
The Family Dynamic
A Journey into the Mystery of Sibling Success
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
3 months free
Buy for $20.70
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Susan Dominus
-
By:
-
Susan Dominus
About this listen
What explains those rare families that boast multiple children who achieve extraordinary success? An award-winning New York Times journalist weaves story with science to explore the circumstances that set those families apart.
“At once clear-eyed and compassionate, The Family Dynamic uncovers how parents—and siblings—shape and fuel individual success.”—Lisa Damour, bestselling author of The Emotional Lives of Teenagers
An Olympic athlete. An award-winning novelist. A successful entrepreneur. All raised under one roof. What can we learn from those families whose children aim high and succeed, sometimes in widely varied fields? Just as important: What were the costs along the way, and what can we glean from their travails and triumphs?
The acclaimed New York Times journalist Susan Dominus offers compelling profiles of six such families in search of the factors that led to their success—was it an inherited quality, a specific way of parenting, the influence of a sibling, or a twist of luck? Inspired by the iconic Brontë sisters, whose remarkable literary success prompted endless speculation, Dominus, the mother of twin teenagers, sought out contemporary high-achieving families who shared intimate stories of their upbringing. She introduces us to the Chens, young parents who fled their country’s one-child policy to open a Chinese restaurant in Appalachia—then sent four children to elite colleges and on to careers that give back in technology and medicine; the Groffs, whose claim to fame is not just an award-winning novelist but an Olympic athlete and a notable entrepreneur; the Wojcickis, whose daughters made inroads as STEM pioneers in Silicon Valley; and the Murguias, who rose from exceptionally humble origins to become powerful jurists and civil rights champions. Woven into these and other stories is an account of centuries of scientific research into the ongoing question of nature versus nurture.
Elegantly written and extensively researched, The Family Dynamic is more than a checklist of how-to’s. It’s a deep and moving exploration of the complexity of family life and the rewards—and burdens—of ambition.
©2025 Susan Dominus (P)2025 Random House AudioListeners also enjoyed...
-
I Left My Homework in the Hamptons
- What I Learned Teaching the Children of the One Percent
- By: Blythe Grossberg
- Narrated by: Ann Marie Gideon
- Length: 7 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Ben orders daily room service while living in a five-star hotel. Olivia collects luxury-brand sneakers worn by celebrities. Dakota jets off to Rome when she needs to avoid drama at school. Welcome to the inner circle of New York’s richest families, where academia is an obsession, wealth does nothing to soothe status anxiety and parents will try just about anything to gain a competitive edge in the college admissions rat race.
-
-
Why such bad reviews?
- By vicki on 10-23-22
By: Blythe Grossberg
-
The Formula
- Unlocking the Secrets to Raising Highly Successful Children
- By: Ronald F. Ferguson, Tatsha Robertson
- Narrated by: Cynthia Farrell
- Length: 10 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In The Formula: Unlocking the Secrets to Raising Highly Successful Children, Harvard economist Ronald Ferguson, named in a New York Times profile as the foremost expert on the US educational "achievement gap," along with award-winning journalist Tatsha Robertson, reveal an intriguing blueprint for helping children from all types of backgrounds become successful adults.
-
-
would recommend
- By Marcia on 02-25-20
By: Ronald F. Ferguson, and others
-
How to Raise Successful People
- Simple Lessons for Radical Results
- By: Esther Wojcicki
- Narrated by: Andrea Gallo
- Length: 10 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The godmother of Silicon Valley, legendary teacher, and mother of a super family shares her tried-and-tested methods for raising happy, healthy, successful children using trust, respect, independence, collaboration, and kindness: TRICK. How to Raise Successful People offers essential lessons for raising, educating, and managing people to their highest potential. Change your parenting, change the world.
-
-
Rushed, no depth, very disappointed
- By Bobby Canedy on 05-16-19
By: Esther Wojcicki
-
Daughters of the Bamboo Grove
- From China to America, a True Story of Abduction, Adoption, and Separated Twins
- By: Barbara Demick
- Narrated by: Joy Osmanski
- Length: 10 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On a warm day in September 2000, a woman named Zanhua gave birth to twin girls in a small hut behind her brother’s home in China’s Hunan province. The twins, Fangfang and Shuangjie, were welcome additions to her family but also not her first children. Living under the shadow of China’s notorious one-child policy, Zanhua and her husband decided to leave one twin in the care of relatives, hoping each toddler on their own might stay under the radar. But, in 2002, Fangfang was violently snatched away.
-
-
This is a great book.
- By jaw1031 on 06-25-25
By: Barbara Demick
-
Me, but Better
- By: Olga Khazan
- Narrated by: Olga Khazan
- Length: 6 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In recent years, Olga Khazan had been spiraling toward an existential crisis. Though she treasured her loving, long-term relationship and her dream job, she often caught herself snatching dissatisfaction from the jaws of happiness. Her neurotic overachieving had always been a professional asset, but lately, Olga felt that her brittle disposition could shatter under the weight of just one more thing. She knew something had to give—but was it really possible to change her entire approach to life?
-
-
A great read for those interested in self improvement
- By Richard J. Baum on 06-10-25
By: Olga Khazan
-
Abundance
- By: Ezra Klein, Derek Thompson
- Narrated by: Ezra Klein, Derek Thompson
- Length: 7 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
To trace the history of the twenty-first century so far is to trace a history of unaffordability and shortage. After years of refusing to build sufficient housing, America has a national housing crisis. After years of limiting immigration, we don’t have enough workers. Despite decades of being warned about the consequences of climate change, we haven’t built anything close to the clean-energy infrastructure we need. Ambitious public projects are finished late and over budget—if they are ever finished at all.
-
-
Advice to the Democratic Party from Klein & Thompson
- By Betsy Fowler on 03-31-25
By: Ezra Klein, and others
-
I Left My Homework in the Hamptons
- What I Learned Teaching the Children of the One Percent
- By: Blythe Grossberg
- Narrated by: Ann Marie Gideon
- Length: 7 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Ben orders daily room service while living in a five-star hotel. Olivia collects luxury-brand sneakers worn by celebrities. Dakota jets off to Rome when she needs to avoid drama at school. Welcome to the inner circle of New York’s richest families, where academia is an obsession, wealth does nothing to soothe status anxiety and parents will try just about anything to gain a competitive edge in the college admissions rat race.
-
-
Why such bad reviews?
- By vicki on 10-23-22
By: Blythe Grossberg
-
The Formula
- Unlocking the Secrets to Raising Highly Successful Children
- By: Ronald F. Ferguson, Tatsha Robertson
- Narrated by: Cynthia Farrell
- Length: 10 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In The Formula: Unlocking the Secrets to Raising Highly Successful Children, Harvard economist Ronald Ferguson, named in a New York Times profile as the foremost expert on the US educational "achievement gap," along with award-winning journalist Tatsha Robertson, reveal an intriguing blueprint for helping children from all types of backgrounds become successful adults.
-
-
would recommend
- By Marcia on 02-25-20
By: Ronald F. Ferguson, and others
-
How to Raise Successful People
- Simple Lessons for Radical Results
- By: Esther Wojcicki
- Narrated by: Andrea Gallo
- Length: 10 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The godmother of Silicon Valley, legendary teacher, and mother of a super family shares her tried-and-tested methods for raising happy, healthy, successful children using trust, respect, independence, collaboration, and kindness: TRICK. How to Raise Successful People offers essential lessons for raising, educating, and managing people to their highest potential. Change your parenting, change the world.
-
-
Rushed, no depth, very disappointed
- By Bobby Canedy on 05-16-19
By: Esther Wojcicki
-
Daughters of the Bamboo Grove
- From China to America, a True Story of Abduction, Adoption, and Separated Twins
- By: Barbara Demick
- Narrated by: Joy Osmanski
- Length: 10 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On a warm day in September 2000, a woman named Zanhua gave birth to twin girls in a small hut behind her brother’s home in China’s Hunan province. The twins, Fangfang and Shuangjie, were welcome additions to her family but also not her first children. Living under the shadow of China’s notorious one-child policy, Zanhua and her husband decided to leave one twin in the care of relatives, hoping each toddler on their own might stay under the radar. But, in 2002, Fangfang was violently snatched away.
-
-
This is a great book.
- By jaw1031 on 06-25-25
By: Barbara Demick
-
Me, but Better
- By: Olga Khazan
- Narrated by: Olga Khazan
- Length: 6 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In recent years, Olga Khazan had been spiraling toward an existential crisis. Though she treasured her loving, long-term relationship and her dream job, she often caught herself snatching dissatisfaction from the jaws of happiness. Her neurotic overachieving had always been a professional asset, but lately, Olga felt that her brittle disposition could shatter under the weight of just one more thing. She knew something had to give—but was it really possible to change her entire approach to life?
-
-
A great read for those interested in self improvement
- By Richard J. Baum on 06-10-25
By: Olga Khazan
-
Abundance
- By: Ezra Klein, Derek Thompson
- Narrated by: Ezra Klein, Derek Thompson
- Length: 7 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
To trace the history of the twenty-first century so far is to trace a history of unaffordability and shortage. After years of refusing to build sufficient housing, America has a national housing crisis. After years of limiting immigration, we don’t have enough workers. Despite decades of being warned about the consequences of climate change, we haven’t built anything close to the clean-energy infrastructure we need. Ambitious public projects are finished late and over budget—if they are ever finished at all.
-
-
Advice to the Democratic Party from Klein & Thompson
- By Betsy Fowler on 03-31-25
By: Ezra Klein, and others
-
The Haves and Have-Yachts
- By: Evan Osnos
- Narrated by: Evan Osnos
- Length: 10 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The ultrarich hold more of America’s wealth than they did in the heyday of the Carnegies and Rockefellers. Here, Evan Osnos’s incisive reportage yields an unforgettable portrait of the tactics and obsessions driving this new Gilded Age, in which superyachts, luxury bunkers, elite tax dodges, and a torrent of political donations bespeak staggering disparities of wealth and power. With deft storytelling and meticulous reporting, this is a book about the indulgences, incentives, and psychological distortions that define our economic age.
-
-
Just okay
- By Lara on 07-05-25
By: Evan Osnos
-
The Next Day
- Transitions, Change, and Moving Forward
- By: Melinda French Gates
- Narrated by: Melinda French Gates
- Length: 3 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In a rare window into some of her life’s pivotal moments, Melinda French Gates draws from previously untold stories to offer a new perspective on encountering transitions. Melinda will reflect on some of the most significant transitions in her own life, including becoming a parent, the death of a dear friend, and her departure from the Gates Foundation. The stories she tells illuminate universal lessons about loosening the bonds of perfectionism, helping friends navigate times of crisis, embracing uncertainty, and more.
-
-
So much wisdom
- By Michelle Hicks on 04-16-25
-
How to Lose Your Mother
- A Daughter's Memoir
- By: Molly Jong-Fast
- Narrated by: Molly Jong-Fast
- Length: 6 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Molly Jong-Fast is the only child of a famous woman, writer Erica Jong, whose sensational book Fear of Flying launched her into second-wave feminist stardom. She grew up yearning for a connection with her dreamy, glamorous, just out of reach mother, who always seemed to be heading somewhere that wasn’t with Molly. When, in 2023, Erica was diagnosed with dementia just as Molly’s husband discovered he had a rare cancer, Jong-Fast was catapulted into a transformative year.
-
-
Pause and rewind
- By Harkins5 on 06-09-25
By: Molly Jong-Fast
-
Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother
- By: Amy Chua
- Narrated by: Amy Chua
- Length: 5 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
At once provocative and laugh-out-loud funny, Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother ignited a global parenting debate with its story of one mother’s journey in strict parenting. Amy Chua argues that Western parenting tries to respect and nurture children’s individuality, while Chinese parents typically believe that arming children with skills, strong work habits, and inner confidence prepares them best for the future.
-
-
The Subtitle Should Be "Diary of a Mad Housewife"
- By California mom on 07-24-12
By: Amy Chua
-
Girl on Girl
- How Pop Culture Turned a Generation of Women Against Themselves
- By: Sophie Gilbert
- Narrated by: Sophie Gilbert
- Length: 8 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
What happened to feminism in the twenty-first century? This question feels increasingly urgent after a period of cultural and legislative backlash, when widespread uncertainty about the movement’s power, focus, and currency threatens decades of progress. Sophie Gilbert identifies an inflection point in the late 1990s and early 2000s, when the energy of third-wave and “riot grrrl” feminism collapsed into a regressive period of hyper-objectification, sexualization, and infantilization.
-
-
Why did I download this book?
- By Rehlander Reviews on 07-01-25
By: Sophie Gilbert
-
Raising Securely Attached Kids
- Using Connection-Focused Parenting to Create Confidence, Empathy, and Resilience
- By: Eli Harwood
- Narrated by: Eli Harwood, KJ Althoff, Te Anna Brown, and others
- Length: 8 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Therapist and wildly popular attachment research expert Eli Harwood (a.k.a. Attachment Nerd) illuminates attachment theory as foundational to the only parenting approach proven to have a lasting impact.
-
-
Best Book I've EVER listened To In The Therapeutic Space!!
- By SuperBabe on 09-09-24
By: Eli Harwood
-
How Countries Go Broke
- The Big Cycle
- By: Ray Dalio
- Narrated by: Jeremy Bobb, Ray Dalio
- Length: 9 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
How Countries Go Broke also shows how these debt problems are related to the other forces—political within countries, geopolitical between countries, natural (droughts, floods, and pandemics), and technological (most importantly, AI)—that together are causing what Dalio calls the “Overall Big Cycle” changes in the world order. By listening this audiobook, you will improve your understanding of what’s happening now and what to do about it.
-
-
Horrible narration
- By Anonymous on 06-08-25
By: Ray Dalio
-
Hello, Cruel World!
- Science-Based Strategies for Raising Terrific Kids in Terrifying Times
- By: Melinda Wenner Moyer
- Narrated by: Melinda Wenner Moyer
- Length: 7 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the blink of an eye, our kids will be adults facing countless serious threats—climate change, gun violence, political polarization, and disinformation, to name but a few. We’re not going to be able to solve all these intractable problems before our kids grow up—so how are we to prepare them for an impossibly complex and scary future? Plagued by this question, award-winning science journalist Melinda Wenner Moyer interviewed parenting experts and researchers across multiple fields—psychology, education, information literacy, technology, business, and even addiction.
-
Meltdown
- Greed, Scandal, and the Collapse of Credit Suisse
- By: Duncan Mavin
- Narrated by: Charles Armstrong
- Length: 8 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Credit Suisse was a 166-year-old bastion of global banking. But a veneer of high-class service disguised a darker, much dirtier reality. From its sterile Zurich headquarters, Credit Suisse banked dictators and drug dealers, hid stolen Nazi gold, and helped corrupt bankers fleece the firm's own clients of billions of dollars. Its top executives oversaw a global operation that laundered money for autocrats; they hired spies to track one another through the cobbled streets of the Swiss financial capital; and they helped clients hide their money from the world's tax authorities.
By: Duncan Mavin
-
How to Be Well
- Navigating Our Self-Care Epidemic, One Dubious Cure at a Time
- By: Amy Larocca
- Narrated by: Amy Larocca
- Length: 7 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Peloton. Pilates. Biohacking. Colonics. Ashwagandha. Today, the wellness industry is a $3.7 trillion behemoth that touches us all. In this timely and clear-eyed book, journalist Amy Larocca peels back the layers behind the wellness movement and reckons with its promises and profits. How did we get here and how did the idea of wellness become integrated with women's lives? And how did we end up spending so much money on products that may not work at all?
-
-
Couldn’t finish it
- By Susan Smith on 06-03-25
By: Amy Larocca
-
Everything Is Tuberculosis
- The History and Persistence of Our Deadliest Infection
- By: John Green
- Narrated by: John Green
- Length: 5 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 2019, author John Green met Henry Reider, a young tuberculosis patient at Lakka Government Hospital in Sierra Leone. John became fast friends with Henry, a boy with spindly legs and a big, goofy smile. In the years since that first visit to Lakka, Green has become a vocal advocate for increased access to treatment and wider awareness of the healthcare inequities that allow this curable, preventable infectious disease to also be the deadliest, killing over a million people every year. In Everything Is Tuberculosis, John tells Henry’s story.
-
-
TB: The past? More like the present.
- By Kindle Customer on 04-02-25
By: John Green
-
Lawless
- How the Supreme Court Runs on Conservative Grievance, Fringe Theories, and Bad Vibes
- By: Leah Litman
- Narrated by: Leah Litman
- Length: 7 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
With the gravitas of Joan Biskupic and the irreverence of Elie Mystal, Leah Litman brings her signature wit to the question of what’s gone wrong at One First Street. In Lawless, she argues that the Supreme Court is no longer practicing law; it’s running on vibes. By “vibes,” Litman means legal-ish claims that repackage the politics of conservative grievance and dress them up in robes. Major decisions adopt the language and posture of the law, while in fact displaying a commitment to protecting a single minority: the religious conservatives and Republican officials.
-
-
Litman is an essential voice in this moment
- By L B on 07-04-25
By: Leah Litman
Critic reviews
“[W]onderfully engaging. . . . [Dominus] expertly interweaves stories of the Brontë sisters with those of contemporary families and academic studies on factors that contribute to children’s excellence. She makes clear that the current research provides no definitive set of answers to the cereal question. Instead, it hints at certain heuristics, which are illuminated by Dominus’s careful, detailed portraits.”—The New York Times
“The Family Dynamic will no doubt disappoint readers looking for bullet-pointed parenting-for-success tips. It’s just not that kind of book. It’s better. Dominus is smart, honest and wise, and at her best, very funny. Her findings offer a science-based reality check, while her fluid, artful writing can give parents a much-needed break.”—The Washington Post
“I can think of no other book more helpful in understanding not just the inner workings of families, but how best to help children from all walks of life to thrive despite a world filled with challenges. Susan Dominus has given us all a brilliant gift.”—Robert Kolker, bestselling author of Hidden Valley Road
People who viewed this also viewed...
-
Hello, Cruel World!
- Science-Based Strategies for Raising Terrific Kids in Terrifying Times
- By: Melinda Wenner Moyer
- Narrated by: Melinda Wenner Moyer
- Length: 7 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the blink of an eye, our kids will be adults facing countless serious threats—climate change, gun violence, political polarization, and disinformation, to name but a few. We’re not going to be able to solve all these intractable problems before our kids grow up—so how are we to prepare them for an impossibly complex and scary future? Plagued by this question, award-winning science journalist Melinda Wenner Moyer interviewed parenting experts and researchers across multiple fields—psychology, education, information literacy, technology, business, and even addiction.
-
Resurface
- A Guide to Navigating Life's Biggest Transitions
- By: Cassidy Krug
- Narrated by: Cassidy Krug
- Length: 9 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Life is nothing other than a series of transitions. Whether you’re graduating from college and trying to decide what’s next, coping with divorce, putting the pieces back together after a death or a diagnosis, moving to a new city, or thinking about leaving one career path for another, these transitions—planned or unplanned—are an inevitable part of life.
-
-
Transitions & Change
- By S B on 06-27-25
By: Cassidy Krug
-
Four Days a Week
- The Life-Changing Solution for Reducing Employee Stress, Improving Well-Being, and Working Smarter
- By: Juliet Schor
- Narrated by: Helen Laser
- Length: 7 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Bestselling author, leading sociologist and economist Juliet Schor makes the case for a four-day work week, persuasively showing how this model can address major challenges such as burnout, AI and the climate crisis, and how employees, companies, and governments can work together to make it a reality.
By: Juliet Schor
-
How to Be Well
- Navigating Our Self-Care Epidemic, One Dubious Cure at a Time
- By: Amy Larocca
- Narrated by: Amy Larocca
- Length: 7 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Peloton. Pilates. Biohacking. Colonics. Ashwagandha. Today, the wellness industry is a $3.7 trillion behemoth that touches us all. In this timely and clear-eyed book, journalist Amy Larocca peels back the layers behind the wellness movement and reckons with its promises and profits. How did we get here and how did the idea of wellness become integrated with women's lives? And how did we end up spending so much money on products that may not work at all?
-
-
Couldn’t finish it
- By Susan Smith on 06-03-25
By: Amy Larocca
-
Freedom to Discriminate
- How Realtors Conspired to Segregate Housing and Divide America
- By: Gene Slater
- Narrated by: Christopher Grove
- Length: 15 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A landmark history told with narrative skill, Freedom to Discriminate uncovers realtors' definitive role in segregating America and shaping modern conservative thought. His book traces the increasingly aggressive ways realtors justified their practices, how they successfully weaponized the word "freedom" for their cause, and how conservative politicians have drawn directly from realtors' rhetoric for the past several decades.
By: Gene Slater
-
Me, but Better
- By: Olga Khazan
- Narrated by: Olga Khazan
- Length: 6 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In recent years, Olga Khazan had been spiraling toward an existential crisis. Though she treasured her loving, long-term relationship and her dream job, she often caught herself snatching dissatisfaction from the jaws of happiness. Her neurotic overachieving had always been a professional asset, but lately, Olga felt that her brittle disposition could shatter under the weight of just one more thing. She knew something had to give—but was it really possible to change her entire approach to life?
-
-
A great read for those interested in self improvement
- By Richard J. Baum on 06-10-25
By: Olga Khazan
-
Hello, Cruel World!
- Science-Based Strategies for Raising Terrific Kids in Terrifying Times
- By: Melinda Wenner Moyer
- Narrated by: Melinda Wenner Moyer
- Length: 7 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the blink of an eye, our kids will be adults facing countless serious threats—climate change, gun violence, political polarization, and disinformation, to name but a few. We’re not going to be able to solve all these intractable problems before our kids grow up—so how are we to prepare them for an impossibly complex and scary future? Plagued by this question, award-winning science journalist Melinda Wenner Moyer interviewed parenting experts and researchers across multiple fields—psychology, education, information literacy, technology, business, and even addiction.
-
Resurface
- A Guide to Navigating Life's Biggest Transitions
- By: Cassidy Krug
- Narrated by: Cassidy Krug
- Length: 9 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Life is nothing other than a series of transitions. Whether you’re graduating from college and trying to decide what’s next, coping with divorce, putting the pieces back together after a death or a diagnosis, moving to a new city, or thinking about leaving one career path for another, these transitions—planned or unplanned—are an inevitable part of life.
-
-
Transitions & Change
- By S B on 06-27-25
By: Cassidy Krug
-
Four Days a Week
- The Life-Changing Solution for Reducing Employee Stress, Improving Well-Being, and Working Smarter
- By: Juliet Schor
- Narrated by: Helen Laser
- Length: 7 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Bestselling author, leading sociologist and economist Juliet Schor makes the case for a four-day work week, persuasively showing how this model can address major challenges such as burnout, AI and the climate crisis, and how employees, companies, and governments can work together to make it a reality.
By: Juliet Schor
-
How to Be Well
- Navigating Our Self-Care Epidemic, One Dubious Cure at a Time
- By: Amy Larocca
- Narrated by: Amy Larocca
- Length: 7 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Peloton. Pilates. Biohacking. Colonics. Ashwagandha. Today, the wellness industry is a $3.7 trillion behemoth that touches us all. In this timely and clear-eyed book, journalist Amy Larocca peels back the layers behind the wellness movement and reckons with its promises and profits. How did we get here and how did the idea of wellness become integrated with women's lives? And how did we end up spending so much money on products that may not work at all?
-
-
Couldn’t finish it
- By Susan Smith on 06-03-25
By: Amy Larocca
-
Freedom to Discriminate
- How Realtors Conspired to Segregate Housing and Divide America
- By: Gene Slater
- Narrated by: Christopher Grove
- Length: 15 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A landmark history told with narrative skill, Freedom to Discriminate uncovers realtors' definitive role in segregating America and shaping modern conservative thought. His book traces the increasingly aggressive ways realtors justified their practices, how they successfully weaponized the word "freedom" for their cause, and how conservative politicians have drawn directly from realtors' rhetoric for the past several decades.
By: Gene Slater
-
Me, but Better
- By: Olga Khazan
- Narrated by: Olga Khazan
- Length: 6 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In recent years, Olga Khazan had been spiraling toward an existential crisis. Though she treasured her loving, long-term relationship and her dream job, she often caught herself snatching dissatisfaction from the jaws of happiness. Her neurotic overachieving had always been a professional asset, but lately, Olga felt that her brittle disposition could shatter under the weight of just one more thing. She knew something had to give—but was it really possible to change her entire approach to life?
-
-
A great read for those interested in self improvement
- By Richard J. Baum on 06-10-25
By: Olga Khazan
-
Bad Friend
- How Women Revolutionized Modern Friendship
- By: Tiffany Watt Smith
- Narrated by: Tiffany Watt Smith
- Length: 9 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Our culture today is inundated with narratives about the strength of female friendship, whether through images of girl power, BFFs, or work wives. Yet cultural historian Tiffany Watt Smith has always found her own life much messier. She has had dramatic friend breakups, friendships that felt like too much or not enough, friendships that drifted into silence, and friendships built on convenience rather than a meeting of minds. And there are older cultural scripts to contend with: the competitive rival, the jealous backstabber, the underminer, the fair-weather friend.
-
The Crucial Years
- The Essential Guide to Mental Health and Modern Puberty in Middle Childhood (Ages 6-12)
- By: Sheryl Gonzalez Ziegler
- Narrated by: Sheryl Gonzalez Ziegler
- Length: 11 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
An essential guide for parents and caregivers, this book offers insights, strategies, and understanding to navigate middle childhood (ages 6-12). Dr. Sheryl Gonzalez Ziegler, a seasoned clinical psychologist and mother, highlights ways to foster resilience, encourage open communication, and build lasting connections during this crucial period.
-
-
Crucial tools for parents!
- By Elena Wuchner on 06-05-25
-
Empty Vessel
- The Story of the Global Economy in One Barge
- By: Ian Kumekawa
- Narrated by: Dion Graham
- Length: 8 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
What do a barracks for British troops in the Falklands War, a floating jail off the Bronx, and temporary housing for VW factory workers in Germany have in common? The Balder Scapa: a single barge that served all three roles. Though the name would eventually change to Finnboda 12. And then to Safe Esperia. And later on, to the Bibby Resolution. And after that . . . in short, a vessel with so many names, and so many fates, that to keep it in our sights—as the protagonist of this fascinating economic parable—Ian Kumekawa has no choice but to call it, simply, the Vessel.
By: Ian Kumekawa
-
Proof
- The Art and Science of Certainty
- By: Adam Kucharski
- Narrated by: Nathaniel Priestley
- Length: 9 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
An award-winning mathematician shows how we prove what’s true, and what to do when we can’t.
By: Adam Kucharski
-
The Origins of Inequality
- By: Joseph E. Stiglitz
- Narrated by: Sean Pratt
- Length: 34 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Joseph E. Stiglitz has had a remarkable career. What brought him to economics were his concerns about the inequality and discrimination he saw growing up. Wanting to understand what drives it and what can be done about it has been his lifelong passion. This book gathers together and extends to new frontiers this lifelong work, drawing upon the challenges and insights of each of these phases of his career.
-
The Brain at Rest
- How the Art and Science of Doing Nothing Can Improve Your Life
- By: Joseph Jebelli PhD
- Narrated by: Joseph Jebelli PhD
- Length: 6 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
We are constantly told to make the most of our time, to work harder, to stop procrastinating. But what if all that advice was wrong, and letting the brain rest, and the mind wander, could improve our lives? In this book, Dr. Joseph Jebelli shows listeners the way to happier, healthier, and more balanced lives in a deeply researched and entertaining guide to combat overwork and burnout. Through a blend of science, personal stories, and practical, actionable tips, Dr. Jebelli proves that the brain's "default network" turns itself on when we turn off the constant need to always do and achieve.
-
Moral Ambition
- Stop Wasting Your Talent and Start Making a Difference
- By: Rutger Bregman, Erica Moore
- Narrated by: Boris Hiestand, Rutger Bregman
- Length: 5 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Moral Ambition, internationally bestselling author Rutger Bregman reveals how our conventional definitions of success are harming us and the planet, and shows how we can shift the focus from personal gain to societal benefit. In the process, he explains, we will join a growing movement of pioneers who are already living out this ethos. They're the builders, the problem-solvers, the doers who have chosen a path less traveled.
-
-
Important call to action at a time of tremendous change
- By A G on 05-25-25
By: Rutger Bregman, and others
-
Little Bosses Everywhere
- How the Pyramid Scheme Shaped America
- By: Bridget Read
- Narrated by: Nikki Massoud
- Length: 11 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Little Bosses Everywhere, journalist Bridget Read tells the gripping story of multilevel marketing in full for the first time, winding from sunny postwar California, where a failed salesman started a vitamin business, through the devoutly religious suburbs of Michigan, where the industry built its political influence, to stadium-size conventions where today’s top sellers preach to die-hard recruits. MLM has enriched powerful people, like the DeVos and Van Andel families, Warren Buffett, and President Donald Trump, all while eroding public institutions and the social safety net.
-
-
Well researched.
- By Donald Schuster on 05-08-25
By: Bridget Read
-
How Things Are Made
- A Journey Through the Hidden World of Manufacturing
- By: Tim Minshall
- Narrated by: Tim Minshall
- Length: 8 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Brimming with energy and lively examples, How Things Are Made maps the awe-inspiring global system of manufacturing that enables virtually every aspect of our existence. By making sense of this surprising and hidden world, we are able to make better choices for ourselves, our communities, and the planet.
-
-
as deep as google search allows it to be
- By Biorelevant on 06-08-25
By: Tim Minshall
-
Who Deserves Your Love
- How to Create Boundaries to Start, Strengthen, or End Any Relationship
- By: KC Davis LPC
- Narrated by: KC Davis LPC
- Length: 5 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
KC Davis, the renowned therapist who specializes in difficult relationships, asks and answers these questions. Just as she helps you design a functional home in How to Keep House While Drowning, here she applies the same bold but gentle approach to relationships so that they function, too. She helps you navigate decisions in every type of relationship, whether romantic or platonic. Recognizing that it isn’t always realistic to cut loose the people who rattle you, she explores how to protect yourself in those situations.
-
-
KC does it again
- By Clair on 05-09-25
By: KC Davis LPC
-
The Sibling Effect
- What the Bonds among Brothers and Sisters Reveal about Us
- By: Jeffrey Kluger
- Narrated by: Pete Larkin
- Length: 8 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Nobody affects us as deeply as our brothers and sisters - not parents, not children, not friends. From the time we - and they - are born, our siblings are our collaborators and co-conspirators, our role models and cautionary tales. They teach us how to resolve conflicts and how not to, how to conduct friendships and when to walk away.
-
-
This is the only book I never finished
- By Rob on 06-25-12
By: Jeffrey Kluger
-
We Can Do Hard Things
- Answers to Life's 20 Questions
- By: Glennon Doyle, Abby Wambach, Amanda Doyle
- Narrated by: Glennon Doyle, Abby Wambach, Amanda Doyle, and others
- Length: 12 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The #1 New York Times bestselling authors and award-winning podcasters Glennon Doyle, Abby Wambach, and Amanda Doyle created We Can Do Hard Things—the guidebook for being alive—to help fellow travelers find their way through life.
-
-
I love Glennon but this was way too hard to follow with all the voices, it may be better as a book
- By Amanda Newton on 05-11-25
By: Glennon Doyle, and others