Audiobook Review of The Invisible Girls by Sarah Thebarge read by Kisten Potter

The Invisible Girls by Sarah Thebarge
Read by Kirsten Potter

From OasisAudio.com

A girl scarred by her past. A refugee mother uncertain of her future. Five little girls who brought them together.

After nearly dying of breast cancer in her twenties, Sarah Thebarge fled her successful career, her Ivy League education, and a failed relationship on the East Coast and started over in Portland, Oregon. She was hoping to quietly pick up the pieces of her broken life, but instead she met Hadhi and her daughters, and set out on an adventure she’d never anticipated.

Hadhi was fighting battles of her own. A Somali refugee abandoned by her husband, she was struggling to raise five young daughters in a culture she didn’t understand. When their worlds collided, Hadhi and the girls were on the brink of starvation in their own home, “invisible” in a neighborhood of strangers. As Sarah helped Hadhi and the girls navigate American life, her outreach to the family became a source of courage and a lifeline for herself.

Poignant, and at times shattering, Sarah Thebarge’s riveting memoir invites listeners into her story, finding connection, love, and redemption in the most unexpected places.

This audio book contains adult language.

My Take:  This was a very emotional book.  There was anger, sadness, grief, unbelief just to name a few of the emotions I felt while listening to this book.  I could not imagine what if would be like to have to undergo a mastectomy at such a young age.  I felt for Sarah as she related what she felt as she had to undergo the surgeries and treatments for this disease and then also to have to deal with others reactions to her diagnosis was horrible also.  

I was inspired when she relayed the way that she met the family of Somali refugees and how she befriended them and helped them to navigate our culture and all the things that we take for granted she helped them to learn, like turning on the heat or turning on the oven or even using the bathroom.  Sarah's willingness to reach out and help these refuges has inspired me to be more willing to reach out and help those around me.  

As the summary says above there is some adult language but it all was quite understandable in the context that it was used.  

I thought that Kirsten Potter did an excellent job with the narration.  

I recommend this book but I would suggest not listening to it around small children because of the language.  

I received a review copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion from Oasis Audio. 

Heaven is For Real by Todd, Sonya, and Colton Burpo Audio Book of the Week

This week's Audio Book of the Week is Heaven is For Real by the Burpo's and Read by Dean Gallagher




From Oasis Audio Site:
Do you remember the hospital, Colton?” Sonja said. “Yes, mommy, I remember,” he said. “That’s where the angels sang to me.”

When Colton Burpo made it through an emergency appendectomy, his family was overjoyed at his miraculous survival. What they weren’t expecting, though, was the story that emerged in the months that followed—a story as beautiful as it was extraordinary, detailing their little boy’s trip to heaven and back. Colton, not yet four years old, told his parents he left his body during the surgery–and authenticated that claim by describing exactly what his parents were doing in another part of the hospital while he was being operated on. He talked of visiting heaven and relayed stories told to him by people he met there whom he had never met in life, sharing events that happened even before he was born. He also astonished his parents with descriptions and obscure details about heaven that matched the Bible exactly, though he had not yet learned to read. With disarming innocence and the plainspoken boldness of a child, Colton tells of meeting long-departed family members. He describes Jesus, the angels, how “really, really big” God is, and how much God loves us. Retold by his father, but using Colton’s uniquely simple words, Heaven is for Real offers a glimpse of the world that awaits us, where as Colton says, “Nobody is old and nobody wears glasses.”

My Take:
when I was offered the opportunity to review the Oasis Audio book Heaven is for Real I was not really sure how I felt about the whole out o boy experiences and visiting Heaven and coming back topic.  After listing to this book I really don't know if I think that Colton really went to Heaven or not.  A lot of the things that they pointed out that he couldn't have known I think that he might have heard from someone.  Growing up in a Christian home and church children tend to pick up things even if they seem to no be listening. 
But If Colton did go to Heaven he tells a tale of some really wonderful things that I would love to see when I get to Heaven.  He describes what Heaven is like, about the people he met, the angels and Jesus. A wondrous place to be.
The Narrator Dean Gallagher did an excellent job at reading the book and got across all the wonder that Colton was feeling when he was describing the various things from his visit to Heaven.
I would recommend that you pick up this book and make up your own mind about the topic.  And if Colton is correct then Heaven is for Real and it is a magnificent place.

I received a review copy of this audio book from Oasis Audio. I was not required to write a positive review.

Thou Shalt Laugh Oasis Audio

Thou Shalt Laugh  Oasis Audio

From Amazon:
From the producer of the enormously popular Blue Collar Comedy Tour: The Movie, Thou Shalt Laugh is the hit standup comedy series audio book that's cleaning up comedy one BLEEP at a time! Thou Shalt Laugh started with a simple premise. There are dozens of incredibly gifted Christian comedians working all over the country today –why don't more people know about them? Producers Hunt Lowry and Jonathan Bock scouted comedy clubs nationwide to bring you the funniest Christian comedians on the planet. With world famous hosts, the Thou Shalt Laugh comedy audio book will be sure to entertain you, your family and your friends from now until the rapture. Looking for funny? Your prayers have been answered.



My Take:  I watched the first dvd of this series and laughed so much that I jumped at the chance to listen to it on audio.  This takes several of the acts on the the various dvds and brings them to audio.  I was laughing from the moment I started listening and I didn't have to worry that my daughter would hear anything that wasn't appropiate.  Great listen and brightened my day. 
The only thing that I didn't like was that I thought that the transistion between acts could have been better but I realize that it is difficult when you are using live material. 

Great for the whole family.  I highly recommend this to everyone.