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Walden on Wheels
- On the Open Road from Debt to Freedom
- Narrated by: Nick Podehl
- Length: 9 hrs and 44 mins
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Publisher's summary
The story of a student who went to extraordinary lengths - including living in a van on a campus parking lot - to complete his education without sacrificing his financial future. In a frank and self-deprecating voice, memoirist Ken Ilgunas writes about the existential terror of graduating from college with $32,000 in student debt. Inspired by Thoreau, Ilgunas set himself a mission: get out of debt as soon as humanly possible. To that end, he undertook an extraordinary 3-year transcontinental journey, driving to Alaska and taking a series of low-paying jobs. Debt-free, Ilgunas then enrolled himself in a master's program at Duke University, using the last of his savings to buy himself a used Econoline, his new "dorm." The van, stationed in a campus parking lot, would be an adventure, a challenge, a test of his limits. It would be, in short, his "Walden on Wheels."Ilgunas went public in a widely read Salon article that spoke to the urgent student debt situation in America today. He offers a funny and pointed perspective on the dilemma faced by those who seek an education but who also want to, as Thoreau wrote, "live deep and suck out all the marrow of life."
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John Marshall had read about the growth of voluntourism, and frankly, it was the only kind of extended trip he could afford. He'd heard that some peoples' lives were changed by a week of overseas service - what might half a year accomplish for his family? His wife, Traca, was all in favor of it; his kids, especially his 14-year-old daughter, were strongly opposed. Wide-Open World is the totally engaging, bluntly honest story of the Marshall family's life-changing adventure.
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I enjoyed every minute
- By Chris on 05-15-15
By: John Marshall
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Beyond the Bear
- How I Learned to Live and Love Again after Being Blinded by a Bear
- By: Dan Bigley, Debra McKinney
- Narrated by: Kevin Young
- Length: 9 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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A 25-year-old backcountry wanderer, a man happiest exploring wild places with his dog, Dan Bigley woke up one midsummer morning to a day full of promise. Before it was over, after a stellar day of salmon fishing along Alaska’s Kenai and Russian rivers, a grizzly came tearing around a corner in the trail. Dan barely had time for “bear charging” to register before it had him on the ground, altering his life forever.
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Beautiful! The best ever! Shout out from Haines Ak
- By Stacy on 12-01-19
By: Dan Bigley, and others
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Just Passin' Thru
- A Vintage Store, the Appalachian Trail, and a Cast of Unforgettable Characters
- By: Winton Porter
- Narrated by: Jones Allen
- Length: 6 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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Like a well-crafted stage play, Just Passin' Thru delivers one suspenseful scene after another. But in this historic setting a store on the Appalachian Trail called Mountain Crossings the characters who show up are no fictional creations. Like any good drama, there are the good guys (and gals) and the weirdos, too. Some show up once (and that’s enough), and some appear again and again. But all are united by two things: the author’s story-capturing talent, and whatever it is that lures them to attempt (or conquer) a 2,200-mile path that climbs and plummets from Georgia to Maine.
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Well Worth it!
- By Pamela M. on 11-13-14
By: Winton Porter
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Lost Memory of Skin
- By: Russell Banks
- Narrated by: Scott Shepherd
- Length: 13 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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Suspended in a strangely modern-day version of limbo, the young man at the center of Russell Banks’s uncompromising and morally complex new novel must create a life for himself in the wake of incarceration. Known in his new identity only as the Kid, and on probation after doing time for a liaison with an underage girl, he is shackled to a GPS monitoring device and forbidden to live within 2,500 feet of anywhere children might gather. With nowhere else to go, the Kid takes up residence under a south Florida causeway, in a makeshift encampment with other convicted sex offenders.
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Amazing "Must Read" Tale of (In)Justice in America
- By Ellen H. Anderson on 10-15-11
By: Russell Banks
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Double Take
- By: Kevin Michael Connolly
- Narrated by: Kevin Michael Connolly
- Length: 4 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
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Double take: a rapid or surprised second look, either literal or figurative, at a person or situation whose significance has not been completely grasped at first. Kevin Michael Connolly is a 23-year-old man who has seen the world in a way most of us never will. Whether swarmed by Japanese tourists at Epcot Center as a child or holding court at the X Games on his mono-ski, Kevin Connolly has been an object of curiosity since the day he was born without legs.
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Love this story so much
- By R. MCRACKAN on 07-04-18
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I'll Be There
- By: Holly Goldberg Sloan
- Narrated by: Laura Jennings
- Length: 9 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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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.
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Needs to be a film!
- By TreasureHunter on 06-25-16
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Thousand-Miler
- Adventures Hiking the Ice Age Trail
- By: Melanie Radzicki McManus
- Narrated by: Sarah Zimmerman
- Length: 9 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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In 36 thrilling days, Melanie Radzicki McManus hiked 1,100 miles around Wisconsin, landing her in the elite group of Ice Age Trail thru-hikers known as the Thousand-Milers. In prose that's alternately harrowing and humorous, Thousand-Miler takes you with her through Wisconsin's forests, prairies, wetlands, and farms, past the geologic wonders carved by long-ago glaciers, and into the neighborhood bars and gathering places of far-flung small towns.
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Not what I thought it would be
- By Justin wright on 01-29-19
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We Are Unprepared
- By: Meg Little Reilly
- Narrated by: Zach Villa
- Length: 8 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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We Are Unprepared is a novel about the next big storm, the one that changes our relationship to nature and each other...the superstorm that threatens to destroy a marriage, a rural Vermont town, and the Eastern Seaboard when it hits. But the destruction begins months earlier, when fear infects people's lives and spreads like a plague.
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A Sociological Almost Post-Apocalyptic Thriller
- By Brian on 12-25-16
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The Company You Keep
- By: Neil Gordon
- Narrated by: Donald Corren, Hillary Huber, Kirby Heyborne, and others
- Length: 15 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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Set against the rise and fall of the radical antiwar group the Weather Underground, The Company You Keep is a sweeping American saga about sacrifice, the ecstatic righteousness of youth, and the tension between political ideals and family loyalties. When Jason Sinai, one of the last Vietnam-era fugitives still wanted on murder charges for a robbery gone wrong in 1974, encounters a young newspaper reporter in search of a story, he must abandon years of safe underground life for the dangerous life of the road.
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Audiobook of the Year
- By connie on 05-13-12
By: Neil Gordon
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Humboldt
- Life on America's Marijuana Frontier
- By: Emily Brady
- Narrated by: Dan Woren, Sonny Warner, Erin Bennett, and others
- Length: 7 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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In the vein of Susan Orlean's The Orchid Thief and Deborah Feldman's Unorthodox, journalist Emily Brady journeys into a secretive subculture - one that marijuana built. Say the words "Humboldt County" to a stranger and you might receive a knowing grin. The name is infamous, and yet the place, and its inhabitants, have been nearly impenetrable. Until now. Humboldt is a narrative exploration of an insular community in Northern California, which for nearly 40 years has existed primarily on the cultivation and sale of marijuana.
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Great book!
- By David on 02-26-15
By: Emily Brady
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The Opposite of Loneliness
- Essays and Stories
- By: Marina Keegan
- Narrated by: Emily Woo Zeller
- Length: 5 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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Marina Keegan's star was on the rise when she graduated magna cum laude from Yale in May 2012. She had a play that was to be produced at the New York International Fringe Festival and a job waiting for her at the New Yorker. Tragically, five days after graduation, Marina died in a car crash. Even though she was just 22 when she died, Marina left behind a rich, expansive trove of prose that, like her title essay, captures the hope, uncertainty, and possibility of her generation.
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Probably buy the book too.
- By Soupergirl on 09-14-15
By: Marina Keegan
What listeners say about Walden on Wheels
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- jonnie
- 08-04-15
A wonderful well told story
It wasas the kind of a story that took hold of you, and kept you held tightly In its grasp until the very end.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Cassandra Quinn
- 07-13-18
Excellent, far exceeded my expectations.
Excellent, far exceeded my expectations. I highly recommend this book to young and old alike, a different perspective on living life.
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1 person found this helpful
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- NA Reynolds
- 02-07-17
Loved the book. Love the author. Get this!
Great story and very inspiring. Great storytelling and read by clear and consice narrator. highly recommended
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1 person found this helpful
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- farzad
- 12-11-17
It was a pleasure to know you!!!
Love love love love this book! So well written so intelligent and so thoughtful. As a father to 2 young boys I highly recommend this book. KEN took us to a journey we all wish to experience. So glad to meet you you KEN
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- Julie May
- 11-14-16
refreshing and inspiring
Thoroughly enjoyed the adventures and reflections in this coming of age memoir. The narration was well performed.
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- Tian W
- 06-01-19
What a performance!
Probably one of the best audio books i have listened to in terms of performance, lively, engaging, not to mention it's a great story.
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- Martha
- 10-20-20
Provocative
Kudos to Ilgunas for having the insight and the perseverance to make it through his journey and write this book. Having had my own experiences with debt, I appreciate his struggle. He raises important questions both for individuals and society.
However, his obsession with not making use of an important tool is not freedom. He is often preachy, and he seems unaware that transferring basic expenses to someone else's bills or to a non-cash basis doesn't make them go away.
Community cooperation around the use of important resources is important, as is individual discipline with self-indulgent consumerism. Ilgunas raises these issues, but doesn't offer much in the way of moving us toward shared solutions.
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- Amazon Customer
- 06-29-22
great story and storytelling
very good, entertaining story with surprises around every corner. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone that loves an adventure.
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- JanB
- 08-08-21
Entertaining, thought-provoking
This story makes you think in an unconventional nontraditional manner and questions social standards and everyday practices.
Kudos to Ken for having the discipline, focus, fortitude, and courage to live his convictions through the grimmest of times and the scariest of times.
In addition to an entertaining read this book takes you through good life lessons and a philosophical tune up.
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- calle
- 02-13-16
Listened for several hours a day!
What did you love best about Walden on Wheels?
There is no other book out there which i know of. The thoughts of the author reflected my own in many ways and it was interesting to se how his path unfolded.
What did you like best about this story?
The humourous writing, the speaker and a different kind of motivation.
What does Nick Podehl bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?
He does a great job with different voices for different characters. Very well done!
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
Yes
Any additional comments?
Go ahead, its worth it :)
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