-
The Gathering Place
- An Adoptee's Story
- Narrated by: Emma Stevens
- Length: 4 hrs and 43 mins
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
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Buy for $14.95
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Publisher's summary
When Emma learns her birth mother wrote and signed a letter about her to the adoption agency, she knew she had to have that letter if she were to ever discover her birth mother's true identity. Her birth mother had used a fictitious name at the maternity home and used an assumed name on Emma's original birth certificate. Emma takes bold measures to acquire that letter and start solving the puzzle that is her life.
Emma was adopted into a family that expected her to conform to their expectations of who she should be - but she did not arrive as a blank slate. Unable to see that her relinquishment and adoption were not her fault, her soul split into pieces. In order to put the pieces back together, Emma embarks on multiple journeys and adventures towards both solving the mystery of who she is, and healing from the pain of separation from her origins.
Emma powerfully describes a childhood and life profoundly affected by not knowing her true self. Has she ever known her true self?
It's a story of inner strength and perseverance where Emma welcomes all her parts of self to feel valued and seen. She fights to reunite her fractured soul through love and acceptance of herself, and of others. In a meditative and surreal state, under and around a big old oak tree with a simple wood-seated rope swing attached, she accepts the invitation of integrating herself. And this reunion all takes place at The Gathering Place.
Listeners also enjoyed...
-
A Fire is Coming
- By: Emma Stevens
- Narrated by: Emma Stevens
- Length: 3 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Emma Stevens learned her new next-door neighbor was a psychologist, she innocently asked about how to find a therapist for her own issues. Dr. Carol Brenner decided to accept her as a patient. Against a backdrop of the Laguna Beach fire, the insidious drama unfolds as Emma finds herself enmeshed in an unhealthy dependency on her therapist, who not only fostered this dependence but also used it to dominate and control her.
-
-
Rooting for Emma
- By michelle on 10-19-24
By: Emma Stevens
-
You Don't Look Adopted
- By: Anne Heffron
- Narrated by: Anne Heffron
- Length: 5 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Can writing your story save your life? I should have come with a manual. My parents thought they were getting one thing when they adopted me - a baby of their own - when what they got was a human being with a story of her own. As a child, I traded safety for silence. As an adult, I had no idea who I was, why I quit nearly everything I started, why I struggled with things that came more easily to my friends (jobs, relationships, finances, self-esteem), why I seemed hell-bent on throwing myself away.
-
-
Courageous and raw
- By Christine Warmus Murphy on 08-30-19
By: Anne Heffron
-
Before and After
- The Incredible Real-Life Stories of Orphans Who Survived the Tennessee Children's Home Society
- By: Judy Christie, Lisa Wingate
- Narrated by: Emily Rankin
- Length: 7 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From the 1920s to 1950, Georgia Tann ran a black-market baby business at the Tennessee Children’s Home Society in Memphis. The publication of Lisa Wingate’s novel Before We Were Yours brought new awareness of Tann’s lucrative career in child trafficking. Adoptees who knew little about their pasts gained insight into the startling facts behind their family histories. Encouraged by their contact with Wingate and award-winning journalist Judy Christie, who documented the stories of 15 adoptees in this book, many determined Tann survivors set out to trace their roots.
-
-
Badly written
- By Stacie on 02-25-20
By: Judy Christie, and others
-
Thicker than Water
- A Memoir
- By: Kerry Washington
- Narrated by: Kerry Washington
- Length: 8 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
While on a drive in Los Angeles, on a seemingly average afternoon, Kerry Washington received a text message that would send her on a life-changing journey of self-discovery. In an instant, her very identity was torn apart, with everything she thought she knew about herself thrown into question.
-
-
Technical issues are ruining an otherwise good story
- By Lindsay on 09-27-23
By: Kerry Washington
-
The Girls Who Went Away
- The Hidden History of Women Who Surrendered Children for Adoption in the Decades Before Roe v. Wade
- By: Ann Fessler
- Narrated by: Coleen Marlo
- Length: 12 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this deeply moving and myth-shattering work, Ann Fessler brings out into the open for the first time the astonishing untold history of the million and a half women who surrendered children for adoption due to enormous family and social pressure in the decades before Roe v. Wade.
-
-
Sad but True ... and Helpful
- By Kim Kavanagh on 01-05-17
By: Ann Fessler
-
Searching for Mom
- A Memoir
- By: Sara Easterly, Linda Easterly
- Narrated by: Sara Easterly
- Length: 7 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Searching for Mom is a “disarmingly honest” mother-daughter story. Sara Easterly spent a lifetime looking for the perfect mother. As an adoptee, she had difficulties attaching to her mother, struggled with her faith, lived the effects of intergenerational wounding, and felt an inherent sense of being unwanted that drove her to perfectionism, suicidal ideations, and fantasy mothers.
By: Sara Easterly, and others
-
A Fire is Coming
- By: Emma Stevens
- Narrated by: Emma Stevens
- Length: 3 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Emma Stevens learned her new next-door neighbor was a psychologist, she innocently asked about how to find a therapist for her own issues. Dr. Carol Brenner decided to accept her as a patient. Against a backdrop of the Laguna Beach fire, the insidious drama unfolds as Emma finds herself enmeshed in an unhealthy dependency on her therapist, who not only fostered this dependence but also used it to dominate and control her.
-
-
Rooting for Emma
- By michelle on 10-19-24
By: Emma Stevens
-
You Don't Look Adopted
- By: Anne Heffron
- Narrated by: Anne Heffron
- Length: 5 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Can writing your story save your life? I should have come with a manual. My parents thought they were getting one thing when they adopted me - a baby of their own - when what they got was a human being with a story of her own. As a child, I traded safety for silence. As an adult, I had no idea who I was, why I quit nearly everything I started, why I struggled with things that came more easily to my friends (jobs, relationships, finances, self-esteem), why I seemed hell-bent on throwing myself away.
-
-
Courageous and raw
- By Christine Warmus Murphy on 08-30-19
By: Anne Heffron
-
Before and After
- The Incredible Real-Life Stories of Orphans Who Survived the Tennessee Children's Home Society
- By: Judy Christie, Lisa Wingate
- Narrated by: Emily Rankin
- Length: 7 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From the 1920s to 1950, Georgia Tann ran a black-market baby business at the Tennessee Children’s Home Society in Memphis. The publication of Lisa Wingate’s novel Before We Were Yours brought new awareness of Tann’s lucrative career in child trafficking. Adoptees who knew little about their pasts gained insight into the startling facts behind their family histories. Encouraged by their contact with Wingate and award-winning journalist Judy Christie, who documented the stories of 15 adoptees in this book, many determined Tann survivors set out to trace their roots.
-
-
Badly written
- By Stacie on 02-25-20
By: Judy Christie, and others
-
Thicker than Water
- A Memoir
- By: Kerry Washington
- Narrated by: Kerry Washington
- Length: 8 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
While on a drive in Los Angeles, on a seemingly average afternoon, Kerry Washington received a text message that would send her on a life-changing journey of self-discovery. In an instant, her very identity was torn apart, with everything she thought she knew about herself thrown into question.
-
-
Technical issues are ruining an otherwise good story
- By Lindsay on 09-27-23
By: Kerry Washington
-
The Girls Who Went Away
- The Hidden History of Women Who Surrendered Children for Adoption in the Decades Before Roe v. Wade
- By: Ann Fessler
- Narrated by: Coleen Marlo
- Length: 12 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this deeply moving and myth-shattering work, Ann Fessler brings out into the open for the first time the astonishing untold history of the million and a half women who surrendered children for adoption due to enormous family and social pressure in the decades before Roe v. Wade.
-
-
Sad but True ... and Helpful
- By Kim Kavanagh on 01-05-17
By: Ann Fessler
-
Searching for Mom
- A Memoir
- By: Sara Easterly, Linda Easterly
- Narrated by: Sara Easterly
- Length: 7 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Searching for Mom is a “disarmingly honest” mother-daughter story. Sara Easterly spent a lifetime looking for the perfect mother. As an adoptee, she had difficulties attaching to her mother, struggled with her faith, lived the effects of intergenerational wounding, and felt an inherent sense of being unwanted that drove her to perfectionism, suicidal ideations, and fantasy mothers.
By: Sara Easterly, and others
-
Through Adopted Eyes
- A Collection of Memoirs from Adoptees
- By: Elena S. Hall
- Narrated by: Elena S. Hall
- Length: 6 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Through Adopted Eyes explores the world of adoption from the viewpoint of adoptees. Russian adoptee Elena S. Hall shares her own story and thoughts on the subject of adoption in addition to interviews from other adoptees of different ages, heritages, and perspectives. Whether you are an adoptive parent, curious about adoption, or an adoptee yourself, this unique collection of memoirs provides real insight into lives directly impacted by adoption.
-
-
Excellent book to hear perspectives from some adoptees
- By Emmie Pippin on 06-22-21
By: Elena S. Hall
-
Already Enough
- A Path to Self-Acceptance
- By: Lisa Olivera
- Narrated by: Lisa Olivera
- Length: 6 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Lisa Olivera was just a few hours old, her birth mother abandoned her behind a rock near Muir Woods in Northern California. She was found and later adopted. Growing up, Lisa knew she was adopted. She later learned she was abandoned. Like with many adopted children, this led Lisa to wonder: Why did her mother leave her behind? Without answers, Lisa came to believe she was not enough.
-
-
Inspirational and Powerful
- By Carlventures24 on 02-08-23
By: Lisa Olivera
-
This Naked Mind
- Control Alcohol, Find Freedom, Discover Happiness, and Change Your Life
- By: Annie Grace
- Narrated by: Annie Grace
- Length: 7 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This Naked Mind offers a new, positive solution. Here, Annie Grace clearly presents the psychological and neurological components of alcohol use based on the latest science and reveals the cultural, social, and industry factors that support alcohol dependence in all of us. Packed with surprising insight into the reasons we drink, this book will open your eyes to the startling role of alcohol in our culture and how the stigma of alcoholism and recovery keeps people from getting the help they need.
-
-
Not as Described
- By Sean on 07-01-18
By: Annie Grace
-
What My Bones Know
- A Memoir of Healing from Complex Trauma
- By: Stephanie Foo
- Narrated by: Stephanie Foo
- Length: 10 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
By age thirty, Stephanie Foo was successful on paper: She had her dream job as an award-winning radio producer at This American Life and a loving boyfriend. But behind her office door, she was having panic attacks and sobbing at her desk every morning. After years of questioning what was wrong with herself, she was diagnosed with complex PTSD—a condition that occurs when trauma happens continuously, over the course of years.
-
-
Complex PTSD from a patient's point of view!
- By Howard_a on 05-24-22
By: Stephanie Foo
-
"You Should Be Grateful"
- Stories of Race, Identity, and Transracial Adoption
- By: Angela Tucker
- Narrated by: Angela Tucker
- Length: 7 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
“Your parents are so amazing for adopting you! You should be grateful that you were adopted.” Angela Tucker is a Black woman, adopted from foster care by white parents. She has heard this microaggression her entire life, usually from well-intentioned strangers who view her adoptive parents as noble saviors. She is grateful for many aspects of her life, but being transracially adopted involves layers of rejection, loss, and complexity that cannot be summed up so easily.
-
-
A Good Start
- By Ricky Ferrari Traner on 07-18-24
By: Angela Tucker
-
American Baby
- A Mother, a Child, and the Shadow History of Adoption
- By: Gabrielle Glaser
- Narrated by: Kathe Mazur, Gabrielle Glaser, Margaret Katz
- Length: 10 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The adoption business was founded on secrecy and lies. American Baby lays out how a lucrative and exploitative industry removed children from their birth mothers and placed them with hopeful families, fabricating stories about infants' origins and destinations, then closing the door firmly between the parties forever. Adoption agencies and other organizations that purported to help pregnant women struck unethical deals with doctors and researchers for pseudoscientific "assessments," and shamed millions of women into surrendering their children.
-
-
I felt the love of my birth mom...
- By Mary H. on 02-03-21
By: Gabrielle Glaser
-
The Boy Who Was Raised as a Dog
- And Other Stories from a Child Psychiatrist's Notebook -- What Traumatized Children Can Teach Us About Loss, Love, and Healing
- By: Bruce D. Perry, Maia Szalavitz
- Narrated by: Chris Kipiniak
- Length: 13 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
How does trauma affect a child's mind—and how can that mind recover? In the classic The Boy Who Was Raised as a Dog, Dr. Perry explains what happens to the brains of children exposed to extreme stress and shares their lessons of courage, humanity, and hope. Only when we understand the science of the mind and the power of love and nurturing can we hope to heal the spirit of even the most wounded child.
-
-
Nice to see some good come to those abused/neglect
- By C. Turner on 06-07-19
By: Bruce D. Perry, and others
-
The Myth of Normal
- Trauma, Illness, and Healing in a Toxic Culture
- By: Gabor Maté MD, Daniel Maté
- Narrated by: Daniel Maté
- Length: 18 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this revolutionary book, renowned physician Gabor Maté eloquently dissects how in Western countries that pride themselves on their healthcare systems, chronic illness and general ill health are on the rise. Nearly 70 percent of Americans are on at least one prescription drug; more than half take two. In Canada, every fifth person has high blood pressure. In Europe, hypertension is diagnosed in more than 30 percent of the population. And everywhere, adolescent mental illness is on the rise. So what is really “normal” when it comes to health?
-
-
Bought book after hearing podcast...
- By Adrian on 09-14-22
By: Gabor Maté MD, and others
-
Twenty Things Adopted Kids Wish Their Adoptive Parents Knew
- By: Sherrie Eldridge
- Narrated by: Rosemary Benson
- Length: 6 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The voices of adopted children are poignant, questioning. And they tell a familiar story of loss, fear, and hope. This extraordinary book, written by a woman who was adopted herself, gives voice to children's unspoken concerns, and shows adoptive parents how to free their kids from feelings of fear, abandonment, and shame. With warmth and candor, Sherrie Eldridge reveals the 20 complex emotional issues you must understand to nurture the child you love.
-
-
The glass is half empty.
- By stephen blackwell on 07-19-24
By: Sherrie Eldridge
-
The Girl I Am, Was, and Never Will Be
- A Speculative Memoir of Transracial Adoption
- By: Shannon Gibney
- Narrated by: Shannon Gibney
- Length: 5 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Dream Country author Shannon Gibney returns with The Girl I Am, Was, and Never Will Be, a book woven from her true story of growing up as a mixed-Black transracial adoptee and fictional story of Erin Powers, the name Shannon was given at birth, a child raised by a white, closeted lesbian.
-
-
What a blessing this young woman is to both families!!
- By Bridget on 01-31-23
By: Shannon Gibney
-
The Light Between Us
- Stories From Heaven. Lessons for the Living.
- By: Laura Lynne Jackson
- Narrated by: Laura Lynne Jackson
- Length: 8 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Laura Lynne Jackson is a wife, a mother, a high school English teacher—and a psychic medium. Where most believe an impenetrable wall divides the world between the living and the dead, Jackson sees brilliant cords of light. She has dedicated her life to exploring our connection to the Other Side, conversing with departed loved ones, and helping people come to terms with loss.
-
-
I BELIEVE EVERYTHIHNG SHE SAYS
- By ANGI MAREK on 01-09-16
-
What White Parents Should Know About Transracial Adoption
- An Adoptee's Perspective on Its History, Nuances, and Practices
- By: Melissa Guida-Richards, Paula Guida - foreword
- Narrated by: Stacy Gonzalez
- Length: 6 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
If you're the White parent of a transracially or internationally adopted child, you may have been told that if you try your best and work your hardest, good intentions and a whole lot of love will be enough to give your child the security, attachment, and nurturing family life they need to thrive. The only problem? It's not true. What White Parents Need to Know About Transracial Adoption breaks down the dynamics that frequently fly under the radar of the whitewashed, happily-ever-after adoption stories we hear so often.
-
-
This is a rant. Not an informative book.
- By Chris on 07-10-22
By: Melissa Guida-Richards, and others
Critic reviews
"The Gathering Place is poignant and thrilling. There were gasp-out-loud moments and times that made me nod in agreement. Stevens’ writing is beautiful. I was constantly taken with the imagery of her words. For instance, my heart felt like warm melted gold. I had a deeper understanding of what trauma looks and feels like to a baby and was encouraged in my own healing journey after reading this timeless memoir. You won’t be able to put it down!" (Rebecca Autumn Sansom, creator of the documentary Reckoning with the Primal Wound)
"The Gathering Place brings you to the center of your heart after first bringing you into the center of the mayhem grief causes to the body and the mind. Emma Stevens has done the hard work - she even broke into a building in order to find pieces of her story - and in doing so and on taking us with her on her journey, we get to benefit from her dedication to the truth, and we learn the repercussions of being adopted and the years and years of work it can take to finally find yourself. And we are inspired: If Emma can find peace and joy, so can we." (Anne Heffron, writing coach and author of You Don’t Look Adopted)
"Why should an adult who had been adopted as an infant be kept in the dark about their origins? Emma Stevens resorts to breaking and entering, tracking down leads like a bloodhound, and getting to the bottom of who she truly is in this powerfully written and compelling autobiography. Emma Stevens has worked hard to not only find out where she came from, but also to heal from the wounds and bewilderment caused by separation. Her beautifully written narrative is a testament to her tenacious and resilient spirit, and an inspiration to adoptees and others seeking answers to the all-important question of life: Who Am I?" (Diane Shifflett, adoptee)
Related to this topic
-
Can't Forgive
- My 20-Year Battle with O.J. Simpson
- By: Kim Goldman
- Narrated by: Kim Goldman
- Length: 8 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Kim Goldman was just 22, her older brother, Ron, was brutally killed by O. J. Simpson. Ron and Kim were very close, and her devastation was compounded by the shocking not guilty verdict that allowed a smirking Simpson to leave as a free man.
-
-
Selfish
- By B. A. C. on 04-08-16
By: Kim Goldman
-
Marrow
- A Love Story
- By: Elizabeth Lesser
- Narrated by: Elizabeth Lesser, Sally Field
- Length: 9 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A mesmerizing and courageous memoir: the story of two sisters uncovering the depth of their love through the life-and-death experience of a bone marrow transplant. Throughout her life Elizabeth Lesser has sought understanding about what it means to be true to yourself and, at the same time, truly connected to the ones you love. But when her sister, Maggie, needs a bone marrow transplant to save her life, and Lesser learns that she is the perfect match, she faces a far more immediate and complex question about what it really means to love.
-
-
“ Love came first “
- By marie on 03-26-18
By: Elizabeth Lesser
-
The Rise
- An Unforgettable Journey of Self-Love, Forgiveness, and Transformation
- By: Danette May
- Narrated by: Danette May
- Length: 5 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
After the tragic loss of her son and a marriage that ended in divorce and near-bankruptcy, world-renowned health and transformation expert Danette May found her life in shambles. But when her support seemed to come from few and her options seemed the most far between, she began to hear a voice inside her telling her it was time. May never predicted that her journey would take her into a world bikini competition, to a sacred healer in Costa Rica, or through a process of heart-wrenching forgiveness. Yet it was her soul's calling that led her there.
-
-
Vulnerable
- By Priscilla Lopez on 10-29-18
By: Danette May
-
Not Fade Away
- A Memoir of Senses Lost and Found
- By: Rebecca Alexander, Sascha Alper
- Narrated by: Tavia Gilbert
- Length: 7 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Thirty-four-year-old Rebecca Alexander is a psychotherapist, a spin instructor, a volunteer, and an athlete. She is also almost completely blind, with significantly deteriorated hearing. Not Fade Away is a deeply moving exploration of the obstacles we all face-physical, psychological, and philosophical. Rebecca's story is an exquisite reminder to live each day to its fullest.
-
-
Loved this!
- By Daryl on 11-24-14
By: Rebecca Alexander, and others
-
Carly's Voice
- Breaking Through Autism
- By: Arthur Fleischmann, Carly Fleischmann
- Narrated by: Patrick Lawlor, Cassandra Campbell
- Length: 11 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
At the age of two, Carly Fleischmann was diagnosed with severe autism and an oral motor condition that prevented her from speaking. Doctors predicted that she would never intellectually develop beyond the abilities of a small child. Although she made some progress after years of intensive behavioral and communication therapy, Carly remained largely unreachable. Then, at age 10, Carly had a breakthrough....
-
-
A peek inside...
- By Yolanda on 08-09-13
By: Arthur Fleischmann, and others
-
Schuyler's Monster
- A Father's Journey with His Wordless Daughter
- By: Robert Rummel-Hudson
- Narrated by: Johnathan McClain
- Length: 9 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Schuyler Rummel-Hudson was 18 months old, a question about her lack of speech by her pediatrician set in motion a journey that continues today. When she was diagnosed with bilateral perisylvian polymicrogyria (an extremely rare neurological disorder), her parents were given a name for the monster that had been stalking them from doctor to doctor, and from despair to hope, and back again.
-
-
Must-read for medical parents & those who ❤them
- By Kelly A. Wolske on 05-23-18
-
Can't Forgive
- My 20-Year Battle with O.J. Simpson
- By: Kim Goldman
- Narrated by: Kim Goldman
- Length: 8 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Kim Goldman was just 22, her older brother, Ron, was brutally killed by O. J. Simpson. Ron and Kim were very close, and her devastation was compounded by the shocking not guilty verdict that allowed a smirking Simpson to leave as a free man.
-
-
Selfish
- By B. A. C. on 04-08-16
By: Kim Goldman
-
Marrow
- A Love Story
- By: Elizabeth Lesser
- Narrated by: Elizabeth Lesser, Sally Field
- Length: 9 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A mesmerizing and courageous memoir: the story of two sisters uncovering the depth of their love through the life-and-death experience of a bone marrow transplant. Throughout her life Elizabeth Lesser has sought understanding about what it means to be true to yourself and, at the same time, truly connected to the ones you love. But when her sister, Maggie, needs a bone marrow transplant to save her life, and Lesser learns that she is the perfect match, she faces a far more immediate and complex question about what it really means to love.
-
-
“ Love came first “
- By marie on 03-26-18
By: Elizabeth Lesser
-
The Rise
- An Unforgettable Journey of Self-Love, Forgiveness, and Transformation
- By: Danette May
- Narrated by: Danette May
- Length: 5 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
After the tragic loss of her son and a marriage that ended in divorce and near-bankruptcy, world-renowned health and transformation expert Danette May found her life in shambles. But when her support seemed to come from few and her options seemed the most far between, she began to hear a voice inside her telling her it was time. May never predicted that her journey would take her into a world bikini competition, to a sacred healer in Costa Rica, or through a process of heart-wrenching forgiveness. Yet it was her soul's calling that led her there.
-
-
Vulnerable
- By Priscilla Lopez on 10-29-18
By: Danette May
-
Not Fade Away
- A Memoir of Senses Lost and Found
- By: Rebecca Alexander, Sascha Alper
- Narrated by: Tavia Gilbert
- Length: 7 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Thirty-four-year-old Rebecca Alexander is a psychotherapist, a spin instructor, a volunteer, and an athlete. She is also almost completely blind, with significantly deteriorated hearing. Not Fade Away is a deeply moving exploration of the obstacles we all face-physical, psychological, and philosophical. Rebecca's story is an exquisite reminder to live each day to its fullest.
-
-
Loved this!
- By Daryl on 11-24-14
By: Rebecca Alexander, and others
-
Carly's Voice
- Breaking Through Autism
- By: Arthur Fleischmann, Carly Fleischmann
- Narrated by: Patrick Lawlor, Cassandra Campbell
- Length: 11 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
At the age of two, Carly Fleischmann was diagnosed with severe autism and an oral motor condition that prevented her from speaking. Doctors predicted that she would never intellectually develop beyond the abilities of a small child. Although she made some progress after years of intensive behavioral and communication therapy, Carly remained largely unreachable. Then, at age 10, Carly had a breakthrough....
-
-
A peek inside...
- By Yolanda on 08-09-13
By: Arthur Fleischmann, and others
-
Schuyler's Monster
- A Father's Journey with His Wordless Daughter
- By: Robert Rummel-Hudson
- Narrated by: Johnathan McClain
- Length: 9 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Schuyler Rummel-Hudson was 18 months old, a question about her lack of speech by her pediatrician set in motion a journey that continues today. When she was diagnosed with bilateral perisylvian polymicrogyria (an extremely rare neurological disorder), her parents were given a name for the monster that had been stalking them from doctor to doctor, and from despair to hope, and back again.
-
-
Must-read for medical parents & those who ❤them
- By Kelly A. Wolske on 05-23-18
-
Peace from Broken Pieces
- How to Get Through What You're Going Through
- By: Iyanla Vanzant
- Narrated by: Iyanla Vanzant
- Length: 11 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
New York Times best-selling author Iyanla Vanzant recounts the last decade of her life and the spiritual lessons learned—from the price of success during her meteoric rise as a TV celebrity on Oprah, the Iyanla TV show (produced by Barbara Walters), to the dissolution of her marriage and her daughter's 15 months of illness and death on Christmas day.
-
-
Iyanla is Inspirational! A GREAT LISTEN!!!
- By Theresa on 12-04-11
By: Iyanla Vanzant
-
Modern Loss
- Candid Conversation About Grief. Beginners Welcome.
- By: Rebecca Soffer, Gabrielle Birkner
- Narrated by: Meredith Mitchell, Josh Bloomberg
- Length: 7 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
At a time when we mourn public figures and national tragedies with hashtags, where intimate posts about loss go viral and we receive automated birthday reminders for dead friends, it's clear we are navigating new terrain without a road map. Let's face it: Most of us have always had a difficult time talking about death and sharing our grief. We're awkward and uncertain; we avoid, ignore, or even deny feelings of sadness; we offer platitudes; we send sympathy bouquets whittled out of fruit.
-
-
Not What I Was Expecting
- By Bessie Mae on 03-01-23
By: Rebecca Soffer, and others
-
Loveable
- Embracing What Is Truest About You, So You Can Truly Embrace Your Life
- By: Kelly Flanagan
- Narrated by: Eric Michael Summerer
- Length: 6 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It's time to remember. Dr. Kelly Flanagan is known to millions for the letters he writes to his children and shares on his blog. Loveable is written to the little one in each of us, who is all too ready to be reminded: You are enough, you are not alone, and you matter. In Loveable, Dr. Flanagan reveals the core insight gleaned from his years of clinical work - you are here for a reason, yet you cannot truly awaken to it until you have first embraced your truest, worthiest self and then allow yourself to be truly embraced by others.
-
-
Rediscover YOU!
- By Hmm on 03-25-17
By: Kelly Flanagan
-
The Book of Help
- A Memoir in Remedies
- By: Megan Griswold
- Narrated by: Megan Griswold
- Length: 11 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A hilarious and heartbreaking memoir-in-remedies by a self-described "professional soul-searcher" that details a journey of self-discovery through more than 160 tonics, seminars, regimens, and transformative therapies. With a voice that is at once intimate and hilarious, Megan captures the openness and honesty necessary for people to take a new path in life. Listeners will open the audiobook with curiosity about all the different healing therapies that Megan tries, but leave with a new understanding of themselves.
-
-
Mr. Toad's Wild Ride has some serious competition!
- By Elisa R. Goodman on 02-15-19
By: Megan Griswold
-
Rare Bird
- A Memoir of Loss and Love
- By: Anna Whiston-Donaldson
- Narrated by: Hillary Huber
- Length: 8 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On an ordinary September day, 12-year-old Jack is swept away in a freak neighborhood flood. His parents and younger sister are left to wrestle with the awful questions: How could God let this happen? Can we ever be happy again? They each fall into the abyss of grief in different ways. And in the days and months to come, they each find their faltering way toward peace. In Rare Bird, Anna Whiston-Donaldson unfolds a mother's story of loss that leads, in time, to enduring hope.
-
-
Warning! Tears
- By Madge on 08-16-15
-
Inconceivable
- A Medical Mistake, the Baby We Couldn't Keep, and Our Choice to Deliver the Ultimate Gift
- By: Carolyn Savage, Sean Savage
- Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell, Danny Campbell
- Length: 9 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A medical mistake during an IVF procedure.An unthinkable situation....you're pregnant with the wrong baby. You can terminate, but you can't keep him. What choice would you make?
-
-
"Misconception" and "Inconceivable"
- By Simone on 12-17-12
By: Carolyn Savage, and others
-
Ordinary Light
- A Memoir
- By: Tracy K. Smith
- Narrated by: Tracy K. Smith
- Length: 11 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Tracy K. Smith has a fairly typical upbringing in suburban California: the youngest in a family of five children raised with limitless affection and a firm belief in God by a stay-at-home mother and an engineer father. But after spending a summer in Alabama at her grandmother's home, she returns to California with a new sense of what it means for her to be Black: from her mother's memories of picking cotton as a girl in her father's field for pennies a bushel to her parents' involvement in the Civil Rights Movement.
-
-
Simply spoken - poetic
- By CarolynneRHarris on 04-27-15
By: Tracy K. Smith
-
We Are the Luckiest
- The Surprising Magic of a Sober Life
- By: Laura McKowen
- Narrated by: Laura McKowen
- Length: 7 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
What could possibly be “lucky” about addiction? Absolutely nothing, thought Laura McKowen when drinking brought her to her knees. As she puts it, she “kicked and screamed . . . wishing for something - anything - else” to be her issue. The people who got to drink normally, she thought, were so damn lucky. But in the midst of early sobriety, when no longer able to anesthetize her pain and anxiety, she realized that she was actually the lucky one. Lucky to feel her feelings, live honestly, really be with her daughter, change her legacy.
-
-
Influencer Recovery, Part One
- By Keith Keller on 01-31-20
By: Laura McKowen
-
The Scent of Water
- Discovering What Remains
- By: Naomi Zacharias
- Narrated by: Naomi Zacharias
- Length: 5 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Follow Naomi as she talks to women working in brothels in Mumbai; survivors of an Indonesian tsunami in which more than 160,000 lives were lost; a young girl waiting on an operation to save her life; and victims of domestic violence horrifically burned by fire. Be still with her when she realizes the pain she feels in the face of these extreme injustices reveals a common struggle that exists within all of humanity. And rise with her as she wrestles with confusion over her identity, comes face to face with redemption, and then begins to understand her own story.
-
-
.
- By Justicepirate on 05-21-18
By: Naomi Zacharias
-
I Will Carry You
- The Sacred Dance of Grief and Joy
- By: Angie Smith
- Narrated by: Pam Turlow
- Length: 5 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Angie Smith was 18 weeks pregnant with her fourth daughter, Audrey Caroline, when doctors discovered conditions leaving Audrey "incompatible with life". Faced with the decision whether to terminate the pregnancy, Angie and her husband chose to carry Audrey for as long as she had life. This began what turned out to be three months of loving and carrying a little girl that was not expected to live more than a few minutes.
-
-
A Child Loss Family Advisor Tool
- By Robin L. Slater on 07-24-17
By: Angie Smith
-
The Mystery
- Finding True Love in a World of Broken Lovers
- By: Lacey Sturm
- Narrated by: Lacey Sturm
- Length: 6 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Rock princess Lacey Sturm wants to share her journey from heartbreak to wholeness with young women. In The Mystery, Sturm helps listeners understand that any loving relationship begins with knowing your own identity in Christ. And yet, so many people have learned to define love through their own dysfunctional family, unhealthy relationships, the romances and wrecked relationships of mainstream pop culture, or, sadly, through pornography. Is it any wonder so many people end up brokenhearted, divorced, abused, abusive, or even suicidal?
-
-
Wow! Incredibly moving.
- By Mae on 12-30-19
By: Lacey Sturm
-
Cry Like a Man
- Fighting for Freedom from Emotional Incarceration
- By: Jason Wilson
- Narrated by: Damany Jackson
- Length: 5 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
His grandfather’s lynching in the deep South, the murders of his two older brothers, and his verbally harsh and absent father all worked together to form Jason Wilson’s childhood. But it was his decision to acknowledge his emotions and yield to God’s call on his life that made Wilson the man and leader he is today. As the founder of one of the country’s most esteemed youth organizations, Wilson explains the dangers men face in our culture’s definition of “masculinity” and gives listeners hope that healing is possible.
-
-
Just a sad story, no useful tips
- By Grzegorz on 08-15-21
By: Jason Wilson
What listeners say about The Gathering Place
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Hansen
- 03-23-22
Wonderful
This book showed how adoption trauma hits an adoptee in so many different ways. I am glad Emma found herself through her journey in the gathering place. Well done!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Amazon Customer
- 11-24-22
interesting
very unique writing style. somewhat different than what I'm used too, but loved her story. and wished her adoptive parents had realized how special she and her brother were. glad they woke up in their older years.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- MaryNB
- 11-14-22
Thought provoking and deeply meaningful.
This book kept me spellbound. It was especially meaningful to me that it was read by the author, Emma, who is my biological cousin, though we have yet to meet. I became so curious about her and her story after discovering her after a DNA test which matched me with her.
This book answered all my questions and gave me the ability to put myself in her shoes, as an adoptee. I gained an entire perspective that I have never come close to even considering, concerning my understanding of the adoption process and emotional implications of all parties. Before I read this book it was all foreign to me.
Emma is so articulate and raw and brave and I'm so proud to be related to her! This book will be powerful and comforting to anyone who has been adopted and maybe wrestling with the decision to pursue their family of origin. Even though the discovery of learning the story of her birth parents was not " beautiful" for Emma,she used the knowledge gained as a springboard to move forward with the truth, or maybe I should say in spite of the truth and has found peace and even purpose moving forward. I'm proud to be related to Emma and hope to meet her in the near future. Such a beautiful soul with so much debt and wisdom.
Buy this book! I ended up with the e-book AND the audible version.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- SB
- 04-09-23
Adoption told by an adoptee
As an adoptee, I prefer to read books about adoption that are penned by adoptee authors. Too many adoptees have been silenced. I’m from the same closed era (though it’s still mostly closed) as Emma and related to her story. I enjoyed her unique voice & the “gathering” of her selves. Beautifully crafted.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Shirley M. Newson
- 02-01-24
Resilience
I was switched at birth and could relate to Emma’s journey. I felt as if I were with her in her gathering place.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- James White
- 01-04-22
What a journey!
The Gathering Place is a well written, moving, heart felt and heart wrenching story about the author’s life long journey as an adoptee who set out to find her birth parents.
As the birth father of an adoptee who found me years ago, it really hit home and opened my eyes to the issues faced by adopted children as they mature.
Emma Stevens effectively uses a vehicle called The Gathering Place to show how she became who she is…including her life experiences, some of which were traumatic.
I highly recommend this book, especially for adoptees, adopters, relinquishers (for lack of a better term), and their families.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- tamara winn
- 07-27-22
She Told My Story
They say somewhere out there someone will eventually tell your story. Being a fellow friend of Bill W myself I'm sure Emma understands what I'm talking about when I say this. Emma told my story and what is even more insane is that she shares my granddaughter's; who was adopted out without our knowing, same name. Thank you to Ancestry DNA, Emma, we found her.
I have not cried such deeply intense tears as I did when reading this. I too; have found help with my birth trauma through EMDR and believe wholeheartedly in utero trauma.
Emma's story speaks the truth about what it means to be an adopted child in this world. She explains us better than anyone I've ever heard try to. .
I believe this book should be a required reading by all parents who want to adopt a child. I think every one who takes on the role of adopting a child should read this. Even more so; I wish that it could find its way into my granddaughters hands one day... so she knows that she is not alone.
Thank you Emma for coming into my life...
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- K. Sarantakes
- 12-12-22
Beautifully written memoir of an adoptee’s life
Beautifully constructed and highly listenable, this memoir is a must-read for all touched by adoption (especially those who aren’t adopted, but think they have an understanding of it).
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!