
Things Past Telling
A Novel
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Narrated by:
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Robin Miles
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By:
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Sheila Williams
About this listen
“This is a truly character-driven novel that explores how people define themselves, the creation of family and home, and the importance of memory and language. . . . Fans of historical epics won’t be able to put this book down.”—Historical Novel Society
“Emotionally satisfying. . . . A remarkable character portrait.”—Publishers Weekly
The author of The Secret Women tells the story of a brave and enduring woman as indomitable as Ernest Gaines’ legendary Miss Jane Pittman, in a breathtaking novel that combines the epic romance and adventure of Outlander, the sweeping drama of Roots, and the haunting historical power of Barracoon.
Things Past Telling is a remarkable historical epic that charts one unforgettable woman’s journey across an ocean of years as vast as the Atlantic that will forever separate her from her homeland.
Born in West Africa in the mid-eighteenth century, Maryam Prescilla Grace—a.k.a “Momma Grace” will live a long, wondrous life marked by hardship, oppression, opportunity, and love. Though she will be “gifted” various names, her birth name is known to her alone. Over the course of 100-plus years, she survives capture, enslavement by several property owners, the Atlantic crossing when she is only eleven years of age, and a brief stint as a pirate’s ward, acting as both a spy and a translator.
Maryam learns midwifery from a Caribbean-born wise woman, whose “craft” combines curated techniques and medicines from African, Indigenous, and European women. Those midwifery skills allow her to sometimes transcend the racial and class barriers of her enslavement, as she walks the razor’s edge trying to balance the lives and health of her own people with the cruel economic mandates of the slave holders, who view infants born in bondage not as flesh-and-blood children but as investment property.
Throughout her triumphant and tumultuous life Maryam gains and loses her homeland, her family, her culture, her husband, her lovers, and her children. Yet as the decades pass, this tenacious woman never loses her sense of self.
Inspired by a 112-year-old woman the author discovered in an 1870 U.S. Federal census report for Ohio, loosely based on the author’s real-life female ancestors, spanning more than a hundred years, from the mid-eighteen-century to the end of America’s Civil War, and spanning across the globe, from what is now southern Nigeria to the islands of the Caribbean to North America and the land bordering the Ohio River, Things Past Telling is a breathtaking story of a past that lives on in all of us, and a life that encompasses the best—and worst—of our humanity.
©2022 Sheila Williams (P)2022 HarperCollins PublishersListeners also enjoyed...
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- By: Louise Fein
- Narrated by: Marisa Calin
- Length: 13 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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Eleanor Hamilton is happily married and mother to a beautiful four-year-old girl, Mabel. Her husband, Edward, is a leading light in the burgeoning Eugenics movement, which is designing the very ideas that will soon be embraced by Hitler. But when Mabel develops debilitating epileptic seizures and Eleanor discovers Edward has been keeping secrets, Eleanor's world fractures. In order to save her daughter, she takes matters into her own hands.
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Excellent story.
- By Diane Klu… on 12-18-23
By: Louise Fein
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Island Queen
- A Novel
- By: Vanessa Riley
- Narrated by: Adjoa Andoh
- Length: 21 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
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Born into slavery on the tiny Caribbean island of Montserrat, Doll bought her freedom from her Irish planter father and built a legacy of wealth and power as an entrepreneur, merchant, hotelier, and planter that extended from the marketplaces and sugar plantations of Dominica and Barbados to a glittering luxury hotel in Demerara on the South American continent. Vanessa Riley’s novel brings Doll to vivid life as she rises above the harsh realities of slavery and colonialism by working the system and leveraging the competing attentions of the men in her life
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BRILLIANT
- By PJMcGhee on 07-11-21
By: Vanessa Riley
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A Woman of Endurance
- A Novel
- By: Dahlma Llanos-Figueroa
- Narrated by: Tracey Leigh
- Length: 12 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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A Woman of Endurance, set in nineteenth-century Puerto Rican plantation society, follows Pola, a deeply spiritual African woman who is captured and later sold for the purpose of breeding future slaves. The resulting babies are taken from her as soon as they are born. Pola loses the faith that has guided her and becomes embittered and defensive. The dehumanizing violence of her life almost destroys her. But this is not a novel of defeat but rather one of survival, regeneration, and reclamation of common humanity.
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The difference in this book.
- By all our stories on 06-08-22
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A More Perfect Union
- By: Tammye Huf
- Narrated by: Gary Furlong, Chanté McCormick, Patryce Williams
- Length: 9 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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Henry O’Toole sails to America in 1848 to escape the famine in Ireland, only to face anti-immigrant prejudice. Determined never to starve again, he changes his surname to Taylor and heads south to Virginia, seeking work as a traveling blacksmith on the prosperous plantations. Torn from her home and sold to Jubilee Plantation, Sarah must navigate its intricate hierarchy. And now an enigmatic blacksmith is promising her not just the world but also her freedom. How could she say no?
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A Perfect Union
- By Claudette Heston on 06-13-22
By: Tammye Huf
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The American Queen
- By: Vanessa Miller
- Narrated by: Angel Pean
- Length: 9 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
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Transformative and breathtakingly honest, The American Queen is based on actual events that occurred between 1865 - 1889 and shares the unsung history of a Black woman who built a kingdom in Appalachia as a refuge for the courageous people who dared to dream of a different way of life. Over the twenty-four years she was enslaved on the Montgomery Plantation, Louella learned to feel one thing: hate. Hate for the man who sold her mother. Hate for the overseer who left her daddy to hang from a noose. Hate so powerful there's no room in her heart for love.
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The life of the Queen
- By R. Dameron on 03-26-24
By: Vanessa Miller
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Wade in the Water
- A Novel
- By: Nyani Nkrumah
- Narrated by: Eboni Flowers, Teri Schnaubelt
- Length: 10 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
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Set in 1982, in rural, racially divided Ricksville, Mississippi Wade in the Water tells the story of Ella, a Black, unloved, precocious eleven-year-old, and Ms. St. James, a mysterious white woman from Princeton who appears in Ella’s community to carry out some research. Soon, Ms. St. James befriends Ella, who is willing to risk everything to keep her new friend in a town that does not want her there.
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What an absolutely beautiful story!
- By LK on 04-20-23
By: Nyani Nkrumah
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Second House from the Corner
- By: Sadeqa Johnson
- Narrated by: Robin Miles
- Length: 9 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
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Felicia Lyons, a stressed-out stay-at-home mom, struggles to sprint ahead of the demands of motherhood while her husband spends long days at the office. Felicia taps, utters mantras, and breathes her way through most situations, but on some days, like when the children won't stop screaming her name or arguing over toy trucks and pretzel sticks, she wonders what it would be like to get in her car and drive away.
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No ending to any of the situations that opened.
- By Tina on 03-12-16
By: Sadeqa Johnson
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Mary Not Broken
- By: Deborah L. King
- Narrated by: Lisa Reneé Pitts
- Length: 10 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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In 1930s Mississippi, Mary Johnson hates the oppressive heat, working on her family farm, and having to attend her minister father's church several times a week. But she loves Mason Carter, her musician boyfriend. Both fantasize about living the high life up north in the big city. When William Bevers, a wealthy old preacher, comes to court her, he promises a life of luxury along with money and status for her family. Mary wants nothing to do with him, but her parents decide for her. Determined to avoid a forced marriage, Mary elopes with Mason to the bright lights of Chicago.
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Trauma and Suffering
- By Erin Martin on 05-06-24
By: Deborah L. King
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The Thread Collectors
- A Novel
- By: Shaunna J. Edwards, Alyson Richman
- Narrated by: Robin Miles
- Length: 10 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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1863: In a small Creole cottage in New Orleans, an ingenious young Black woman named Stella embroiders intricate maps on repurposed cloth to help enslaved men flee and join the Union Army. Bound to a man who would kill her if he knew of her clandestine activities, Stella has to hide not only her efforts but her love for William, a Black soldier and a brilliant musician.
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Absolutely stunning!
- By Amazon Customer on 04-14-24
By: Shaunna J. Edwards, and others
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Fallen Grace
- Blaze Collection
- By: Sadeqa Johnson
- Narrated by: Channie Waites
- Length: 1 hr and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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With a newborn in tow, Bubbles Jones escapes a brutal sanctuary for “wayward girls” to confront the hypocritical shame of her pastor father and the betrayal of a lover. But Bubbles is accompanied by a woman who offers her shelter and a dream. Forging an unpredictable path ahead, Bubbles will not yield and will not hide in her unwavering commitment to make a big life real in a world determined to keep her small.
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Give me MORE!!!
- By JoGriff on 06-01-24
By: Sadeqa Johnson
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Child Bride
- A Novel
- By: Jennifer Smith Turner
- Narrated by: Joyce Licorish
- Length: 6 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
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In the segregated South of the mid-1900s, 14-year-old Nell bears witness to a world that embraces the oppression of women. She is fascinated with the prospect of being an independent person - but when she turns 16, she is married off and brought to the city of Boston as a bride. Nell is a shy girl who must quickly learn how to be a wife and mother. She quickly discovers that she must acquire new skills to navigate the unknown territory of the North, as well as her relationship with her husband, Henry, who is controlling and emotionally abusive.
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Great Novel!
- By Kindle Customer on 11-09-21
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Someone Knows My Name
- By: Lawrence Hill
- Narrated by: Adenrele Ojo
- Length: 18 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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Aminata Diallo is the beguiling heroine of Lawrence Hill's Someone Knows My Name. In it, Hill exquisitely imagines the tale of an 18th-century woman's life, spanning six decades and three continents. The fascinating story that Hill tells is a work of the soul and the imagination. Aminata is a character who will stir listeners, from her kidnapping from Africa through her journeys back and forth across the ocean.
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Rich in history and moral messages
- By Ariela on 10-14-09
By: Lawrence Hill
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Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl
- By: Harriet Jacobs
- Narrated by: Audio Élan
- Length: 8 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
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Harriet Jacobs’ autobiography, written under the pseudonym Linda Brent, details her experiences as a slave in North Carolina, her escape to freedom in the north, and her ensuing struggles to free her children. The narrative was partly serialized in the New York Tribune, but was discontinued because Jacobs’ depictions of the sexual abuse of female slaves were considered too shocking. It was published in book form in 1861.
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Another impossible narration
- By JPALJ on 06-11-18
By: Harriet Jacobs
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Charleston's Daughter
- The Low Country Series, Book 1
- By: Sabra Waldfogel
- Narrated by: Allyson Johnson
- Length: 11 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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A Charleston belle with slavery on her conscience. A slave with rebellion in her heart. In South Carolina in 1858, no friendship could be more dangerous.
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Great Historical Research
- By Carmen Lang on 11-26-20
By: Sabra Waldfogel
What listeners say about Things Past Telling
Highly rated for:
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- Danielle
- 07-21-23
Perfect narration to a 10 star book
Ive never ever cried over a book, until now. Oh man, cried my eyes out and will think about Maryam forever. I felt so attached to her I just wanted to hug her and cry with her. Although the Maryam I got to know in this book wouldn’t allow that type of blubbering lol
I hate this part of history, and experiencing it through Maryam’s eyes just broke my heart in a million pieces.
I loved her so much, her determination and wit and wisdom. I felt her losses and rooted for her in the little triumphs she had. I wanted so much more for her.
I was so angry at the disgusting racist pigs and men who ran and ruined her life.
I felt so much love and appreciation for the kind souls that helped her along the way.
I’ve never had such strong emotions provoked from a story.
Ugh, this is beautifully written about horrible things.
This is the book that should be trending. This is the book everyone needs to read.
10000000 stars
Narrator did an amazing job at bringing this to life and nailed the different accents.
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2 people found this helpful
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- ssupahan
- 11-02-22
Absolutely wonderful
A great story told by a very talented narrator who was very adept at the many accents. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience and loved the story even more.
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- Goli Lover
- 01-28-23
Storytelling at its best!
Sheila Williams and Robin Miles have joined together and made the story of us come alive!!
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- Lynsie Brown
- 06-30-24
The narrator!
I am so damn impressed with this narrator. And the story had me in tears many times. Highly recommend.
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- Tyler
- 09-18-24
beautiful
a beautiful and captivating story about travels through slavery to freedom though the eyes of a powerful woman
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- sharon a fragier
- 09-18-24
Everything
Wonderful narration of a life story enjoy every minute of it, I look forward to listening to my books by this artist
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- Amazon Customer
- 06-30-22
Wonderful Listen
A sad part of history told with truth and dignity. I enjoyed the narration. One of the best narrations I have ever heard! Story was told with unexpected phrases that were sing song and graceful that just pulled you into the story but also spoke of terrible cruelty of the time. Wonderful book.
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11 people found this helpful
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- O.R.
- 03-07-23
10 Stars!
A trip through time! What a beautiful but sad story. I remember tales from my southern roots and sometimes I cry because of what people of color had to endure through no fault of their own. Families being separated had to be so hard. I cried/sobbed at the ending of this tale, even though it was a happy occasion. Well written. Excellent narration. A keeper!
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1 person found this helpful
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- Barbara
- 03-02-23
Thought provoking!
This is a heart touching story through generations, written in a time most of us can understand and even relate to. This is a Wonderful story written in a way that put the reader in her shoes. Despite all the hurdles thrown her way, she survived and thrived.
The narrator was awesome, capturing all of the diverse cultural accents. Because of my hearing loss, the accents were sometimes hard to understand, but not any fault of the narrator.
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- Betty
- 05-26-23
Beautiful, storytelling and narration
The author did a beautiful job of weaving the story, and the narrator was amazing!
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