfied some the curiosity left to me as I encountered this story. It’s a deeper journey into the worlds of the multiple players: those in involved in the institutions that allowed this to happen for so long; those who prosecuted Nassar; and some of the courageous souls who stepped forward to turn their experience of abuse into the possibility of a better world. Good research into facts and experiences of woven into a story for those who are interested and care. Thank you
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- Anonymous User
- 05-23-24
Compelling story that changed the way I view institutions
Research and empathetic approach by the authors - they care about the story and the people involved.
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- Jimmy Larrison
- 09-02-20
Really compelling story from start to end
I had listened to a few podcasts about this case and read in the news. I thought this might be an extension of what I had already listened to or read, but I was wrong. The authors did a great job of telling the full story and digging into the history from many perspectives. This is a great audiobook!
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- rhea
- 01-23-20
powerful
This is a deeply moving and powerful story that sends a message of hope and solidarity to all those whom have experienced trauma. A must read for all who work with victims and survivors.
"Little girls do not remain small forever, they grow into powerful women".
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- Rick
- 12-02-22
Amazing! Sad! Courageous.
Amazing story from these courageous survivors. Hard to believe so many adults dismissed their stories and appalling that so many protected such a monster!
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- Alena
- 12-15-21
Important!
I thought the authors did a fantastic job. I wish the narrator had taken the time to learn how to properly say the names of gymnasts and coaches, overall great!
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- courtney b
- 02-12-20
a must read for those advocating for survivors
this book was very enlightening and showed how adults are in such denial about child sexual abuse. the red flags were there for 20 plus years and adults painted each flag green and continued to put kids in harms way. we have to do better. signs r there!
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- C. M.
- 02-19-20
A book everyone should read or hear
With only one exception this book is superb. It provides an insightful, thought-provoking, accurate, and gut-wrenching history of the evil of Larry Nassar and of his enablers, and an inspiring story of many of his survivors. If you can't buy it, find it in a library and read it or listen to it.
(The exception is the decision by the authors/editors/publishers to provide a misleading excerpt from Rachael Denhollander's victim impact statement, which does not include any of her words about her faith and God's grace. I can, almost, imagine semi-plausible reasons why no direct excerpts were included; but I cannot imagine any legitimate reason for not at least including a summary sentence.)
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- ORCoastalview
- 02-06-23
start by reading this book
Important account of the rampant abuse done to women and girls in athletics. If you have a child in sports, please read this book.
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- DavidF
- 12-29-24
I believe
Larry Nassar is an absolute monster who took knowingly took advantage of children. I believe all of the victims’ stories.
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