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Ward of the State
- A Memoir of Foster Care
- Narrated by: Karlos Dillard
- Length: 4 hrs and 11 mins
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Publisher's summary
Ward of the State: A Memoir of Foster Care tells what happened to a little Black boy from the inner city of Detroit. This is the story of Karlos Dillard, who was severely neglected by his mother, who often left him and his siblings at home alone for weeks to fend for themselves. Enduring severe neglect and abuse, the boy was removed by the State of Michigan and put into foster care. Karlos was removed from his mother's care just to end up in foster homes that treated him worse.
The book is an emotional roller coaster. Every time Karlos describes the pain he is feeling, you will feel the same pain, whether it be hunger, anger, or being sexually violated. Karlos' use of words makes sure that you aren't just hearing the book; you are actually engaged. What is most enticing are the small victories experienced in the story, because they give you a break from the horrors of some of the foster homes. Karlos was told he was not loved, he was not wanted, and he was nothing but a ward of the state. Karlos had nothing left to look forward to, and that almost ended his life, but his hope to find a family that loved him kept him alive.
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Story
Our preteen years, ages nine to 13, can present some of the most difficult times in our young lives, a period of tremendous physical and emotional change. We're eager to leave the "kid" stage, yet we're uncertain about what adolescence will bring; we start hearing the familiar refrain "wait until you're older" far too often. Chicken Soup for the Preteen Soul is a companion guide for these transitional years.
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Great for children!
- By T Renaud on 01-04-15
By: Jack Canfield, and others
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Dear Zoe
- A Novel
- By: Philip Beard
- Narrated by: Cassandra Morris
- Length: 4 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
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Beard's stunning debut is an epistolary novel written from 15-year-old Tess DeNunzio to her little sister Zoe. After Zoe's accidental death on September 11, 2001, a day so many others died, Tess' family is numbed by their personal tragedy. Already acutely aware of her odd place in a home where her mother and stepfather now have children of their own, Tess begins her letter as a means of figuring out her own life, from her two-hour-a-day hair and makeup ritual to her complicity in Zoe's death.
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keeps you listening.
- By nas on 10-18-09
By: Philip Beard
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Breaking Night
- A Memoir of Forgiveness, Survival, and My Journey from Homeless to Harvard
- By: Liz Murray
- Narrated by: Liz Murray
- Length: 14 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
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Liz Murray was born to loving but drug-addicted parents in the Bronx. In school she was taunted for her dirty clothing and lice-infested hair, eventually skipping so many classes that she was put into a girls' home. At age 15, Liz found herself on the streets when her family finally unraveled. She learned to scrape by, foraging for food and riding subways all night to have a warm place to sleep. Then, when Liz's mother died of AIDS, she decided to take control of her own destiny.
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unbelievably inspiring
- By Amazon Customer on 03-17-12
By: Liz Murray
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I'm Down
- A Memoir
- By: Mishna Wolff
- Narrated by: Mishna Wolff
- Length: 8 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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Mishna Wolff grew up in a poor black neighborhood with her single father, a white man who truly believed he was black. "He strutted around with a short perm, a Cosby-esque sweater, gold chains and a Kangol---telling jokes like Redd Fox, and giving advice like Jesse Jackson. You couldn't tell my father he was white. Believe me, I tried," writes Wolff. And so from early childhood on, her father began his crusade to make his white daughter down.
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I stopped listening an hour in....
- By Casey on 11-07-09
By: Mishna Wolff
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Chanel Bonfire
- By: Wendy Lawless
- Narrated by: Wendy Lawless
- Length: 6 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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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.
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Not an Engaging Listen
- By Sobriquet on 03-13-13
By: Wendy Lawless
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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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Just Fly Away
- By: Andrew McCarthy
- Narrated by: Suzy Jackson
- Length: 6 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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A debut novel about one girl's discovery of family secrets, first love, the limits of forgiveness, and finding one's way in the world, written with wisdom and sympathy by the best-selling memoirist, actor, and director. When 15-year-old Lucy Willows discovers that her father has a child from a brief affair, an eight-year-old boy named Thomas who lives in her own suburban New Jersey town, she begins to question everything she thinks she knows about her family and her life.
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none
- By Rick on 04-06-17
By: Andrew McCarthy
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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
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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...."
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All About Janine
- By Ellen on 07-02-07
By: Janine Latus
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Every Time I Think of You
- By: Tracey Garvis Graves
- Narrated by: Kristin Condon, Chris Patton, R.C. Bray
- Length: 9 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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Thirty-year-old Daisy DiStefano has two people she holds dear: the grandmother who raised her and her three-year-old son, Elliott. But when Daisy's grandmother is killed, Daisy must take steps to protect herself and her child.
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Cheesy but good
- By Amazon Customer on 11-07-16
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Bettyville
- By: George Hodgman
- Narrated by: Jeff Woodman
- Length: 10 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
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When George Hodgman leaves Manhattan for his hometown of Paris, Missouri, he finds himself - an unlikely caretaker and near-lethal cook - in a head-on collision with his aging mother, Betty, a woman of wit and will. Will George lure her into assisted living? When hell freezes over. He can't bring himself to force her from the home both treasure - the place where his father's voice lingers, the scene of shared jokes, skirmishes, and, behind the dusty antiques, a rarely acknowledged conflict...
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Title Should Be Georgeville-It's All About George
- By Sara on 10-08-15
By: George Hodgman
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Saving Alex
- When I Was Fifteen I Told My Mormon Parents I Was Gay, and That's When My Nightmare Began
- By: Alex Cooper
- Narrated by: Luci Christian Bell
- Length: 8 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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Days after Alex Cooper told her parents she was gay, they drove Alex from their home in Southern California to Utah, where they signed over guardianship to fellow Mormons who promised to save Alex from her homosexuality. For eight harrowing months, Alex was held captive in an unlicensed "residential treatment program" modeled on the many "therapeutic" boot camps scattered across Utah.
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I'm a Christian straight, divorced man, with 2 kids that lives in the heart of the Bible Belt.... Alabama
- By Ronald on 03-30-16
By: Alex Cooper
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May We Be Forgiven
- By: A. M. Homes
- Narrated by: Andy Paris
- Length: 20 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
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May We Be Forgiven, a darkly comic novel of 21st-century domestic life, stars Harold Silver, a historian who's always been jealous of his successful brother, George. But when the hot-tempered George is institutionalized for committing a violent act, Harold finds himself comforting his brother's wife and children. What follows is a scathing examination of a family so fractured it may never be whole again.
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Give this one a try!
- By JWB on 02-13-13
By: A. M. Homes
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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
What listeners say about Ward of the State
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Dianna C
- 03-02-24
A difficult and necessary read.
Karlos does an amazing job retelling his experiences in foster care. I recommend readers go slow and process, but DO read it.
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- jamaica stephenson
- 10-29-22
Wow
This story made me so angry and anxious for kids in foster care. As a former foster to adopt I cried knowing this could’ve been my story, I also felt and respected the authors since of accomplishment at the end. I might’ve chosen a different narrator but overall it was a good read
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- Tess Sturgill
- 01-09-23
Our children are abused by a broken system
After listening to this book I’m so broken down with emotions. I cried multiple times and at times my heart felt like it was coming out of my chest over the trauma and the turn a blind eye to what is truly happening with foster care and facilities that house children. When do we start holding people and our government accountable to protect our children! This is a mountain and not a little bump in the road kinda thing, this is everywhere and no one is held to a standard before or after. We are destroying every generation going through the system. This book will have you wondering the why, what and when we will get to right to protect our children.
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- Ashleigh Tull
- 11-29-23
Foster care voice that deserves to be heard
Karlos does a phenomenal job. His story isn’t rare and foster voices are commonly dismissed. I couldn’t stop listening. If you are thinking about fostering, adopting, or you were in the system yourself, listen to this book.
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- david a pledger
- 12-20-21
I am angry
I am so angry about what happened to you. It is an awful place we live in. I’m so glad you rose above it all and is continuing to soar. Be blessed. It is a very good read. I enjoyed it tremendously.
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- Kimberlynn G.
- 03-15-22
Great read!
Telling his point of view being a child in the system and the things you don’t see. The grass isn’t always good where it’s green and what looks good isn’t always good. Can’t wait for the next book
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- Jennifer Poole
- 10-18-23
Heartbreaking
This was so hard to even listen to. The trauma the author went through was horrific. May his bravery in sharing this story help to change a clearly broken system.
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- Gabbi
- 09-27-22
Heart Breaking, but important to know.
Karlos' story is so heartbreaking, but it's such an important read. we need know where the system is broken and give it the major overhaul Karlos deserved, and all the kids in foster care current and future that kids deserve too.
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- Nurse Nya
- 10-21-23
Heartbreaking and Eye Opening
This story made me cry many times. it opened my eyes to the horrendous conditions some foster youth endure. This is a must listen/read. The Narration by the Author is excellent.
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- Anthony Copelin
- 10-05-23
Phenomenal read for any adoptive parent.
The book gave such a great insight to the need of adoptive parent training, the evil in foster care, and the overhaul that is needed to this system.
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