The Spark
A Mother's Story of Nurturing, Genius, and Autism
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Narrated by:
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Kathe Mazur
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By:
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Kristine Barnett
About this listen
Kristine Barnett’s son Jacob has an IQ higher than Einstein’s, a photographic memory, and he taught himself calculus in two weeks. At 9 he started working on an original theory in astrophysics that experts believe may someday put him in line for a Nobel Prize, and at age 12 he became a paid researcher in quantum physics. But the story of Kristine’s journey with Jake is all the more remarkable because his extraordinary mind was almost lost to autism. At age 2, when Jake was diagnosed, Kristine was told he might never be able to tie his own shoes.
The Spark is a remarkable memoir of mother and son. Surrounded by "experts" at home and in special ed who tried to focus on Jake’s most basic skills and curtail his distracting interests - moving shadows on the wall, stars, plaid patterns on sofa fabric - Jake made no progress, withdrew more and more into his own world, and eventually stopped talking completely. Kristine knew in her heart that she had to make a change. Against the advice of her husband, Michael, and the developmental specialists, Kristine followed her instincts, pulled Jake out of special ed, and began preparing him for mainstream kindergarten on her own.
Relying on the insights she developed at the daycare center she runs out of the garage in her home, Kristine resolved to follow Jacob’s "spark" - his passionate interests. Why concentrate on what he couldn’t do? Why not focus on what he could? This basic philosophy, along with her belief in the power of ordinary childhood experiences (softball, picnics, s’mores around the campfire) and the importance of play, helped Kristine overcome huge odds.
The Barnetts were not wealthy people, and in addition to financial hardship, Kristine herself faced serious health issues. But through hard work and determination on behalf of Jake and his two younger brothers, as well as an undying faith in their community, friends, and family, Kristine and Michael prevailed. The results were beyond anything anyone could have imagined.
Dramatic, inspiring, and transformative, The Spark is about the power of love and courage in the face of overwhelming obstacles, and the dazzling possibilities that can occur when we learn how to tap the true potential that lies within every child, and in all of us.
©2013 Kristine Barnett (P)2013 Random House AudioListeners also enjoyed...
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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.
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Loved this!
- By Daryl on 11-24-14
By: Rebecca Alexander, and others
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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
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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.
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Must-read for medical parents & those who ❤them
- By Kelly A. Wolske on 05-23-18
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Chicken Soup for the Child's Soul: Character-Building Stories to Read with Kids Ages 5 - 8
- By: Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen
- Narrated by: Leslie Bellair
- Length: 4 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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Today's children live in a world filled with adventure, mental stimulation, topical issues, and personal challenges. The values they learn now, between the ages of 5 and 8, will shape the rest of their lives. Through this collection of heartfelt true stories about family ties, helping neighbors, and lasting friendships, children will see how other kids their age have learned valuable lessons from the choices they've made - and most of all, they will realize that they are not alone in dealing with some of the difficult issues in their lives.
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My kids love these
- By shrockin on 12-22-15
By: Jack Canfield, and others
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Everything You Ever Wanted
- A Memoir
- By: Jillian Lauren
- Narrated by: Jillian Lauren
- Length: 8 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
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In her younger years, Jillian Lauren was a college dropout, a drug addict, and an international concubine in the Prince of Brunei's harem, an experience she immortalized in her best-selling memoir, Some Girls. In her 30s, Jillian's most radical act is learning the steadying power of love when she and her rock star husband adopt an Ethiopian child with special needs.
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Great for adoptive families
- By berry bomb on 07-06-22
By: Jillian Lauren
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Does This Baby Make Me Look Straight?
- Confessions of a Gay Dad
- By: Dan Bucatinsky
- Narrated by: Dan Bucatinsky
- Length: 5 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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In 2005, Dan Bucatinsky and his partner, Don Roos, found themselves in an L.A. delivery room, decked out in disposable scrubs from shower cap to booties, to welcome their adopted baby girl - launching their frantic yet memorable adventures into fatherhood. Two and a half years later, the same birth mother - a heroically generous, pack-a-day teen with a passion for Bridezilla marathons and Mountain Dew - delivered a son into the couple’s arms.
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A Parenting Book with Humor and Heart
- By The Reading Date on 02-05-14
By: Dan Bucatinsky
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The Priority List
- A Teacher's Final Quest to Discover Life's Greatest Lessons
- By: David Menasche
- Narrated by: David Menasche
- Length: 4 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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David Menasche lived for his work as a high school English teacher. His passion inspired his students, and between lessons on Shakespeare and sentence structure, he forged a unique bond with his kids, buoying them through personal struggles while sharing valuable life lessons.
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Truly Inspiring!!
- By Trish on 07-13-14
By: David Menasche
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Ordinary Light
- A Memoir
- By: Tracy K. Smith
- Narrated by: Tracy K. Smith
- Length: 11 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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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.
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Simply spoken - poetic
- By CarolynneRHarris on 04-27-15
By: Tracy K. Smith
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If It's Not One Thing, It's Your Mother
- By: Julia Sweeney
- Narrated by: Julia Sweeney
- Length: 6 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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Since her time on Saturday Night Live, where she created the infamous androgynous character "Pat", Julia Sweeney has gone on to establish herself as a witty, captivating performer of one-woman shows, like God Said Ha!, In the Family Way, and Letting Go of God. She gave a TED talk sharing how she explained the birds and the bees to her eight-year-old daughter, Mulan, which ignited an incredible response. Now, when it comes to talking about motherhood, people want to hear what Julia has to say.
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I Love Julia Sweeney
- By Lisa on 04-05-13
By: Julia Sweeney
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All but Normal
- Life on Victory Road: A Memoir
- By: Shawn Thornton
- Narrated by: Shawn Thornton
- Length: 7 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
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After waking from a coma following a car crash, Beverly Thornton's once sweet and gentle disposition had been replaced by violent mood swings, profanity-laced tirades, and uncontrollable fits of rage. Inside the Thornton house, floors and countertops were piled high with dirty laundry and garbage because Bev was unable to move well enough to clean. Dinners were a Russian roulette of half-cooked meat, spoiled milk, and foods well past their expiration dates.
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Should be in the religous category
- By Shreridan on 10-24-16
By: Shawn Thornton
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I Just Want You to Know
- Letters to My Kids on Love, Faith, and Family
- By: Kate Gosselin
- Narrated by: Kate Gosselin
- Length: 3 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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In I Just Want You to Know, New York Times best-selling author Kate Gosselin continues her story of faith and family, picking up where her first book, Multiple Blessings, ended. Using excerpts and written prayers from her actual journal, Kate offers an intimate look at the heart of a mother during the three years her family transitioned from obscurity into television fame.
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This was a good book
- By lisa m schumann on 01-03-22
By: Kate Gosselin
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This Is the Story of a Happy Marriage
- By: Ann Patchett
- Narrated by: Ann Patchett
- Length: 11 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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Blending literature and memoir, Ann Patchett, author of State of Wonder and Bel Canto examines her deepest commitments: to writing, family, friends, dogs, books, and her husband in This Is the Story of a Happy Marriage. Together, these essays, previously published in The Atlantic, Harper, Vogue, and The Washington Post, form a resonant portrait of a life lived with loyalty and with love.
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Entertaining, engrossing, and elucidative essays
- By Bonny on 01-07-14
By: Ann Patchett
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Mother Daughter Me
- A Memoir
- By: Katie Hafner
- Narrated by: Katie Hafner
- Length: 9 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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The complex, deeply binding relationship between mothers and daughters is brought vividly to life in Katie Hafner's remarkable memoir, an exploration of the year she and her mother, Helen, spent working through, and triumphing over, a lifetime of unresolved emotions. Dreaming of a "year in Provence" with her mother, Katie urges Helen to move to San Francisco to live with her and Zoe, Katie's teenage daughter. Katie and Zoe had become a mother-daughter team, strong enough, Katie thought, to absorb the arrival of a 77-year-old woman set in her ways....
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Listen and be swept away!
- By Barbara Quick on 06-02-22
By: Katie Hafner
What listeners say about The Spark
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Sara
- 03-02-23
Thank you :))))
I’m a father of a level 2 autistic, I see so many things in him that you speak of in this wonderful amazing book. If I wasn’t thinking about things I could do I was crying wall listening. THANK YOU for the gifts you shared with us all by writing this book. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU.
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- sharon
- 10-17-13
What an Inspiring Story
Well written true story of a Genius .The narration is perfect. We used this book for out Book Club. Every body loved it .A Winner
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1 person found this helpful
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- Christina Cook
- 01-19-18
excellent book
This book was truly amazing! As a parent, I truly agree with the statement that not all children fit in the little box that the public schools want to put them in. My son learns differently than others and does not understand math, unlike the child in this book, however, I try to find new ways to incorporate math that he can enjoy. I will be recommending this book to all parents!
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- DeanT
- 09-07-15
Remarkable book
Each parent should get a copy of this book when leaving the maternity ward. A testament of how much the parenting matters. Must read!
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1 person found this helpful
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- Prosinader
- 04-13-18
What a Parent and what a Kiddo!
What made the experience of listening to The Spark: A Mother's Story of Nurturing Genius the most enjoyable?
This book is enjoyable because it offers hope to both parents of children on the spectrum as well as the children themselves. Not every child is going to be a genius, however, they will offer something of value to this world if given the tools necessary. Kristine wasn't a wealthy person, nor particularly knowledgeable about Autism (by her own admission through the book), but she did study as much material as she could find and worked with what she had around her to help her son, Jacob, become as successful as he could be.
What was one of the most memorable moments of The Spark: A Mother's Story of Nurturing Genius?
The most memorable section was when Jacob was working on his original theorem and was writing all over his room. Kristine liken it to the scene from "A Beautiful Mind" and I would have to agree, that was the imagery that immediately came to mind.
Which scene was your favorite?
My favorite part was when they go to look at Mars for the first time, I had a similar experience with my son at a meteorologist led seminar recently.
Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?
Right from the start, the book grabs you and moves you when the mother opens up the book with a story of her small child conversing on an intellectual with college students.
Any additional comments?
If you have a child on the spectrum, read this book. If you know someone who does have a child on the spectrum, read this book, then give it to them to read. The more people who know that they have a chance to make something special happen, the more that something special could actually happen.
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- Anonymous User
- 06-28-19
Amazing story!
Amazing story, even for people not having contact with autism. This kid can change the world.
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- noname
- 02-22-15
A must listen
This is an inspiration to any parent (me being one) to any parent with a child who suffers with a disability. This is a book about pure love and shows how you do anything for you children.
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- Sandy
- 05-31-18
An extremely encouraging book
This book is extremely encouraging to any parent that is struggling with a child that does not fit into the “norm”. So often we try to steer children away from something they love, but we see as a waste of time or useless. However, if we take the authors advice, we need to build on the child’s interests, to find some way to relate his or her interests to the world. I love how Kristine gets to work immediately to change things when she sees there is a need and there might be some way she can help her son. She doesn’t wait for a therapist or professional, but decides to do whatever she can to make life better for her child and others as well. This is a truly inspirational book and I highly recommend it.
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- Ginger
- 06-04-17
Amazing story
I enjoyed every moment of this book. Having an autistic child in our family, I try to educate myself as much as possible. Although I could relate to parts of this book, this child seems pretty high functioning compared to others I have experienced. Bravo for the Mother encouraging his potential. That was probably the most meaningful for me. That, and the Mother's strength and not giving up!
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- Lynn
- 03-04-17
Great book about Jake and about raising all kids!
Where does The Spark: A Mother's Story of Nurturing Genius rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?
I've listened to many audiobooks. The Spark is in the top 20.
What was one of the most memorable moments of The Spark: A Mother's Story of Nurturing Genius?
Memorable moment was when the Mom ventured out, directly and casually, to learn her son's world.
Have you listened to any of Kathe Mazur’s other performances before? How does this one compare?
no i have not. I enjoyed her narrative.
If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?
they are special
Any additional comments?
I substitute at a daycare; and there is one child who is special who i take much interest in. He, Michael, can now speak the name of each kid and teacher. I am curious of his interests. For now, MIcheal, I have observed, likes to organize things. Indeed, he is probably running circles and patents around me while I kindly watch him.
:)
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