
When We Chased the Light
A Novel
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Narrated by:
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Carlotta Brentan
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By:
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Emily Bleeker
About this listen
A Hollywood legend. A legacy of secrets. An epic and emotional novel about forgiveness, fame, family, and truly unconditional love by the bestselling author of When We Were Enemies.
Christie’s auction house, Beverly Hills. The effects of Hollywood icon Vivian Snow are up for bid. In the collection is a set of hand-drawn postcards spanning six decades. The sender is Antonio Trombello, a soldier, POW, priest, and Vivian’s confidant. Each postcard sheds new light on a deeply private woman the public only thinks it knows.
It’s World War II. Vivian is a USO showgirl traveling the world when her husband goes AWOL, disappears, and is presumed dead. Facing increasing suspicion, she leans on her dear friend Father Trombello for support. He’s her confessor, her savior, the elusive love of her life, and when it comes to her husband’s death, the keeper of Vivian’s secrets.
As Vivian rises from canteen dream girl to starlet to bona fide legend, she navigates the highs and lows of Hollywood, new romances, and tumultuous family relationships—all in the shadow of her past and the guilt, unmet longing, and buried truths that could still upend the lives of everyone she loves.
©2024 by Emily Bleeker. (P)2024 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.Listeners also enjoyed...
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Critic reviews
“Bleeker’s compelling, heart-wrenching sequel to When We Were Enemies masterfully portrays Vivian Snow’s complex personality. Her tumultuous life is vividly revealed through well-developed characters, tension-filled scenes, and engaging dialogue…A worthwhile read!”—Historical Novels Review (Editors’ Choice)
“A thoroughly fun and memorable read from start to finish…Unhesitatingly recommended.”—Midwest Book Review
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What the Light Touches
- A Novel
- By: Xavier Bosch, Samantha Mateo - translator
- Narrated by: Caroline Hewitt
- Length: 13 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
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Seventeen-year-old Margaux doesn’t realize one photo could change the course of her life. But in German-occupied Paris, nothing makes sense anymore. Margaux fears the worst when her lover is arrested. And when her photo appears in Nazi propaganda, her family’s reputation and prospects suffer the consequences. In 2008, Margaux has moved into a retirement home, and her granddaughter Barbara continues to live in the Paris apartment they used to share.
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Excellent
- By Book Bug! on 04-14-25
By: Xavier Bosch, and others
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When I'm Gone
- A Novel
- By: Emily Bleeker
- Narrated by: Dan John Miller
- Length: 9 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
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Luke Richardson has returned home after burying Natalie, his beloved wife of sixteen years, ready to face the hard job of raising their three children alone. But there's something he's not prepared for - a blue envelope with his name scrawled across the front in Natalie's handwriting, waiting for him on the floor of their suburban Michigan home.
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Sheesh, at least do your research...
- By David on 09-23-16
By: Emily Bleeker
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The Last Secret of Lily Adams
- A Novel
- By: Sara Blaydes
- Narrated by: Erin Bennett, Soneela Nankani
- Length: 10 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
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One of the brightest stars of Hollywood’s golden age was Lily Adams, the beloved picture of all-American innocence. Why she suddenly vanished from the spotlight was a mystery even to those closest to her. Upon Lily’s death seventy years later, her granddaughter, Carolyn Prior, struggles to understand a woman she loved but never really knew. Then, sifting through the memorabilia of a once-glamorous career, Carolyn comes across a letter from her grandmother.
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Great first book
- By Kurtis Montgomery on 09-11-24
By: Sara Blaydes
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The Starlets
- A Novel
- By: Lee Kelly, Jennifer Thorne
- Narrated by: Gail Shalan
- Length: 9 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
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Summer, 1958. Vivienne Rhodes thinks she’s finally landed her break playing Helen of Troy in Apex Pictures’ big-budget epic, A Thousand Ships, an anticipated blockbuster meant to resurrect the failing studio. Naturally, she’s devastated when she arrives on the remote Italian island of Tavalli and finds herself cast as the secondary character, Cassandra—while her nemesis, the fiancé-stealing Lottie Lawrence, America’s supposed “sweetheart,” is playing the lead role instead.
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Great story
- By Joyce C. on 01-04-25
By: Lee Kelly, and others
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The Sky Beneath Us
- By: Fiona Valpy
- Narrated by: Bronwen Price, Mhairi Morrison
- Length: 11 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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1927. Violet Mackenzie-Grant is embarking on her dream of studying at the Edinburgh School of Gardening for Women. She doesn’t yet know that it’s a journey that will take her to Kathmandu and beyond, deep into captivating landscapes and cultures that are worlds away from everything and everyone she’s left behind in Scotland.
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Strange cadence from narrator
- By Joanna Scarborough on 01-07-25
By: Fiona Valpy
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The Girl in the Midnight Maze
- By: Cathy Hayward
- Narrated by: Bronwen Price
- Length: 9 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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For decades Emma Bowen has hoped she and her mother, Margaret, might find a way back into each other’s lives. Even as a child, her strongest connection to her mother was a painting Margaret created before Emma was born, of a little girl lost in a maze. So when Margaret dies, gifting the painting to a total stranger, Emma is consumed by grief—for her mother, the little girl, and the relationship they never had.
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Great read
- By Colette Ivanov on 03-04-25
By: Cathy Hayward
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The Trade Off
- A Novel
- By: Samantha Greene Woodruff
- Narrated by: Helen Laser
- Length: 10 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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Bea Abramovitz has a gift for math and numbers. With her father, she studies the burgeoning Wall Street market’s stocks and patterns in the financial pages. After college she’s determined to parlay her talent for the prediction game into personal and professional success. But in the 1920s, in a Lower East Side tenement, opportunities for women don’t just come knocking. Bea will have to create them.
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I WISH IT WAS THE BOOK DESCRIBED IN THE SYNOPSIS
- By Bradley on 02-15-25
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The Last Lady of the Silver Screen
- By: Deanna Lynn Sletten
- Narrated by: Jennifer Groberg
- Length: 8 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
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1934 Young Kathleen Carver dreams of becoming a movie star despite her fathers warnings that she wouldn't want that life. As she grows, she becomes more determined and her strong personality and independent soul won't let her give up. After college, she stays out east and works in the theater. Then her big break comes—Hollywood is calling—and she goes home to California to become the star she always knew she'd be. But there are bumps along the highway to stardom, heartbreak, losses, and scandals. And secrets—so many secrets to keep.
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One of Deanna's Best Books!
- By Kim Cano on 06-13-24
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The Essential Elizabeth Stone
- A Novel
- By: Jennifer Banash
- Narrated by: Jenn Lee
- Length: 11 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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For more than thirty years, Elizabeth Stone has been an irreplaceable fixture in homes around the world, a food and lifestyle icon with a brand as warm and inviting as New England brown bread. Until, after her sudden passing, she leaves her legacy and her multimillion-dollar empire to her daughter, Juliet, who is expected to step seamlessly into her shoes.
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Enjoyed the book
- By NatureDeb on 10-21-24
By: Jennifer Banash
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Hill of Secrets
- A Novel
- By: Galina Vromen
- Narrated by: Lisa Flanagan
- Length: 10 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
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Los Alamos, 1943. The US Army has gathered scientists to create the world’s first nuclear weapon. Their families, abruptly moved to the secret desert base with no explanation, have simple orders: Stand by. Make do. Above all, don’t ask questions. Christine, forced to abandon her art restoration business in New York for her husband’s career, struggles to reinvent herself and cope with his increasing aloofness. Gertie, the inquisitive teenage daughter of a German Jewish refugee physicist enlists Christine to help her unravel hidden truths and deal with parents haunted by their past.
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Not historical
- By Cindi Trunk on 10-11-24
By: Galina Vromen
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Nobody's Perfect
- By: Sally Kilpatrick
- Narrated by: Coleen Marlo
- Length: 9 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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Vivian Quackenbush enjoys a typical life. She has winesday evenings with her two best friends. Her son is in college. She and her husband, Mitch, are planning the next move for their empty-nester future. But to Vivian’s blindsided surprise…not together. After nearly twenty-five years of marriage, Mitch wants a divorce. He confesses that he doesn’t love her anymore. He never even liked her chicken salad! Brutal. What is Vivian to do but channel her anger, frustration, and pain into a video she posts online.
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Fun read
- By MarciaR on 06-08-25
By: Sally Kilpatrick
The narrator really ruined this book
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Very confusing
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Loved it!
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Oh my word. Unfortunately, this one nearly put me in a reading slump. Without giving too much away, it moves from sadness to sorrow and back again. As someone who enjoys at least a glimmer of happiness amid heavy themes, this just wasn’t for me.
That said, everyone’s reading tastes are different, so I wanted to share my perspective for those considering it. If you enjoy deeply emotional, somber narratives, this might be right up your alley—but if you need moments of lightness, you might want to pass.
From sorrow to sadness and back again
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