-
The Lifeguards
- A Novel
- Narrated by: Hillary Huber, Marin Ireland, Kirby Heyborne, Karissa Vacker
- Length: 8 hrs and 41 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 $18.00
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Publisher's summary
“A book that is at once riveting and relevant as it unpeels the various meanings of motherhood, family, and loyalty. I tore through it.” (Miranda Cowley Heller, author of The Paper Palace)
The bonds between three picture-perfect - but viciously protective - mothers and their close-knit sons are tested during one unforgettable summer in a gripping novel from the New York Times best-selling author of The Jetsetters.
Austin’s Zilker Park neighborhood is a wonderland of greenbelt trails, live music, and moms who drink a few too many margaritas. Whitney, Annette, and Liza have grown thick as thieves as they have raised their children together for 15 years, believing that they can shelter them their children from an increasingly dangerous world. Their friendship is unbreakable - as safe as the neighborhood where they've raised their sweet little boys.
Or so they think.
One night, the three women have been enjoying happy hour when their boys, lifeguards for the summer, come back on bicycles from a late-night dip in their favorite swimming hole. The boys share a secret - news that will shatter the perfect world their mothers have so painstakingly created.
Combining three mothers’ points of view in a powerful narrative tale with commentary from entertaining neighborhood listservs, secret text messages, and police reports, The Lifeguards is both a story about the secrets we tell to protect the ones we love and a riveting novel of suspense filled with half-truths and betrayals, fierce love and complicated friendships, and the loss of innocence on one hot summer night.
Listeners also enjoyed...
-
The Summer Place
- A Novel
- By: Jennifer Weiner
- Narrated by: Sutton Foster
- Length: 14 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When her twenty-two-year-old stepdaughter announces her engagement to her pandemic boyfriend, Sarah Danhauser is shocked. But headstrong Ruby has already set a date (just three months away!) and spoken to her beloved safta, Sarah’s mother Veronica, about having the wedding at the family’s beach house in Cape Cod. Sarah might be worried, but Veronica is thrilled to be bringing the family together one last time before putting the big house on the market. But the road to a wedding day usually comes with a few bumps
-
-
Jennifer Weiner???
- By kimberly on 05-19-22
By: Jennifer Weiner
-
The Same Sky
- By: Amanda Eyre Ward
- Narrated by: Maria Cabezas, Therese Plummer
- Length: 7 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Alice and her husband Jake own a barbecue restaurant in Austin, Texas. Hardworking and popular in their community, they have a loving marriage and thriving business, but Alice still feels that something is missing, lying just beyond reach. Carla is a strong-willed young girl who's had to grow up fast, acting as caretaker to her six-year-old brother Junior. Years ago, her mother left the family behind in Honduras to make the arduous, illegal journey to Texas.
-
-
Wonderful - Heartbreaking, Beautiful Writing
- By jack on 02-22-15
By: Amanda Eyre Ward
-
Vacationland
- A Novel
- By: Meg Mitchell Moore
- Narrated by: Stacey Glemboski
- Length: 12 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Louisa has come to her parents’ house in Maine this summer with her three kids, a barely written book that has a looming deadline, and a trunkful of resentment. Louisa is hoping the crisp breeze will blow away her irritation for her life choices and replace it with enthusiasm for both her family and her writing. But all isn’t well in Maine. Louisa’s father, a retired judge and pillar of the community, is suffering from Alzheimer’s. Louisa’s mother is alternately pretending everything is fine and not pretending at all.
-
-
Surprising
- By S. M. Farrell on 09-14-22
-
The Hotel Nantucket
- By: Elin Hilderbrand
- Narrated by: Erin Bennett
- Length: 12 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Fresh off a bad breakup with a longtime boyfriend, Nantucket sweetheart Lizbet Keaton is desperately seeking a second act. When she’s named the new general manager of the Hotel Nantucket, a once Gilded Age gem turned abandoned eyesore, she hopes that her local expertise and charismatic staff can win the favor of their new London billionaire owner, Xavier Darling, as well as that of Shelly Carpenter, the wildly popular Instagram tastemaker who can help put them back on the map.
-
-
pre-read suggestions!!
- By Marie P on 06-22-22
By: Elin Hilderbrand
-
The Golden Couple
- A Novel
- By: Greer Hendricks, Sarah Pekkanen
- Narrated by: Karissa Vacker, Marin Ireland
- Length: 11 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
If Avery Chambers can’t fix you in 10 sessions, she won’t take you on as a client. Her successes are phenomenal—she helps people overcome everything from domineering parents to assault—and almost absorbs the emptiness she sometimes feels since her husband’s death. Marissa and Mathew Bishop seem like the golden couple—until Marissa cheats. She wants to repair things, both because she loves her husband and for the sake of their eight-year-old son. After a friend forwards an article about Avery, Marissa takes a chance on this maverick therapist.
-
-
WOW, ..needs to be a series!
- By Amazon Customer on 03-12-22
By: Greer Hendricks, and others
-
The Club
- A Novel
- By: Ellery Lloyd
- Narrated by: Tamaryn Payne
- Length: 9 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Home Group is a glamorous collection of celebrity members' clubs dotted across the globe, where the rich and famous can party hard and then crash out in its five-star suites, far from the prying eyes of fans and the media.
-
-
Wasted Potentail
- By Bitten and Seven Forever on 03-05-22
By: Ellery Lloyd
-
The Summer Place
- A Novel
- By: Jennifer Weiner
- Narrated by: Sutton Foster
- Length: 14 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When her twenty-two-year-old stepdaughter announces her engagement to her pandemic boyfriend, Sarah Danhauser is shocked. But headstrong Ruby has already set a date (just three months away!) and spoken to her beloved safta, Sarah’s mother Veronica, about having the wedding at the family’s beach house in Cape Cod. Sarah might be worried, but Veronica is thrilled to be bringing the family together one last time before putting the big house on the market. But the road to a wedding day usually comes with a few bumps
-
-
Jennifer Weiner???
- By kimberly on 05-19-22
By: Jennifer Weiner
-
The Same Sky
- By: Amanda Eyre Ward
- Narrated by: Maria Cabezas, Therese Plummer
- Length: 7 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Alice and her husband Jake own a barbecue restaurant in Austin, Texas. Hardworking and popular in their community, they have a loving marriage and thriving business, but Alice still feels that something is missing, lying just beyond reach. Carla is a strong-willed young girl who's had to grow up fast, acting as caretaker to her six-year-old brother Junior. Years ago, her mother left the family behind in Honduras to make the arduous, illegal journey to Texas.
-
-
Wonderful - Heartbreaking, Beautiful Writing
- By jack on 02-22-15
By: Amanda Eyre Ward
-
Vacationland
- A Novel
- By: Meg Mitchell Moore
- Narrated by: Stacey Glemboski
- Length: 12 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Louisa has come to her parents’ house in Maine this summer with her three kids, a barely written book that has a looming deadline, and a trunkful of resentment. Louisa is hoping the crisp breeze will blow away her irritation for her life choices and replace it with enthusiasm for both her family and her writing. But all isn’t well in Maine. Louisa’s father, a retired judge and pillar of the community, is suffering from Alzheimer’s. Louisa’s mother is alternately pretending everything is fine and not pretending at all.
-
-
Surprising
- By S. M. Farrell on 09-14-22
-
The Hotel Nantucket
- By: Elin Hilderbrand
- Narrated by: Erin Bennett
- Length: 12 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Fresh off a bad breakup with a longtime boyfriend, Nantucket sweetheart Lizbet Keaton is desperately seeking a second act. When she’s named the new general manager of the Hotel Nantucket, a once Gilded Age gem turned abandoned eyesore, she hopes that her local expertise and charismatic staff can win the favor of their new London billionaire owner, Xavier Darling, as well as that of Shelly Carpenter, the wildly popular Instagram tastemaker who can help put them back on the map.
-
-
pre-read suggestions!!
- By Marie P on 06-22-22
By: Elin Hilderbrand
-
The Golden Couple
- A Novel
- By: Greer Hendricks, Sarah Pekkanen
- Narrated by: Karissa Vacker, Marin Ireland
- Length: 11 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
If Avery Chambers can’t fix you in 10 sessions, she won’t take you on as a client. Her successes are phenomenal—she helps people overcome everything from domineering parents to assault—and almost absorbs the emptiness she sometimes feels since her husband’s death. Marissa and Mathew Bishop seem like the golden couple—until Marissa cheats. She wants to repair things, both because she loves her husband and for the sake of their eight-year-old son. After a friend forwards an article about Avery, Marissa takes a chance on this maverick therapist.
-
-
WOW, ..needs to be a series!
- By Amazon Customer on 03-12-22
By: Greer Hendricks, and others
-
The Club
- A Novel
- By: Ellery Lloyd
- Narrated by: Tamaryn Payne
- Length: 9 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Home Group is a glamorous collection of celebrity members' clubs dotted across the globe, where the rich and famous can party hard and then crash out in its five-star suites, far from the prying eyes of fans and the media.
-
-
Wasted Potentail
- By Bitten and Seven Forever on 03-05-22
By: Ellery Lloyd
-
I'll Be You
- A Novel
- By: Janelle Brown
- Narrated by: Julia Whelan, Kate Rudd
- Length: 11 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
As children, Sam and Elli were two halves of a perfect whole: gorgeous identical twins whose parents sometimes couldn’t even tell them apart. They fell asleep to the sound of each other’s breath at night, holding hands in the dark. And once Hollywood discovered them, they became B-list child TV stars, often inhabiting the same role. But as adults, their lives have splintered. After leaving acting, Elli reinvented herself as the perfect homemaker: married to a real estate lawyer, living in a house just blocks from the beach.
-
-
The near perfect book
- By Pink Amy on 04-28-22
By: Janelle Brown
-
Mad Honey
- A Novel
- By: Jodi Picoult, Jennifer Finney Boylan
- Narrated by: Carrie Coon, Key Taw, Jodi Picoult, and others
- Length: 15 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Olivia McAfee knows what it feels like to start over. Her picture-perfect life—living in Boston, married to a brilliant cardiothoracic surgeon, raising their beautiful son, Asher—was upended when her husband revealed a darker side. She never imagined that she would end up back in her sleepy New Hampshire hometown, living in the house she grew up in and taking over her father’s beekeeping business. Lily Campanello is familiar with do-overs, too. When she and her mom relocate to Adams, New Hampshire, for her final year of high school, they both hope it will be a fresh start.
-
-
Good writing but...
- By Suzanna on 10-08-22
By: Jodi Picoult, and others
-
This Time Tomorrow
- A Novel
- By: Emma Straub
- Narrated by: Marin Ireland, Emma Straub
- Length: 8 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On the eve of her 40th birthday, Alice’s life isn’t terrible. She likes her job, even if it isn’t exactly the one she expected. She’s happy with her apartment, her romantic status, her independence, and she adores her lifelong best friend. But her father is ailing, and it feels to her as if something is missing. When she wakes up the next morning she finds herself back in 1996, reliving her 16th birthday.
-
-
Loved!
- By AE on 05-25-22
By: Emma Straub
-
Counterfeit
- A Novel
- By: Kirstin Chen
- Narrated by: Catherine Ho
- Length: 7 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Ava Wong has always played it safe. As a strait-laced, rule-abiding Chinese American lawyer with a successful surgeon as a husband, a young son, and a beautiful home—she’s built the perfect life. But beneath this façade, Ava’s world is crumbling: her marriage is falling apart, her expensive law degree hasn’t been used in years, and her toddler’s tantrums are pushing her to the breaking point. Enter Winnie Fang, Ava’s enigmatic college roommate from Mainland China, who abruptly dropped out under mysterious circumstances.
-
-
a great snapshot into toxic chinese upbringing
- By ruka on 07-12-22
By: Kirstin Chen
-
The Five-Star Weekend
- By: Elin Hilderbrand
- Narrated by: Erin Bennett
- Length: 12 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Hollis Shaw, creator of the popular food blog, Hungry with Hollis, is shocked when her heart surgeon husband, Matthew, is killed in a one-car accident on a snowy morning. The cracks in Hollis’s perfect life—her strained marriage and her complicated relationship with her daughter, Caroline—grow deeper. So when Hollis hears about something called a “Five-Star Weekend”—one woman organizes a trip for her best friend from each phase of her life: her teenage years, her twenties, her thirties, and midlife—she decides to host her own Five-Star Weekend on Nantucket.
-
-
Perfection
- By Pink Amy on 06-15-23
By: Elin Hilderbrand
-
Meant to Be
- A Novel
- By: Emily Giffin
- Narrated by: Caroline Hewitt, Robert Petkoff, Emily Giffin
- Length: 11 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Kingsley family is American royalty, beloved for their military heroics, political service, and unmatched elegance. In 1967, after Joseph S. Kingsley, Jr. is killed in a tragic accident, his charismatic son inherits the weight of that legacy. But Joe III is a free spirit—and a little bit reckless. Despite his best intentions, he has trouble meeting the expectations of a nation, as well as those of his exacting mother, Dottie.
-
-
Lousy
- By francine m donachie on 07-11-22
By: Emily Giffin
-
The Younger Wife
- A Novel
- By: Sally Hepworth
- Narrated by: Barrie Kreinik, Caroline Lee, Jessica Douglas-Henry, and others
- Length: 9 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Stephen Aston is getting married again. The only problem is, he's still married to his first wife, even though she is in a care facility for dementia. But he'll take care of that easily, by divorcing her—even if his adult daughters protest. Tully and Rachel Aston look upon Heather as nothing but an interloper. Heather is the same age as Rachel and even younger than Tully. Clearly she's a gold digger and after their father's money. Heather has secrets that she's keeping close, and reasons of her own for wanting to marry Stephen.
-
-
Brilliant
- By Violet on 04-11-22
By: Sally Hepworth
-
Reservations for Six
- By: Lindsey Palmer
- Narrated by: Austenne Grey
- Length: 12 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It's tradition that on everyone's birthday, the three couples gather to celebrate. They've toasted each other's big life milestones, and been there for each other through loss and disappointment, too. Nathan is the first to turn 40, and when the cake arrives, he makes a shocking announcement. The birthday ritual, and the group of friends, will never be the same again. Confessions follow, and secrets get revealed. One couple's crumbling marriage forces the other two couples to reexamine their own, and the fault lines that lurk beneath. Will their bonds be strong enough to survive?
-
-
Disappointed
- By Mirry on 03-29-24
By: Lindsey Palmer
-
Happiness Falls (Good Morning America Book Club)
- A Novel
- By: Angie Kim
- Narrated by: Shannon Tyo, Sean Patrick Hopkins, Thomas Pruyn, and others
- Length: 13 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Mia, the irreverent, hyperanalytical twenty-year-old daughter, has an explanation for everything—which is why she isn’t initially concerned when her father and younger brother Eugene don’t return from a walk in a nearby park. They must have lost their phone. Or stopped for an errand somewhere. But by the time Mia’s brother runs through the front door bloody and alone, it becomes clear that the father in this tight-knit family is missing and the only witness is Eugene, who has the rare genetic condition Angelman syndrome and cannot speak.
-
-
A mixed review, but recommend
- By Andrea B. on 09-07-23
By: Angie Kim
-
Like a House on Fire
- By: Lauren McBrayer
- Narrated by: Marin Ireland
- Length: 9 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
After 12 years of marriage and two kids, Merit has begun to feel like a stranger in her own life. She loves her husband and sons, but she desperately needs something more than sippy cups and monthly sex. So, she returns to her career at Jager + Brandt, where a brilliant and beautiful Danish architect named Jane decides to overlook the “break” in Merit’s résumé and give her a shot.
-
-
Been there
- By M. Barn on 05-11-22
By: Lauren McBrayer
-
Gone Girl
- A Novel
- By: Gillian Flynn
- Narrated by: Julia Whelan, Kirby Heyborne
- Length: 19 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On a warm summer morning in North Carthage, Missouri, it is Nick and Amy Dunne’s fifth wedding anniversary. Presents are being wrapped and reservations are being made when Nick’s clever and beautiful wife disappears. Husband-of-the-Year Nick isn’t doing himself any favors with cringe-worthy daydreams about the slope and shape of his wife’s head, but passages from Amy's diary reveal the alpha-girl perfectionist could have put anyone dangerously on edge.
-
-
Demented, twisted, sick and I loved it!
- By Theodore on 01-20-13
By: Gillian Flynn
-
The Lying Club
- By: Annie Ward
- Narrated by: Teri Schnaubelt
- Length: 10 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
At an elite private school nestled in the Colorado mountains, Natalie, an office assistant, dreams of having a life like the school moms she deals with every day. Women like Brooke—a gorgeous heiress, ferociously loving mother and serial cheater—and Asha, an overprotective mom who suspects her husband of having an affair. Their fates are bound by the handsome assistant athletic director Nicholas, whom Natalie loves, Brooke wants and Asha needs.
-
-
5 Star Story & 5 Star Narration.
- By Public name on 04-15-22
By: Annie Ward
Critic reviews
“A polyphonic story . . . Ward, with her keen eye for detail and a terrific sense of exactly when to deliver a punchline, knows her characters well. . . . She allows her characters to be petty and myopic, to make the wrong choices again and again, to fail badly, then dust themselves off and try again. Her people are resilient, with a deep longing to do better—particularly for their children.”—The New York Times Book Review
“Shake up a margarita and light a citronella; you’ll be in this one for awhile.”—Good Housekeeping
“Ward expertly weaves together each woman’s point of view as well as commentary from entertaining neighborhood listservs, secret text messages, and police reports for one of the first true beach reads of the year.”—E! ONLINE
Related to this topic
-
After Perfect
- A Daughter's Memoir
- By: Christina McDowell
- Narrated by: Christina McDowell
- Length: 9 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the tradition of New York Times best sellers What Remains by Carole Radziwill and Oh the Glory of It All by Sean Wilsey, Christina McDowell's unflinching memoir is a brutally honest, cautionary tale about one family's destruction in the wake of the Wall Street implosion.
-
-
Mixed reaction
- By Margaret on 07-09-15
-
If I am Missing or Dead
- A Sister's Story of Love, Murder, and Liberation
- By: Janine Latus
- Narrated by: Shelly Frasier
- Length: 8 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In April 2002, Janine Latus' youngest sister, Amy, wrote a note and taped it to the inside of her desk drawer. "Today Ron Ball and I are romantically involved", it read, "but I fear I have placed myself at risk in a variety of ways. Based on his criminal past, writing this out just seems like the smart thing to do. If I am missing or dead this obviously has not protected me...."
-
-
All About Janine
- By Ellen on 07-02-07
By: Janine Latus
-
My Lovely Wife
- By: Samantha Downing
- Narrated by: David Pittu
- Length: 10 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Our love story is simple. I met a gorgeous woman. We fell in love. We had kids. We moved to the suburbs. We told each other our biggest dreams and our darkest secrets. And then we got bored. We look like a normal couple. We're your neighbors, the parents of your kid's friend, the acquaintances with whom you keep meaning to get dinner. We all have our secrets to keeping a marriage alive. Ours just happens to be getting away with murder.
-
-
Great narrator! Crazy story!
- By EasyBreezySunflower on 03-28-19
By: Samantha Downing
-
The Drowning Girls
- By: Paula Treick DeBoard
- Narrated by: David Atlas, Amy McFadden
- Length: 10 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Liz McGinnis never imagined herself living in a luxurious gated community like The Palms. Ever since she and her family moved in, she's felt like an outsider amongst the Stepford-like wives and their obnoxiously spoiled children. Still, she's determined to make it work - if not for herself, then for her husband, Phil, who landed them this lavish home in the first place, and for her daughter, Danielle, who's about to enter high school.
-
-
Did the author run out of paper?
- By grandparent on 06-06-16
-
Don't Scream
- By: Wendy Corsi Staub
- Narrated by: Jorjeana Marie
- Length: 12 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In a remote, heavily wooded area near the Berkshires of Massachusetts, Rachel Lorant died on her birthday. But she didn't die alone. That night, her four sorority sisters make a solemn, trembling pledge. They will never reveal what has just happened in those woods - ever. Instead, they will take their terrible secret to their graves.
-
-
Who cares?
- By Tara on 11-14-14
-
Chanel Bonfire
- By: Wendy Lawless
- Narrated by: Wendy Lawless
- Length: 6 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
By the time Wendy Lawless turned 17, she'd known for quite some time that she didn't have a normal mother. But that didn't stop her from wanting one.... Georgann Rea didn't bake cookies or go to PTA meetings; she wore a mink coat and always had a lit Dunhill plugged into her cigarette holder. She went through men like Kleenex, and didn't like dogs or children. Georgann had the ice queen beauty of a Hitchcock heroine and the cold heart to match.
-
-
Not an Engaging Listen
- By Sobriquet on 03-13-13
By: Wendy Lawless
-
After Perfect
- A Daughter's Memoir
- By: Christina McDowell
- Narrated by: Christina McDowell
- Length: 9 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the tradition of New York Times best sellers What Remains by Carole Radziwill and Oh the Glory of It All by Sean Wilsey, Christina McDowell's unflinching memoir is a brutally honest, cautionary tale about one family's destruction in the wake of the Wall Street implosion.
-
-
Mixed reaction
- By Margaret on 07-09-15
-
If I am Missing or Dead
- A Sister's Story of Love, Murder, and Liberation
- By: Janine Latus
- Narrated by: Shelly Frasier
- Length: 8 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In April 2002, Janine Latus' youngest sister, Amy, wrote a note and taped it to the inside of her desk drawer. "Today Ron Ball and I are romantically involved", it read, "but I fear I have placed myself at risk in a variety of ways. Based on his criminal past, writing this out just seems like the smart thing to do. If I am missing or dead this obviously has not protected me...."
-
-
All About Janine
- By Ellen on 07-02-07
By: Janine Latus
-
My Lovely Wife
- By: Samantha Downing
- Narrated by: David Pittu
- Length: 10 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Our love story is simple. I met a gorgeous woman. We fell in love. We had kids. We moved to the suburbs. We told each other our biggest dreams and our darkest secrets. And then we got bored. We look like a normal couple. We're your neighbors, the parents of your kid's friend, the acquaintances with whom you keep meaning to get dinner. We all have our secrets to keeping a marriage alive. Ours just happens to be getting away with murder.
-
-
Great narrator! Crazy story!
- By EasyBreezySunflower on 03-28-19
By: Samantha Downing
-
The Drowning Girls
- By: Paula Treick DeBoard
- Narrated by: David Atlas, Amy McFadden
- Length: 10 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Liz McGinnis never imagined herself living in a luxurious gated community like The Palms. Ever since she and her family moved in, she's felt like an outsider amongst the Stepford-like wives and their obnoxiously spoiled children. Still, she's determined to make it work - if not for herself, then for her husband, Phil, who landed them this lavish home in the first place, and for her daughter, Danielle, who's about to enter high school.
-
-
Did the author run out of paper?
- By grandparent on 06-06-16
-
Don't Scream
- By: Wendy Corsi Staub
- Narrated by: Jorjeana Marie
- Length: 12 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In a remote, heavily wooded area near the Berkshires of Massachusetts, Rachel Lorant died on her birthday. But she didn't die alone. That night, her four sorority sisters make a solemn, trembling pledge. They will never reveal what has just happened in those woods - ever. Instead, they will take their terrible secret to their graves.
-
-
Who cares?
- By Tara on 11-14-14
-
Chanel Bonfire
- By: Wendy Lawless
- Narrated by: Wendy Lawless
- Length: 6 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
By the time Wendy Lawless turned 17, she'd known for quite some time that she didn't have a normal mother. But that didn't stop her from wanting one.... Georgann Rea didn't bake cookies or go to PTA meetings; she wore a mink coat and always had a lit Dunhill plugged into her cigarette holder. She went through men like Kleenex, and didn't like dogs or children. Georgann had the ice queen beauty of a Hitchcock heroine and the cold heart to match.
-
-
Not an Engaging Listen
- By Sobriquet on 03-13-13
By: Wendy Lawless
-
The Admissions
- A Novel
- By: Meg Mitchell Moore
- Narrated by: Allyson Ryan
- Length: 14 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Hawthorne family has it all. Great jobs, a beautiful house in one of the most affluent areas of Northern California, and three charming kids whose sunny futures are all but assured. And then comes their eldest daughter's senior year of high school....
-
-
Anything for success
- By JillHen on 09-13-15
-
All We Ever Wanted Was Everything
- By: Janelle Brown
- Narrated by: Rebecca Lowman
- Length: 14 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A smart, comic pause-resister about a Silicon Valley family in free fall over the course of one eventful summer from the author of Watch Me Disappear and Pretty Things. When Paul Miller’s pharmaceutical company goes public, making his family IPO millionaires, his wife, Janice, is sure this is the windfall she’s been waiting years for - until she learns, via messengered letter, that her husband is divorcing her (for her tennis partner!) and cutting her out of the new fortune.
-
-
The Perfect Life Ain't So Perfect
- By Theresa on 12-28-08
By: Janelle Brown
-
Summer at Willow Lake
- The Lakeshore Chronicles, Book 1
- By: Susan Wiggs
- Narrated by: Joyce Bean
- Length: 12 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Real estate expert Olivia Bellamy reluctantly trades a trendy Manhattan summer for her family's old resort camp in the Catskills, where her primary task will be renovating the bungalow colony for her grandparents, who want one last summer together filled with fun, friends and family. A posh resort in its heyday, the camp is now in disarray and Olivia is forced to hire contractor Connor Davis - a still-smoldering flame from her own summers at camp.
-
-
Finding Love at Summer Camp
- By Pamela Dale Foster on 02-13-15
By: Susan Wiggs
-
Summer of Two Wishes
- By: Julia London
- Narrated by: Natalie Ross
- Length: 10 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Macy Lockhart’s life shattered in a moment with the news that her husband, Finn – serving in the military overseas – has been killed in the line of duty. Their ardent marriage is over, leaving Macy alone, empty, directionless. But while she tries to sustain herself with memories of Finn, who made her and their small Texas ranch the center of his life, it is wealthy Wyatt Clark who slowly brings joy back into her life - until the day that Finn, miraculously spared from death, returns home to claim his bride….
-
-
Excellent!
- By Lady M on 05-01-13
By: Julia London
-
Inheriting Edith
- A Novel
- By: Zoe Fishman
- Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell
- Length: 8 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For years Maggie Sheets has been an invisible hand in the glittering homes of wealthy New York City clients, scrubbing, dusting, mopping, and doing all she can to keep her head above water as a single mother. Everything changes when a former employer dies, leaving Maggie a staggering inheritance - a house in Sag Harbor. The catch? It comes with an inhabitant: the deceased's 82-year old mother, Edith.
-
-
Narrator is distracting.
- By Onelove on 05-13-20
By: Zoe Fishman
-
Live to Tell
- By: Wendy Corsi Staub
- Narrated by: Jennifer Van Dyck
- Length: 9 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In a lovely suburban town just north of New York City, the gossip mill runs more efficiently than the commuter-train line. And in every impeccably decorated house, they're talking about Lauren Walsh. They say that nothing could be worse than being abandoned by your husband for another woman. They're wrong.
-
-
Disappointing
- By Jeanne on 07-02-11
-
Kissing Games of the World
- By: Sandi Kahn Shelton
- Narrated by: Myra Platt
- Length: 13 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
What if the one person you can't bear to be with is also the one person you can't bear to be without? Jamie McClintock is a free-spirited artist and single mother who has at last found peace and freedom sharing a farmhouse with an elderly man and his young grandson. But when the old man dies suddenly her idyllic country life comes to a halt as the old man's estranged son, Nate, returns to claim the house and his child.
-
-
Great Writer, Great Narrator ! Loved it!
- By Ms. Critic on 05-30-09
-
The Leaving
- By: Tara Altebrando
- Narrated by: Karissa Vacker
- Length: 9 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Eleven years ago, six kindergartners went missing without a trace. After all that time, the people left behind moved on, or tried to, until today. Today five of those kids returned. But as details of the disappearance begin to unfold, no one is prepared for the truth. This unforgettable novel with its rich characters, high stakes, and plot twists will leave listeners breathless.
-
-
Plot Twist
- By Josh F. on 01-07-21
By: Tara Altebrando
-
I'll Be There
- By: Holly Goldberg Sloan
- Narrated by: Laura Jennings
- Length: 9 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Emily Bell believes in destiny. To her, being forced to sing a solo in the church choir - despite her average voice - is fate: because it's while she's singing that she first sees Sam. At first sight they are connected. Sam Border wishes he could escape, but there's nowhere for him to run. He and his little brother, Riddle, have spent their entire lives constantly uprooted by their unstable father. As Sam and Riddle are welcomed into the Bells' lives, they witness the warmth and protection of a family for the first time.
-
-
Needs to be a film!
- By TreasureHunter on 06-25-16
-
The Fragile World
- A Novel
- By: Paula Treick DeBoard
- Narrated by: Jessica Almasy, Will Damron
- Length: 11 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Kaufmans have always considered themselves a normal, happy family. Curtis is a physics teacher at a local high school. His wife, Kathleen, restores furniture for upscale boutiques. Daniel is away at college on a prestigious music scholarship, and 12-year-old Olivia is a happy-go-lucky kid whose biggest concern is passing her next math test. And then comes the middle-of-the-night phone call that changes everything.
-
-
Inaccurate
- By CCB on 03-10-15
-
The Wangs vs. the World
- By: Jade Chang
- Narrated by: Nancy Wu
- Length: 14 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Charles Wang is mad at America. A brash, lovable immigrant businessman who built a cosmetics empire and made a fortune, he's just been ruined by the financial crisis. Now all Charles wants is to get his kids safely stowed away so that he can go to China and attempt to reclaim his family's ancestral lands - and his pride. Outrageously funny and full of charm, The Wangs vs. the World is an entirely fresh look at what it means to belong in America - and how going from glorious riches to (still name-brand) rags brings one family together in a way money never could.
-
-
Spectacular
- By Barbara on 10-11-16
By: Jade Chang
-
And Then She Was Gone
- By: Rosalind Noonan
- Narrated by: Erin Bennett
- Length: 9 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Eleven-year-old Lauren O'Neil vanished one sunny afternoon as she walked home from school. Six years later, her parents Rachel and Dan still tirelessly scour their Oregon hometown and beyond, always believing Lauren will be found. Then one day, the call comes. Lauren has been rescued from a secluded farm mere miles away, and her abductor has confessed. Yet her return is nothing like Rachel imagined. Though the revelations about what Lauren endured are shocking, most heartbreaking of all is to see the bright-eyed, assertive daughter she knew transformed into a wary, polite stranger.
-
-
Good but predictable
- By Lisa on 10-02-14
By: Rosalind Noonan
People who viewed this also viewed...
-
The Jetsetters
- By: Amanda Eyre Ward
- Narrated by: Therese Plummer
- Length: 8 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When 70-year-old Charlotte Perkins submits a sexy essay to the "Become a Jetsetter" contest, she dreams of reuniting her estranged children: Lee, an almost-famous actress; Cord, a handsome Manhattan venture capitalist who can't seem to find a bride; and Regan, a harried mother who took it all wrong when Charlotte bought her a Weight Watchers gift certificate for her birthday. Charlotte yearns for the years when her children were young and she was a single mother who meant everything to them. When she wins the cruise, the family packs all their baggage - literal and figurative....
-
-
Calm down
- By Donna on 03-05-20
By: Amanda Eyre Ward
-
Lovers and Liars
- A Novel
- By: Amanda Eyre Ward
- Narrated by: Nora Roux Meckel, Sarah Beth Goer
- Length: 7 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Once upon a time, the Peacock sisters were little girls who combed each other’s tangled hair. But decades of secrets have led them to separate lives—and to telling lies, to themselves and to one another. Sylvie is getting married. Again. A librarian and widow who soothes her grief by escaping into books (and shelving them perfectly), Sylvie has caught the attention of an unlikely match: Simon Rampling, a mysterious, wealthy man from Northern England. Sylvie allows herself to imagine a life beside him—one filled with the written word, kindness, and companionship.
-
-
The dialogue was painful
- By treehouse on 05-17-24
By: Amanda Eyre Ward
-
Nearness of You
- By: Amanda Eyre Ward
- Narrated by: Therese Plummer, Suzy Jackson, Susan Bennett
- Length: 6 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Brilliant heart surgeon Suzette Kendall is stunned when Hyland, her husband of 15 years, admits his yearning for a child. From the beginning they'd decided that having children was not an option, as Suzette feared passing along the genes that landed her mother in a mental institution. But Hyland proposes a different idea: a baby via surrogate. Suzette agrees, and what follows is a whirlwind of candidate selections, hospital visits, and Suzette's doubts over whether she's made the right decision.
-
-
But what happens next?
- By TMC on 12-29-23
By: Amanda Eyre Ward
-
I Am, I Am, I Am
- Seventeen Brushes with Death
- By: Maggie O'Farrell
- Narrated by: Daisy Donovan
- Length: 5 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
I Am, I Am, I Am is Maggie O'Farrell's astonishing memoir of the near-death experiences that have punctuated and defined her life. The childhood illness that left her bedridden for a year, which she was not expected to survive. A teenage yearning to escape that nearly ended in disaster. An encounter with a disturbed man on a remote path. And, most terrifying of all, an ongoing, daily struggle to protect her daughter - for whom this book was written - from a condition that leaves her unimaginably vulnerable to life's myriad dangers.
-
-
Her prose is beautiful!
- By Judy on 03-25-18
By: Maggie O'Farrell
-
Vacationland
- A Novel
- By: Meg Mitchell Moore
- Narrated by: Stacey Glemboski
- Length: 12 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Louisa has come to her parents’ house in Maine this summer with her three kids, a barely written book that has a looming deadline, and a trunkful of resentment. Louisa is hoping the crisp breeze will blow away her irritation for her life choices and replace it with enthusiasm for both her family and her writing. But all isn’t well in Maine. Louisa’s father, a retired judge and pillar of the community, is suffering from Alzheimer’s. Louisa’s mother is alternately pretending everything is fine and not pretending at all.
-
-
Surprising
- By S. M. Farrell on 09-14-22
-
Cat & Vivian
- A Novella
- By: Amanda Eyre Ward
- Narrated by: Karissa Vacker, Catherine Taber, Cynthia Darlow, and others
- Length: 4 hrs and 9 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Vivian, a former reporter and a newlywed, doesn’t know what to do with herself after an incident with her husband forces her to question their partnership and her future. Yearning for the ocean air and a sense of home, she retreats to Tybee Island to clear her head and visit her Nana, a retired PI who now struggles with dementia. The phone rings: Catherine Grant, a housewife living in a private development nearby, woke up to find her husband and their baby girl missing, and she is desperate for help.
-
-
dreadful, depressing story
- By Marcia Schoonover on 08-06-22
By: Amanda Eyre Ward
-
The Jetsetters
- By: Amanda Eyre Ward
- Narrated by: Therese Plummer
- Length: 8 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When 70-year-old Charlotte Perkins submits a sexy essay to the "Become a Jetsetter" contest, she dreams of reuniting her estranged children: Lee, an almost-famous actress; Cord, a handsome Manhattan venture capitalist who can't seem to find a bride; and Regan, a harried mother who took it all wrong when Charlotte bought her a Weight Watchers gift certificate for her birthday. Charlotte yearns for the years when her children were young and she was a single mother who meant everything to them. When she wins the cruise, the family packs all their baggage - literal and figurative....
-
-
Calm down
- By Donna on 03-05-20
By: Amanda Eyre Ward
-
Lovers and Liars
- A Novel
- By: Amanda Eyre Ward
- Narrated by: Nora Roux Meckel, Sarah Beth Goer
- Length: 7 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Once upon a time, the Peacock sisters were little girls who combed each other’s tangled hair. But decades of secrets have led them to separate lives—and to telling lies, to themselves and to one another. Sylvie is getting married. Again. A librarian and widow who soothes her grief by escaping into books (and shelving them perfectly), Sylvie has caught the attention of an unlikely match: Simon Rampling, a mysterious, wealthy man from Northern England. Sylvie allows herself to imagine a life beside him—one filled with the written word, kindness, and companionship.
-
-
The dialogue was painful
- By treehouse on 05-17-24
By: Amanda Eyre Ward
-
Nearness of You
- By: Amanda Eyre Ward
- Narrated by: Therese Plummer, Suzy Jackson, Susan Bennett
- Length: 6 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Brilliant heart surgeon Suzette Kendall is stunned when Hyland, her husband of 15 years, admits his yearning for a child. From the beginning they'd decided that having children was not an option, as Suzette feared passing along the genes that landed her mother in a mental institution. But Hyland proposes a different idea: a baby via surrogate. Suzette agrees, and what follows is a whirlwind of candidate selections, hospital visits, and Suzette's doubts over whether she's made the right decision.
-
-
But what happens next?
- By TMC on 12-29-23
By: Amanda Eyre Ward
-
I Am, I Am, I Am
- Seventeen Brushes with Death
- By: Maggie O'Farrell
- Narrated by: Daisy Donovan
- Length: 5 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
I Am, I Am, I Am is Maggie O'Farrell's astonishing memoir of the near-death experiences that have punctuated and defined her life. The childhood illness that left her bedridden for a year, which she was not expected to survive. A teenage yearning to escape that nearly ended in disaster. An encounter with a disturbed man on a remote path. And, most terrifying of all, an ongoing, daily struggle to protect her daughter - for whom this book was written - from a condition that leaves her unimaginably vulnerable to life's myriad dangers.
-
-
Her prose is beautiful!
- By Judy on 03-25-18
By: Maggie O'Farrell
-
Vacationland
- A Novel
- By: Meg Mitchell Moore
- Narrated by: Stacey Glemboski
- Length: 12 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Louisa has come to her parents’ house in Maine this summer with her three kids, a barely written book that has a looming deadline, and a trunkful of resentment. Louisa is hoping the crisp breeze will blow away her irritation for her life choices and replace it with enthusiasm for both her family and her writing. But all isn’t well in Maine. Louisa’s father, a retired judge and pillar of the community, is suffering from Alzheimer’s. Louisa’s mother is alternately pretending everything is fine and not pretending at all.
-
-
Surprising
- By S. M. Farrell on 09-14-22
-
Cat & Vivian
- A Novella
- By: Amanda Eyre Ward
- Narrated by: Karissa Vacker, Catherine Taber, Cynthia Darlow, and others
- Length: 4 hrs and 9 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Vivian, a former reporter and a newlywed, doesn’t know what to do with herself after an incident with her husband forces her to question their partnership and her future. Yearning for the ocean air and a sense of home, she retreats to Tybee Island to clear her head and visit her Nana, a retired PI who now struggles with dementia. The phone rings: Catherine Grant, a housewife living in a private development nearby, woke up to find her husband and their baby girl missing, and she is desperate for help.
-
-
dreadful, depressing story
- By Marcia Schoonover on 08-06-22
By: Amanda Eyre Ward
What listeners say about The Lifeguards
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- C Gager
- 06-18-22
One of the best books in five years!
I LOVED this story! It builds slowly toward an immensely intricate and surprising ending. Truly well-written an read by multiple narrators! I want more Amanda Eyre Ward!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Sarah Pace
- 09-24-23
Extremely superficial.
I went for it because I will listen to anything that Marin Ireland deems worth her time. I have to say, this was the first time I was disappointed. I have never left an audible review, but this was just that disappointing. It was difficult to follow at parts and seemed to be exploiting a number of stereotypes without ever making you like any of the characters in particular. It’s hard to focus on a story where there is no real focus. In just a few hours it attempts to cover addiction, doomsday, pretty much all of the potentially difficult aspects of parenting from the female perspective, all the stereotypes of “bad” male parent figures (absent, overbearing, aggressive, aloof/grieving), classism, racism, ageism… it goes on, but the only thing that it did was inspire me to want to visit Austin. I hate to be so critical, but the narration was so good that I just kept waiting for the story to evolve and capture my interest.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- runnergirl27
- 04-21-22
I enjoyed this!
I enjoyed the story but one of the narrators sounds like a robot. Her voice was annoying to listen to. The others were good.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Renee L
- 05-23-23
WTF… what happened ???
Would’ve loved an actual ending instead of whatever that junk was… it’s like the author ran out of time and threw the last 3 sub chapters together… would’ve liked to have known what happened to some of the characters
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- mary Logsdon
- 02-05-23
Loved the Austin setting
As a resident of central Austin, I loved the setting and details of this book. It has a creative, quite complicated plot - and I found it interesting and easy to get into. It will be a fun pick for my book club, a group of Austin moms with teenagers.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Amazon Customer
- 05-13-23
Um what happened?
Had a really difficult time staying focused on this book. Lost interest about half way through.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Barbara S
- 06-11-22
What would you do?
Wow! “The Lifeguards” by Amanda Eyre Ward is a story about motherhood and loyalty, and an event that tests the bonds of friendships.
The story is told by three mothers of fifteen-year-old lifeguards, with chapters peppered with the voices of: their teen sons, a recently widowed detective, and the chorus of the “Barton Hills Mamas”, an Austin TX group chat. Barton Hills is an affluent suburb of Austin TX. It’s the summer of 2019 when a college-aged female is found dead near the swimming hole where the boys (lifeguards) work. Through unexpected circumstances, the boys are linked to the death, and these mama-bears lawyer-up. Prior to this summer, the women have enjoyed a tight relationship, to the point that the boys feel that this friendship supersedes everything, including them. Once the boys are under scrutiny, the mothers become fearful for their own boy.
Meanwhile the widowed detective trudges through his new lot of single parenthood. He follows the clues, under pressure to find the reason the girl died.
While I really enjoyed the story, I think Ward tried to cover too many issues: immigration, infertility, alcoholism, trauma, loneliness, estrangement, single-parenting, and queer identity. What I did like was the realistic portrayal of the three mothers. These mothers are recognizable; we’ve all encountered them.
Ward exposes what being a “good” mother means. Given our world with increasingly younger violent offenders, especially regarding gun violence, how do we “protect” our child if they are arrested? Is protecting a child not making that child have meaningful consequences for violent actions? When a mother has a nagging feeling that their child is troubled, is cloaking them being a good mother?
How far would you go if you thought your child could be involved in a crime??
I listened to the audio narrated by Hillary Huber, the amazing Marin Ireland, Kirby Heyborne, and Karissa Vacker. Any project that Ireland works, I know I’ll enjoy!
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
- Todd Barney
- 10-30-23
Fun Read or Listen
This is a fun story with a dark bent. The kind of thing you’d binge watch on Netflix in a day. The lead characters are interesting, if not always true to life (as a mom, I found myself annoyed by many of the mothering choices). Even frequent suspense readers will likely be surprised by the way the central plot unfolds, which is a triumph of its own. The pacing makes it a wonderful choice for consuming in bite size pieces, if you can leave it for long. I would definitely pack it in my vacation bag or enjoy listening to it on a long commute.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Sunshine Everest
- 04-18-23
Excellent Storyline and Narrated Very Well
I really enjoyed this audiobook! The story was written in such a way as I felt like I was one of the moms!
The narration was excellent. The way the story was read, really brought it to life!
Sunshine!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Tawny
- 04-06-22
So many politics, such little content
On a positive note, there is a good chance that you either are, or know someone who is, very similar to one of the relatable main characters. The overall plot was creative & narration was fantastic, however, I feel like more thought and effort was put into political and social statements than the actual story & tying up of lose ends.
This really could have been SO GOOD. And the racial context COULD HAVE been extremely enlightening. But instead, we get to hear 10 hours of self-righteous, “rich white people” profiling, among other politically charged innuendos and statements. I still have so many questions about the story, but no doubt on where the author stands politically and socially.
I wonder if it’s ever occurred to anyone that we are creating self-fulfilling prophecies. The more we tell minority and socioeconomic groups that they are ostracized and alienated, the more they are going into group settings automatically feeling that way, rejecting and pushing people without giving them a chance.
I was at a retreat in Costa Rica last month and didn’t know anyone there… There was a Hispanic woman from my state that I really wanted to talk to, but she put off a very guarded energy and attitude. When I finally got brave enough to approach her, we immediately connected. At some point during the week, she admitted that she has issues with people with “lighter skin than her” because of childhood experiences at a primarily white school, and a belief that white people automatically think they’re better. What’s sad about this is that today is not the same as it was 30 years ago. I understand that those experiences shape you and the way you see the world, but we are just drilling in the message, continuing the cycle.
It’s the same with someone who has less money or grew up poor. I grew up in a small town full of big names with little money and from a dysfunctional home, and I spent my first 30 years of life believing that everyone around me who had more money thought they were better than me. My mom would tell me that all the time. And of course there are people that did & do, but the more I went out into the world believing this, the more people I pushed away. There has to be a better way to inform and persuade continual progress toward social equality than this polarization and pitting one race against another.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
13 people found this helpful