
The Curse of the Boyfriend Sweater
Essays on Crafting
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
$0.99/mo for the first 3 months

Buy for $14.99
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Alanna Okun
-
By:
-
Alanna Okun
About this listen
This program is read by the author.
The Curse of the Boyfriend Sweater is journalist Alanna Okun's cozy audiobook memoir about life truths learned through crafting.
People who craft know things. They know how to transform piles of yarn into sweaters and scarves. They know that some items, like woolen bikini tops, are better left unknit. They know that making a hat for a newborn baby isn't just about crafting something small but appreciating the beginnings of life, which sometimes helps make peace with the endings. They know that if you knit your boyfriend a sweater, your relationship will most likely be over before the last stitch.
Alanna Okun knows that crafting keeps her anxiety at bay. She knows that no one will ever be as good a knitting teacher as her beloved grandmother. And she knows that even when we can't control anything else, we can at least control the sticks, string, and fabric right in front of us.
In The Curse of the Boyfriend Sweater, Okun lays herself bare and takes listeners into the parts of themselves they often keep hidden. Yet at the same time, she finds humor in the daily indignities all crafters must face (like when you catch the dreaded Second Sock Syndrome and can't possibly finish the second in a pair).
Alanna Okun's newest audiobook will speak to anyone who has ever said to themselves, or to everyone within earshot, "I made that".
©2018 Alanna Okun (P)2018 Macmillan AudioListeners also enjoyed...
-
A Stash of One's Own
- Knitters on Loving, Living with, and Letting Go of Yarn
- By: Clara Parkes
- Narrated by: Kevin T. Collins, Kate Udall, Eliza Foss
- Length: 5 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In tales from 21 knitters, Clara Parkes examines a subject that is irresistible to us all: the yarn stash. Anyone with a passion has a stash, whether it is a collection of books or enough yarn to exceed several life expectancies. With her trademark wry, witty approach, Parkes brings together fascinating stories from all facets of stash-keeping and knitting life - from KonMari minimalist to joyous collector, designer to dyer, spinner to social worker, scholar to sheep farmer.
-
-
Another Delightful Read From Clara Parkes
- By Aly on 03-10-18
By: Clara Parkes
-
The Yarn Whisperer
- My Unexpected Life in Knitting
- By: Clara Parkes
- Narrated by: Clara Parkes
- Length: 4 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In The Yarn Whisperer: Reflections on a Life in Knitting, renowned knitter and author Clara Parkes ponders the roles knitting plays in her life via 22 captivating, poignant, and laugh-out-loud funny essays. Recounting tales of childhood and adulthood, family, friends, adventure, privacy, disappointment, love, and celebration, she hits upon the universal truths that drive knitters to create and explores the ways in which knitting can be looked at as a metaphor for so many other things.
-
-
I was expecting a great story with great wisdom!
- By LoRe Bolling on 05-18-19
By: Clara Parkes
-
Unraveling
- What I Learned About Life While Shearing Sheep, Dyeing Wool, and Making the World’s Ugliest Sweater
- By: Peggy Orenstein
- Narrated by: Peggy Orenstein
- Length: 5 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The COVID pandemic propelled many people to change their lives in ways large and small. Some adopted puppies. Others stress-baked. Peggy Orenstein, a lifelong knitter, went just a little further. To keep herself engaged and cope with a series of seismic shifts in family life, she set out to make a garment from the ground up: learning to shear sheep, spin and dye yarn, then knitting herself a sweater.
-
-
Nailed it!
- By Miss Effie on 02-19-23
By: Peggy Orenstein
-
Broken (in the Best Possible Way)
- By: Jenny Lawson
- Narrated by: Jenny Lawson
- Length: 8 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
As Jenny Lawson’s hundreds of thousands of fans know, she suffers from depression. In Broken (in the Best Possible Way), Jenny brings listeners along on her mental and physical health journey, offering heartbreaking and hilarious anecdotes along the way. With people experiencing anxiety and depression now more than ever, Jenny humanizes what we all face in an all-too-real way, reassuring us that we’re not alone and making us laugh while doing it.
-
-
The perfect follow up
- By Anonymous User on 04-07-21
By: Jenny Lawson
-
Knitting Yarns
- Writers on Knitting
- By: Ann Hood - editor
- Narrated by: Ann Hood, Sam Adrain
- Length: 7 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Knitting Yarns, twenty-seven writers tell stories about how knitting healed, challenged, or helped them to grow. Poignant, funny, and moving, Knitting Yarns is sure to delight knitting enthusiasts and lovers of literature alike.
-
-
Love it!!!!
- By Indigo on 01-30-14
-
Tangles and Treason
- Vampire Knitting Club, Book 0.5
- By: Nancy Warren
- Narrated by: Sarah Zimmerman
- Length: 1 hr and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Nancy Warren presents a prequel to the Vampire Knitting Club series.
-
-
Raif is finally on audible!
- By Sandra R. Merrill on 02-27-21
By: Nancy Warren
-
A Stash of One's Own
- Knitters on Loving, Living with, and Letting Go of Yarn
- By: Clara Parkes
- Narrated by: Kevin T. Collins, Kate Udall, Eliza Foss
- Length: 5 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In tales from 21 knitters, Clara Parkes examines a subject that is irresistible to us all: the yarn stash. Anyone with a passion has a stash, whether it is a collection of books or enough yarn to exceed several life expectancies. With her trademark wry, witty approach, Parkes brings together fascinating stories from all facets of stash-keeping and knitting life - from KonMari minimalist to joyous collector, designer to dyer, spinner to social worker, scholar to sheep farmer.
-
-
Another Delightful Read From Clara Parkes
- By Aly on 03-10-18
By: Clara Parkes
-
The Yarn Whisperer
- My Unexpected Life in Knitting
- By: Clara Parkes
- Narrated by: Clara Parkes
- Length: 4 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In The Yarn Whisperer: Reflections on a Life in Knitting, renowned knitter and author Clara Parkes ponders the roles knitting plays in her life via 22 captivating, poignant, and laugh-out-loud funny essays. Recounting tales of childhood and adulthood, family, friends, adventure, privacy, disappointment, love, and celebration, she hits upon the universal truths that drive knitters to create and explores the ways in which knitting can be looked at as a metaphor for so many other things.
-
-
I was expecting a great story with great wisdom!
- By LoRe Bolling on 05-18-19
By: Clara Parkes
-
Unraveling
- What I Learned About Life While Shearing Sheep, Dyeing Wool, and Making the World’s Ugliest Sweater
- By: Peggy Orenstein
- Narrated by: Peggy Orenstein
- Length: 5 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The COVID pandemic propelled many people to change their lives in ways large and small. Some adopted puppies. Others stress-baked. Peggy Orenstein, a lifelong knitter, went just a little further. To keep herself engaged and cope with a series of seismic shifts in family life, she set out to make a garment from the ground up: learning to shear sheep, spin and dye yarn, then knitting herself a sweater.
-
-
Nailed it!
- By Miss Effie on 02-19-23
By: Peggy Orenstein
-
Broken (in the Best Possible Way)
- By: Jenny Lawson
- Narrated by: Jenny Lawson
- Length: 8 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
As Jenny Lawson’s hundreds of thousands of fans know, she suffers from depression. In Broken (in the Best Possible Way), Jenny brings listeners along on her mental and physical health journey, offering heartbreaking and hilarious anecdotes along the way. With people experiencing anxiety and depression now more than ever, Jenny humanizes what we all face in an all-too-real way, reassuring us that we’re not alone and making us laugh while doing it.
-
-
The perfect follow up
- By Anonymous User on 04-07-21
By: Jenny Lawson
-
Knitting Yarns
- Writers on Knitting
- By: Ann Hood - editor
- Narrated by: Ann Hood, Sam Adrain
- Length: 7 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Knitting Yarns, twenty-seven writers tell stories about how knitting healed, challenged, or helped them to grow. Poignant, funny, and moving, Knitting Yarns is sure to delight knitting enthusiasts and lovers of literature alike.
-
-
Love it!!!!
- By Indigo on 01-30-14
-
Tangles and Treason
- Vampire Knitting Club, Book 0.5
- By: Nancy Warren
- Narrated by: Sarah Zimmerman
- Length: 1 hr and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Nancy Warren presents a prequel to the Vampire Knitting Club series.
-
-
Raif is finally on audible!
- By Sandra R. Merrill on 02-27-21
By: Nancy Warren
-
Vanishing Fleece
- Adventures in American Wool
- By: Clara Parkes
- Narrated by: Clara Parkes
- Length: 5 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Join Clara Parkes on a cross-country adventure and meet a cast of characters that includes the shepherds, dyers, and countless workers without whom our knitting needles would be empty, our mills idle, and our feet woefully cold. Travel the country with her as she meets a flock of Saxon Merino sheep in upstate New York, tours a scouring plant in Texas, visits a steamy Maine dyehouse, helps sort freshly shorn wool on a working farm, and learns how wool fleece is measured, baled, shipped, and turned into skeins.
-
-
Great Book.
- By Josemiguel Gomez on 03-02-20
By: Clara Parkes
-
Knitting Pearls
- Writers Writing About Knitting
- By: Ann Hood - editor
- Narrated by: William Dufris, Tavia Gilbert
- Length: 7 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The rhythm, ritual, and pleasure of knitting are celebrated in this new collection for lovers of both knitting and literature. In Knitting Pearls, two dozen writers write about the transformative and healing powers of knitting. Lily King remembers the year her family lived in Italy, and a knitted hat that helped her daughter adjust to her new home. Laura Lippman explores how converting to Judaism changed not only Christmas but also her mother's gift of a knitted stocking.
-
-
Oh dear.
- By kgohl on 06-13-17
-
Your Table Is Ready
- Tales of a New York City Maître D'
- By: Michael Cecchi-Azzolina
- Narrated by: Michael Cecchi-Azzolina
- Length: 9 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From the glamorous to the entitled, from royalty to the financially ruined, everyone who wanted to be seen—or just to gawk—at the hottest restaurants in New York City came to places Michael Cecchi-Azzolina helped run. His phone number was passed around among those who wanted to curry favor, during the decades when restaurants replaced clubs and theater as, well, theater in the most visible, vibrant city in the world. Besides dropping us back into a vanished time, Your Table Is Ready takes us places we’d never be able to get into on our own.
-
-
Accurately crass and heart felt
- By Amazon Customer on 01-10-23
-
The Crystal Cave
- The Arthurian Saga, Book 1
- By: Mary Stewart
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 16 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Born the bastard son of a Welsh princess, Myrdden Emrys - or as he would later be known, Merlin - leads a perilous childhood, haunted by portents and visions. But destiny has great plans for this no-man's-son, taking him from prophesying before High King Vortigern to the crowning of Uther Pendragon, and the conception of Arthur, king for once and always.
-
-
Fantasy as literature.
- By bluestatereader on 01-25-17
By: Mary Stewart
-
Under the Whispering Door
- By: TJ Klune
- Narrated by: Kirt Graves
- Length: 14 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Welcome to Charon's Crossing. The tea is hot, the scones are fresh, and the dead are just passing through. When a reaper comes to collect Wallace from his own funeral, Wallace begins to suspect he might be dead. And when Hugo, the owner of a peculiar tea shop, promises to help him cross over, Wallace decides he’s definitely dead.
-
-
Lovely, simply lovely
- By DDB on 09-23-21
By: TJ Klune
-
A Life in Stitches
- Knitting My Way Through Love, Loss, and Laughter. Tenth Anniversary Edition
- By: Rachael Herron
- Narrated by: Rachael Herron
- Length: 5 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A hilarious, heartfelt romp that will bring you home to yourself. You don’t have to be a knitter to fall in love with this book - any person who’s ever made anything with their hands will dive joyfully into these minutes and come back up renewed and ready to create. Honest, funny, and full of warmth, Herron’s tales, each inspired by something she knitted, will speak to anyone who’s ever loved (or lost). From her very first sweater (a hilarious disaster) to the yellow afghan that caused a breakup (and, ultimately, a breakthrough), every chapter has a moving story behind it.
-
-
Meh!
- By W. Hakala on 09-06-22
By: Rachael Herron
-
The Secret Life of Bees
- By: Sue Monk Kidd
- Narrated by: Jenna Lamia
- Length: 9 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Sue Monk Kidd's ravishing debut novel has stolen the hearts of reviewers and readers alike with its strong, assured voice. Set in South Carolina in 1964, The Secret Life of Bees tells the story of Lily Owens, whose life has been shaped around the blurred memory of the afternoon her mother was killed.
-
-
Awesome narrator
- By Joey on 05-17-10
By: Sue Monk Kidd
-
I Miss You When I Blink
- Essays
- By: Mary Laura Philpott
- Narrated by: Mary Laura Philpott
- Length: 6 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Acclaimed essayist and bookseller Mary Laura Philpott presents a charmingly relatable and wise memoir in essays about what happened after she checked off all the boxes on her successful life’s to-do list and realized she might need to reinvent the list - and herself.
-
-
Good for 30 somethings
- By beach lover on 07-30-19
-
The Power of Knitting
- Stitching Together Our Lives in a Fractured World
- By: Loretta Napoleoni
- Narrated by: Elizabeth Wiley
- Length: 4 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In a fractured world plagued by anxiety and loneliness, knitting is coming to the rescue of people from all walks of life. Economist and lifelong knitter Loretta Napoleoni unveils the hidden power of the purl and stitch mantra: an essential tool for the survival of our species, a means for women to influence history, a soothing activity to calm us, and a powerful metaphor of life.
-
-
Disappointing… Presents a skewed view of the western feminist movement
- By Chiara on 01-31-21
-
The Time Traveler's Wife
- By: Audrey Niffenegger
- Narrated by: Fred Berman, Phoebe Strole
- Length: 17 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Clare and Henry have known each other since Clare was six and Henry was 36. They were married when Clare was 23 and Henry was 31. Impossible but true, because Henry is one of the first people diagnosed with Chrono-Displacement Disorder: periodically his genetic clock resets and he finds himself misplaced in time, pulled to moments of emotional gravity from his life, past and future. His disappearances are spontaneous, his experiences unpredictable, alternately harrowing and amusing.
-
-
One of my favorite books
- By Joey on 01-13-08
-
The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry
- By: Gabrielle Zevin
- Narrated by: Scott Brick
- Length: 7 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The irascible A. J. Fikry, owner of Island Books - the only bookstore on Alice Island - has already lost his wife. Now his most prized possession, a rare book, has been stolen from right under his nose in the most embarrassing of circumstances. The store itself, it seems, will be next to go. One night upon closing, he discovers a toddler in his children’s section with a note from her mother pinned to her Elmo doll: I want Maya to grow up in a place with books and among people who care about such kinds of things. I love her very much, but I can no longer take care of her.
-
-
The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry
- By teatime on 05-07-14
By: Gabrielle Zevin
-
The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl
- By: Issa Rae
- Narrated by: Issa Rae
- Length: 5 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
"My name is 'J' and I'm awkward--and Black. Someone once told me those were the two worst things anyone could be. That someone was right. Where do I start?" Being an introvert in a world that glorifies cool isn't easy. But when Issa Rae, the creator of the Shorty Award-winning hit series The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl, is that introvert--whether she's navigating love, work, friendships, or rapping--it sure is entertaining.
-
-
Loved
- By Jamila on 02-25-15
By: Issa Rae
Critic reviews
"Okun's narration, lightly poignant and occasionally tongue-in-cheek, enhances her witty writing style.... Listeners need not be knitters or crafters to relish Okun's delightful, self-deprecating stories." (AudioFile Magazine)
What listeners say about The Curse of the Boyfriend Sweater
Highly rated for:
Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
- Kyle Cassidy
- 02-25-21
essays about life that occasionally involve yarn
if michelle tea or Michael chabon wrote a book of essays about knitting it would probably look like this. the prose is beautiful and at times just stops you in your tracks with a sentence so beautifully constructed and poignant that you have to go back and read it again. The essays carry you like waves on a journey of broken hearts, missed connections, anxiety and love all wrapped in a project bag filled with knitting needles, half finished projects, and then endless possibilities of a future that can happen if you just keep making the next stitch.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Anahi Reyes
- 03-26-18
heartwarming
I wasn't ready for all the emotions this book made me feel. 💔 loved it!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Patty
- 08-17-19
Fantastic!
Loved it! Very poignant, humorous and heartwarming. It made me think about my own life situations and smile.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Jamie Sullivan
- 05-09-18
Beautiful Tales of Life and Knitting
If you're looking for a knitting tutorial, this is not the book for you. If you are a dedicated crafter who understands, like Okun does, what place knitting and crafting has in our hearts and in our relationships, this is the one for you. Okun's essays hit me right in the feels. I don't think I've ever heard someone so accurately describe what it is really like to be a 20-something "millennial" woman, beyond the Buzzfeed listicles and Facebook memes. Trying desperately to "check the boxes" - good college, good job, find a boyfriend, get married, buy a house - but also don't forget to "find your truth!"(does anyone know what that actually means?).
As we transition from teenage years to the mock adulthood of our 20s, Okun examines the people we encounter, changing relationships with family, trying to hold onto childhood and tradition while struggling to craft a new life all your own. It's really great stuff, and she knits her way through it. She inspired me to pick up my knitting needles after many, many years away. She reminded me that my grandma taught me, and, even if I'm still crap at it, I can weave those memories into every stitch. Bravo!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Etoile NEOhio
- 05-25-21
Pleasant to listen to
Pleasant enough to listen to while crocheting. Possibly a little too self-revealing in parts. I'm probably closer to her mother's or grandmother's ages so this gave me to feeling of being in a craft circle where all the "sweet young things" think they just discovered the secret of how to keep your granny squares from twisting in the middle while the old heads smile and nod encouragingly and knowingly. And yes, Ravelry.com is a real thing established in 2007. Welcome to the party!
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
-
Performance
-
Story
- J
- 09-08-18
chicken soup for the crafting soul
a lovely memoir for the reader or listener who loves to craft or loves someone who crafts and can't quite identify why.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Crystal
- 03-24-18
Cozy, fun & relatable
I greatly enjoyed this book. It was cozy, fun and relatable. The author did a great job with the narration. I know I will listen to it again and again. It has a real beauty about it and warms my heart. It put a little smile on my face every time I turned it on.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
- Jane
- 04-23-18
Okay. Stream of consciousness.
The author sounded young and read the book fast. When I realized it might sound better at a slower speed, I slowed it to 75 percent, and that did sound better. I enjoyed some of the thoughts expressed, but at times she sounded spoiled and self-centered. Not my cup of tea.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- E. J. Butler
- 03-21-18
Great listen
The only objection I had to the collection of essays is that it wasn’t longer. It’s the perfect thing to listen to while knitting- both relatable and inspiring.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
3 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Amanda Suzzanne Whittington
- 07-12-19
thanks but no thanks
it's not a bad book, it's just not what I was looking for. the title had given me the impression that it was a comedy writing, rather than a sort of autobiography.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful