Audiobooks narrated by Samantha Desz

Parenting in a Climate Crisis: A Handbook of Resilience and Empowerment

An urgent and useful guide for parents navigating the uncertainty of the climate crisis (their kids' and their own) that offers doable advice on how to turn the worry and fear into hope and action. Camp canceled because of wildfire smoke. Favorite beaches closed due to erosion. Recess held indoors due to extreme heat. Kids today are experiencing the climate crisis firsthand. So how do parents help it all make sense for them? And how can we keep our kids (and ourselves) from despair? Environmental journalist and parent Bridget Shirvell has created a handbook for parents to help them navigate these questions and more, weaving together expert advice from climate scientists, environmental activists, child psychologists, and parents across the country. She helps parents answer tough questions (how did we get here?) and raise kids who feel connected to and responsible for the natural world (it starts with nature walks and a family dog), feel motivated to make ecologically sound choices, and feel empowered to meet the challenges of the climate crisis (it starts with building resilience and problem-solving skills), and to ultimately fight for change.

Bridget Shirvell (Author), Samantha Desz, TBD (Narrator)

Audiobook

Dorothy Parker in Hollywood

An expansive and illuminating study of legendary writer Dorothy Parker's life and legacy in Hollywood from the author of the "fascinating" (Town & Country) Three Martini Afternoons at the Ritz. The glamorous extravagances and devasting lows of her time in Hollywood are revealed as never before in this fresh new biography of Dorothy Parker—from leaving New York City to work on numerous classic screenplays such as the 1937 A Star Is Born to the devastation of alcoholism, a miscarriage, and her husband's suicide. Parker's involvement with anti-fascist and anti-racist groups, which led to her ultimate blacklisting, and her early work in the civil rights movement that inspired her to leave her entire estate to the NAACP are also explored as never before. Just as she did with her "deliriously fast-paced and erudite" (Library Journal) dual biography of Anne Sexton and Sylvia Plath, Gail Crowther brings Parker back to life on the page in all her wit, grit, and brilliance.

Gail Crowther (Author), Samantha Desz, TBD (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Hunter's Daughter

A hypnotic, sinister debut mystery about a seemingly good cop who is secretly the daughter of a notorious serial killer. Anna Koray escaped her father's darkness long ago. When she was a girl, her childhood memories were sealed away from her conscious mind by a controversial hypnosis treatment. She's now a decorated sheriff's lieutenant serving a rural county, conducting an ordinary life far from her father's shadow. When Anna kills a man in the line of duty, her suppressed memories return. She dreams of her beloved father, his hands red with blood, surrounded by flower-decked corpses he had sacrificed to the god of the forest. To Anna's horror, a serial killer emerges who is copying her father - and who knows who she really is. Is her father still alive, or is this the work of another? Will the killer expose her, destroying everything she has built for herself? Does she want him to? But as she haunts the forest, using her father's tricks to the hunt the killer, will she find what she needs most…or lose herself in the gathering darkness?

Nicola Solvinic (Author), Samantha Desz, TBD (Narrator)

Audiobook

White Terror: A True Story of Murders, Bombings and a Far-Right Campaign to Rid Germany of Immigrant

In a tour de force of investigative journalism, White Terror tells for the first time the story of the National Socialist Underground in Germany – in an engrossing global story that examines violence, modern racism and national trauma. Before the storming of the U.S. Capitol; before the mass shootings at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, the Walmart in El Paso, or the mosque in Christchurch; before the mass-murders perpetrated by Dylann Roof in 2015 or Anders Breivik in 2011; before any of that, there was the National Socialist Underground in Germany, where the global rise of white terrorism began. Between 2000 and 2011, the NSU, a Neo-Nazi terrorist trio—one woman, two men—serially killed immigrants, funding their spree through robbing banks and aided by a vast network of like-minded extremists. Anders Breivik, whose writings are widely circulated among hate groups today, hailed the sole surviving member of the NSU as a “martyr.” In a tour de force of investigative journalism and novelistic storytelling in the vein of Say Nothing and Killers of the Flower Moon, White Terror tells the story of the NSU, taking readers back to the fall of the Berlin Wall, the reunification of East and West Germany, and the rise of Neo-Nazism. White Terror tells the story of the NSU trio, their radicalization from skinhead youths selling Nazi-themed Monopoly games and trading blows with left-wing punks to full-fledged on-the-run terrorists carrying out bombings and assassinations. But it’s also about something almost as terrifying: the German police and intelligence services that missed clues and overlooked leads, mishandled far-right informants, repeatedly tried to paint the Turkish and Greek murder victims as mafiosos, and, once the terror plot was revealed, covered-up their mistakes and refused to acknowledge their failings. Excellently put together and deeply researched, White Terror is an engrossing story first and foremost about Germany and its difficult history of racism, but also an international story that examines modern racism, an issue every country has to deal with in some form.

Jacob Kushner (Author), Samantha Desz, TBD (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Cello Still Sings: A Generational Story of the Holocaust and of the Transformative Power of Musi

A sweeping history of three generations darkened by the long shadow of the Holocaust, The Cello Still Sings is a vivid, moving, and true story of personal discovery. As a child Janet is haunted by the eerie hush surrounding her parents' experiences. George and Katherine, two professional musicians and Holocaust survivors, bury the memories of who and what they were before, silencing the past in order to live. Janet finally unravels her Holocaust heritage when she stumbles upon a clue. After the war, George performed morale-boosting programs throughout Bavaria in a twenty-member orchestra of concentration camp survivors. Although Janet also becomes a cellist, her father never discloses that two of the programs, in 1948, were led by the legendary American maestro, Leonard Bernstein. Janet's father was more fortunate than others. When he was rounded up for hard labor, narrowly missing deportation to Auschwitz, a music-loving Nazi guard gave him gloves to protect his cello-playing hands. Janet's memoir of the Holocaust is deeply personal and illuminating. Through humor and colorful story-telling, she weaves her parents' life into her own and captures the intensity of their life experiences. The lingering scars are healed through the sustenance and power of music, and their music-making unites people from generation to generation.

Janet Horvath (Author), Samantha Desz (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Viper's Nest Roadhouse & Café

I'm Sam, the werewolf book nerd owner of The Slaughtered Lamb Bookstore & Bar. Clive, Fergus, and I are moving into our new home, the business is going well, and our folly is taking shape. The problem? Clive's maker Garyn is coming to San Francisco for a visit, and this reunion has been a thousand years in the making. Back then, Garyn was rather put out when Clive accepted the dark kiss and then took off to avenge his sister's murder. And now, Garyn has had plenty of time to align her forces. Stheno and her sisters are adding to their rather impressive portfolio of businesses around the world by acquiring The Viper's Nest Roadhouse & Cafe. Medusa found the place when she was visiting San Francisco. A dive bar filled with hot tattooed bikers? Yes, please! Clive and I will need neutral territory for our meeting with Garyn, and a biker bar should fit the bill. I'd assumed my necromancy would give us an advantage. I hadn't anticipated, though, just how powerful Garyn and her allies were. When the fangs descend and the heads start rolling, it's going to take every friend we have and a nocturne full of vamps at our backs to even the playing field. Contains mature themes.

Seana Kelly (Author), Samantha Desz (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Invisible World: A Novel

'An eerie and virtuosic debut' (Helen Phillips, author of The Need) about a paranormal investigations TV show that loses control of its subject as they investigate a haunted house Eve is a frustrated young artist and the owner of what she believes is a haunted house. Sandra is an overworked producer at Searching for . . . the Invisible World, a paranormal investigations show perpetually on the brink of cancelation. When the show descends upon Eve's home, they're intent on creating just another staged spectacle. But, unexpectedly, the crew encounters some very real activity-shelves collapse, electronics go haywire, a cameraman disappears in the dead of night. Meanwhile, the show's teenage ghost hunter Caitlin is caught up in the unexplained events, convinced she's glimpsing the "other side" and desperate to make contact-even if it means putting the investigation, and herself, in jeopardy. As the terror mounts, it's up to the show's harried, skeptical producer, Sandra, to create order from the madness-or will the madness take her, too?

Nora Fussner (Author), Adam Verner, Cynthia Farrell, Jesse Vilinsky, Pete Cross, Samantha Desz, Vas Eli (Narrator)

Audiobook

In the Lonely Backwater

All seventeen-year-old Maggie Warshauer wants is to leave her stifled life in Filliyaw Creek behind and head to college. An outsider at school and uncertain of her own sexual identity, Maggie longs to start again somewhere new. Inspired by a long-dead biologist's journals, scientific-minded Maggie spends her days sailing, exploring, and categorizing life around her. But when her beautiful cousin Charisse disappears on prom night and is found dead at the marina where Maggie lives, Maggie's plans begin to unravel. A mysterious stranger begins stalking her and a local detective on the case leaves her struggling to hold on to her secrets-her father's alcoholism, her mother's abandonment, a boyfriend who may or may not exist, and her own actions on prom night. As the detective gets closer to finding the truth, and Maggie's stalker is closing in, she is forced to comes to terms with the one person who might hold the answers-herself.

Valerie Nieman (Author), Samantha Desz (Narrator)

Audiobook

Bewicched: The Sea Wicche Chronicles

I'm Arwyn Cassandra Corey, the sea wicche, or the wicche who lives by the sea. It requires a lot more work than I'd anticipated to remodel an abandoned cannery and turn it into an art gallery & tea bar. It's coming along, though, especially with the help of a new werewolf who's joined the construction crew. He does beautiful work. His sexy, growly, bearded presence is very hard to ignore, but I'm trying. I'm not sure how such a laid-back guy got the local Alpha and his pack threatening to hunt him down and tear him apart, but we all have our secrets. And because I don't want to know his-or yours for that matter-I wear these gloves. Clairvoyance makes the simplest things the absolute worst. Trust me. Or don't. Totally up to you. Did I mention my mother and grandmother are pressuring me to assume my rightful place on the Corey Council? That's a kind of governing triad for our ancient magical family, one that has more than its fair share of black magic practitioners. And yes, before you ask, people have killed to be on the council-one psychotic sorceress aunt comes to mind-but I have no interest in the power or politics that come with the position. I'd rather stick to my art and, in the words of my favorite sea wicche, help poor unfortunate souls. (Good luck trying to get that song out of your head now.) Contains mature themes.

Seana Kelly (Author), Samantha Desz (Narrator)

Audiobook

Guardians of the Valley: John Muir and the Friendship that Saved Yosemite

* "We see through this book the immense power of language…to change the minds of lawmakers and tourists alike." —The New York Times Book Review * "A poignant portrait of an era when mere words could change the world." —San Francisco Chronicle * The dramatic and uplifting story of legendary outdoorsman and conservationist John Muir's journey to save Yosemite is "a rich, enjoyable excursion into a seminal period in environmental history" (The Wall Street Journal). In June of 1889 in San Francisco, John Muir—iconic environmentalist, writer, and philosopher—meets face-to-face for the first time with his longtime editor Robert Underwood Johnson, an elegant and influential figure at The Century magazine. Before long, the pair, opposites in many ways, decide to venture to Yosemite Valley, the magnificent site where twenty years earlier, Muir experienced a personal and spiritual awakening that would set the course of the rest of his life. Upon their arrival the men are confronted with a shocking vision, as predatory mining, tourism, and logging industries have plundered and defaced "the grandest of all the special temples of Nature." While Muir is devastated, Johnson, an arbiter of the era's pressing issues in the pages of the nation's most prestigious magazine, decides that he and Muir must fight back. The pact they form marks a watershed moment, leading to the creation of Yosemite National Park, and launching an environmental battle that captivates the nation and ushers in the beginning of the American environmental movement. "Comprehensively researched and compellingly readable" (Booklist, starred review), Guardians of the Valley is a moving story of friendship, the written word, and the transformative power of nature. It is also a timely and powerful "origin story" as the towering environmental challenges we face today become increasingly urgent.

Dean King (Author), Samantha Desz (Narrator)

Audiobook

Deliberate Calm: How to Learn and Lead in a Volatile World

A trio of McKinsey & Company veterans draws from a unique combination of psychology, neuroscience, and consciousness practices plus a combined 50-plus years of international board room experience to offer a unique approach to learning and leading with awareness and intentional choice, even amidst the most challenging circumstances. As the speed of change in our increasingly complex world accelerates daily, leaders are tasked with performing outside of their familiar zones both in their personal and professional lives. This requires us to adapt. Yet, the same conditions that make adapting so important can also trigger fear, leading us to resist change and default to reactive behavior. The authors call this the “adaptability paradox”: when we most need to learn and change, we stick with what we know, often in ways that stifle learning and innovation. To avoid this trap, leaders must become proactive so they can lead ahead of the curve. Enter Deliberate Calm, a tangible guide that combines cutting-edge neuroscience, psychology, and consciousness practices, along with the authors’ decades of experience working with leaders around the globe. By practicing Dual Awareness, which integrates our internal and external experiences, leaders can become fluid and respond to challenges with intentional choice instead of being limited by their old success models. With Deliberate Calm, anyone can lead and learn with awareness and choice to realize their full potential, even in times of uncertainty, complexity, and change. Supplemental enhancement PDF accompanies the audiobook.

Aaron De Smet, Jacqueline Brassey, Michiel Kruyt (Author), Samantha Desz (Narrator)

Audiobook

Biergarten of the Damned

I'm Sam, the werewolf book nerd owner of The Slaughtered Lamb Bookstore & Bar. I've always thought of Dave, my red-skinned, shark-eyed, half-demon cook, as a kind of foul-mouthed uncle, one occasionally given to bouts of uncontrolled anger. Something's going on, though. He's acting strangely, hiding things. When I asked what was wrong, he blew me off and told me to quit bugging him. That's normal enough. What's not is his missing work. Ever. Other demons are appearing in the bar, looking for him. I'm getting worried, and his banshee girlfriend Maggie isn't answering my calls. Demons terrify me. I do NOT want to go into any demon bars looking for Dave, but he's my family, sort of. I need to try to help, whether he wants me to or not. When I finally learn the truth, though . . . I'm not sure I can ever look at him again, let alone have him work for me. Are there limits to forgiveness? I think there might be. Contains mature themes.

Seana Kelly (Author), Samantha Desz (Narrator)

Audiobook

Audiobooks Narrated by Samantha Desz