Audiobooks narrated by Morgan Hallett

Wards of the State: The Long Shadow of American Foster Care

Told through the stories of eight former foster youth, a jolting exploration of a broken system from an award-winning journalistBy the time Maryanne was 19 years old, she was on trial for murder. After having been in and out of the foster homes for nearly a decade, she was trafficked, assaulted, and ultimately pointed a gun at her assailant—and pulled the trigger. She fled, but with no family and no real friends, it didn’t take long for the police to catch up with her. However, in court, the defense blamed not the traffickers, nor Maryanne, but the state itself—or rather, the foster care system, which turns the state into the parent of hundreds of thousands of children. The state of Washington didn’t listen, but Claudia Rowe did.Wards of the State by journalist and author Claudia Rowe widens an eye-opening case from a true-crime lens to an exploration of the foster care-to-prison pipeline. The system is broken––hundreds of thousands of children every year leave America’s $30 billion dollar foster care system and enter its prisons, where in some cases, 75 percent of inmates are former foster kids. Through the stories of eight former foster kids, Rowe illustrates exactly where, when, and how the system is failing the children that it parents. With accounts from psychologists to advocates to court room judges to the former foster children themselves, Wards of the State paves a road to reform by pulling back the curtain on the heartbreaking realities faced by children in a system that fails its most vulnerable youth.

Claudia Rowe (Author), Morgan Hallett, TBD (Narrator)

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Seven Secrets to the Perfect Personal Essay: Crafting the Story Only You Could Write

Invaluable advice for writing a knockout essay—for college admissions or self-expression—that moves readers and reveals insights into the human condition Everyone has a story, and helping people tell their stories has been Nancy Slonim Aronie’s life mission. Building on her acclaimed Memoir as Medicine, this new guide tackles the short personal essay. With warmth and humor, Nancy provides prompts, inspiration, and hard-won wisdom to empower you to write an unforgettable narrative. You’ll learn to begin with an irresistible hook (“kill ’em with the first line”) and employ compelling direct quotes, drama, vulnerability, universal themes, and self-reflection to get readers into your corner. Nancy illustrates her advice with remarkable examples of her own and others’ essays. You’ll read about actor Tony Shalhoub’s unlikely canine savior, Kate Taylor’s collaboration with Peter Asher and Elton John in the musical crucible of Los Angeles in 1970, Nancy and her beloved husband’s adventures in polyamory, and much more. In a culture increasingly inundated with generic AI-generated text, a well-crafted personal narrative is more important than ever, a declaration of human connection and meaning. Use Nancy’s secrets to stand out from the crowd and get your one-of-a-kind story onto the page.

Nancy Slonim Aronie (Author), Morgan Hallett (Narrator)

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Meet Me at the Starlight: A Christian Romance Novel by New York Times Bestseller Author Set in 1980s

Eighties supermodel Harlow Hayes seeks solace in a quaint Florida beach town to hide and heal from a heartbreak that shattered her entire world. To her surprise, she encounters Matt Knight--a Hollywood A-lister with a bad-boy reputation--who has returned to his hometown to help his plucky grandmother, Tuesday, save her century-old skating rink, the Starlight. The Starlight holds a special place in the hearts of the community, once acting as a refuge for Depression-era families and bringing the town together with gatherings and celebrations. Tuesday's determination and resilience even protected her beloved rink from her husband's shady business dealings. Yet when the Starlight is threatened with demolition, Tuesday may not be able to stop it. As Matt and Harlow plot with Tuesday to save the Starlight, they find themselves on a journey of surprises, self-discovery, and the kind of healing that leads to love. New York Times bestselling author Rachel Hauck weaves a heartfelt tale of romance, perseverance, and the enduring power of community.

Rachel Hauck (Author), Andrea Gallo, Morgan Hallett, Nick Walther, TBD (Narrator)

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Dark Tide: Growing Up With Ted Bundy

Including never-before-seen photos and handwritten letters from Bundy, Dark Tide’s message is as gut-wrenching as it is clear, asking the question: how well do we know those we trust most? Edna’s world turned upside down when her close cousin, Ted Bundy, was linked to the gruesome murders that had plagued her hometown of Seattle. Both devastating and dangerous, she reveals her journey of discovering the truth about her cousin who was more like a sibling, a man she loved, admired, and thought she knew so well. Edna delves into the unbelievable and chilling episodes she experienced, from confronting Ted and discovering a side of him she never suspected to waking to the FBI at her door after he escaped jail. Whether searching memories for signs she’d missed or detailing scenes of life under the radar in a world still fixated on her cousin, Edna’s account tells the Ted Bundy story from a critical, new perspective: someone who called him family.

Edna Cowell Martin, Megan Atkinson (Author), Morgan Hallett, TBD (Narrator)

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Heidi Across America: One Woman's Journey on a Bicycle through the Heartland

A memoir of homecoming – Heidi Across America is a gritty story of how opening our hearts to others enables us to open our hearts to ourselves and love what we find there. In the summer of 2010, Heidi Beierle had just finished her first year of graduate studies in community and regional planning and decided to pedal her bicycle solo from her home on the west coast across rural America to the Preserving the Historic Road conference in Washington, D.C. What started as a research trip turned into an intimately physical and psychological encounter with self and nationhood. Heidi was 35 at the time and didn’t love much about herself except her ability to endure grueling physical undertakings. She viewed her journey as an opportunity to fix her failures and insufficiencies. There were also some research questions she wanted to explore: Why do people live in small towns and what do they like about it? Did a bicyclist like herself bring economic benefit to the small towns she visited? What could communities do to support or invite cyclists to stay in their towns? What could cyclists do to support the communities? Along the way, she was surprised by the kindness of strangers and the emotional pinch of traveling through Wyoming where she grew up. Her journey led her through the Plains and into the Ozarks where the heat climbed to agonizing temperatures and every pedal stroke in the heat felt one closer to death. By the time she completed the trip, Heidi discovered a newfound compassion for herself and a growing love for her country. Strangers opened their hearts to her and in turn, she opened her heart to herself. And her questions began to change and mirror things many Americans are asking themselves today: How can I be okay in my own skin? What does it mean to be enough? How do I satisfy my desire to travel without harming the planet? What does it mean to love America? For many young people, it is a rite of passage to light out on an adventure to see the world and expose themselves to new experiences, but we don’t often talk about how Americans seeing America can open us to the diversity, awe, and wonder available right here in our nation. Heidi Across America offers a journey to self-love, empathy, consideration for others, and respect for the spirit of place as pathways to find connection and home.

Heidi Beierle (Author), Morgan Hallett (Narrator)

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Beyond Enemies

An assignment on a backwater world turns deadly for a combat vet and her AI tank. Military SF with heart and humor from up-and-coming author Marisa Wolf. Sometimes the only way forward is to burn it all down. Talinn Reaze and Bee serve as “Breezy,” part of the United Colonial Force’s elite Artificial Intelligence Troops. Trained for full integration since before Talinn’s birth, they exceeded expectations and became one of the premier heavy tanks, leading assaults on several fronts of the long war against the Interstellar Defense Corps. When they’re thrown to a backwater base without cause, boredom becomes their main enemy—until the world falls out from under their treads and they begin to question everything they’ve ever known. As they orient to their new reality, they have a decision to make: Uphold the status quo, or risk burning civilization to the ground? Talinn and Bee always did have a fondness for fire.

Marisa Wolf (Author), Morgan Hallett (Narrator)

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Antarctica Station: A Thriller

At the end of the world, a groundbreaking scientific experiment will change everything. Dr. Laura Reynolds had it all. A job she loved. The respect of her peers. Student debt she was slowly chipping away at. And one day, it all went away. She saw the wrong thing—a colleague's mistake. And to escape, he framed her. Laura's only option is to join a secretive research project in Antarctica, where she hopes to keep practicing medicine and one day get her life back. But soon after arriving, she realizes that things aren't what they seem in this advanced facility. And perhaps something strange is happening in the world outside. Welcome to Antarctica Station, A.G. Riddle's first new sci-fi thriller in almost a year. It's a deep dive into the science and history of Antarctica—with a twist few will see coming.

A.G. Riddle (Author), Morgan Hallett (Narrator)

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The Iron Children

Asher has been training her entire life to become a Sor-Commander. One day, she’ll give her soul to the gilded, mechanical body of the Sor and become a commander to a whole battalion of Dedicates. These soldiers, human bodies encased in exoskeletons, with extra arms, and telepathic subordination to the SorCommanders, are the only thing that’s kept the much larger Levastani army of conquest at bay for decades. But while on a training journey, Asher and her party are attacked, and her commander is incapacitated, leaving her alone to lead the unit across a bitterly cold, unstable mountain. Worse, one of the Dedicates is not what they seem: a spy for the enemy, with their own reasons to hate their mechanical body and the people who put them in it. To get off the mountain alive, Asher and her unit will need to decide how much they’re willing to sacrifice—and what for.

Rebecca Fraimow (Author), Morgan Hallett (Narrator)

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Blind Trust

She’s risking her life. He’s risking his heart. It’s unclear which is more dangerous. Lyla Fox knows she has a reputation at the SNAP Agency for being impulsive, but when she receives a threatening letter from a man she helped put in prison, she can’t stop herself from going all in to find out why he’s coming after her. Unfortunately, she’s going to need the help of the one person who questions her choices more than anyone else. Explosives and weapons specialist Nicolás Garcia agrees to help Lyla in order to keep her safe, but her recklessness continues to be a major concern, especially when her investigation into a conspiracy puts a target on her back. Dealing with bombs is dangerous. Working with Lyla is proving to be just as treacherous—to both the mission and his heart.

Natalie Walters (Author), Morgan Hallett (Narrator)

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A Feeling of Home

Can she set aside the pain from the past to embrace a new love? Isabelle Wardrop’s well-to-do life has completely unraveled. Within months, she’s lost both her parents, her fortune, and her home. With nowhere else to turn, she and her younger sister move in with a trusted former servant in an impoverished area of the city. Desperate for work but having no qualifications, Isabelle is forced to accept help from Dr. Mark Henshaw, the very man she blames for her mother’s death. Mark Henshaw has admired Isabelle for several months, but after the tragic death of her mother, he vows to make amends for the past and help her find her way. But when Mark learns his younger brother has formed an undesirable friendship with Isabelle’s sister—one that brings a whole new set of problems into their lives—he doesn’t know if Isabelle will ever forgive him. When startling developments begin to take place, both within Isabelle’s heart and their siblings’ relationship, her future looks very different than anything she could have imagined.

Susan Anne Mason (Author), Morgan Hallett (Narrator)

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The Jigsaw Assassin

Selei City is the capital of the Imerialte and one of the most desired locales in all of the Skolian Empire. But its thin veneer of civilization is cracked when a series of brutal crimes implicates those in political power in a vast conspiracy. Three prominent scientists have lost their lives to a serial killer—and notes at the scenes of the crimes lead to a connection to the Royalist political party. Major Bhaajan, former military officer turned private detective, is called back to Selei City to solve the crime. Bhaaj and her crew of Undercity Dust Knights plunge into the Byzantine world of Imperial politics—a jigsaw world where none of the pieces seem to fit. As the assassination plot becomes more and more convoluted, Bhaaj is kidnapped, threatened with death, and must fight for her life against the growing number of people threatened by her investigation. Bhaaj has faced all this and more, but now she must deal with something far deadlier—interstellar politics.

Catherine Asaro (Author), Morgan Hallett (Narrator)

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When She Dreams

Return to 1930s Burning Cove, California, the glamorous seaside playground for Hollywood stars, mobsters, spies, and a host of others who find more than they bargained for in this mysterious town. Maggie Lodge, assistant to the reclusive advice columnist known only as Dear Aunt Cornelia to her readers, hires down-but-not-quite-out private eye Sam Sage to help track down the person who is blackmailing her employer. Maggie and Sam are a mismatched pair. As far as Sam is concerned, Maggie is reckless and in over her head. She is not what he had in mind for a client, but he can’t afford to be choosy. Maggie, on the other hand, is convinced that Sam is badly in need of guidance and good advice. She does not hesitate to give him both. In spite of the verbal fireworks between them, they are fiercely attracted to each other, but both are sure it would be a mistake to let passion take over. They are, after all, keeping secrets. Sam is haunted by his past, which includes a marriage shattered by betrayal and violence. Maggie is troubled by intense and vivid dreams—dreams that she can sometimes control. There are those who want to run experiments on her and use her for their own purposes, while others think she should be committed to an asylum. When the pair discovers someone is impersonating Aunt Cornelia at a conference on psychic dreaming and a woman dies at the conference, the door is opened to a dangerous web of blackmail and murder. Secrets from the past are revealed, leaving Maggie and Sam in the path of a ruthless killer who will stop at nothing to exact vengeance.

Amanda Quick (Author), Morgan Hallett (Narrator)

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Audiobooks Narrated by Morgan Hallett