Audiobooks Like Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing

10 audiobooks for fans of Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing

1. 1

   

   Finding Me

   by Viola Davis

   Narrated by Viola Davis

   ★ 4.93 ABR Score (228.9K ratings)

   ★ 4.53 Goodreads (184.9K) ★ 4.94 Audible (44.0K)

   9h 15m listening time • Released 2022

   Viola Davis narrates her own journey from poverty in Rhode Island to Oscar-winning actress with raw honesty and power. Hearing her voice tell stories of trauma, resilience, and artistic discovery creates an intimate connection.

   More about this pick

   Viola Davis narrates her own journey from poverty in Rhode Island to Oscar-winning actress with raw honesty and power. Hearing her voice tell stories of trauma, resilience, and artistic discovery creates an intimate connection.

   Start Listening → Get the Book →
   Start Listening → Get the Book →
2. 2

   

   The In-Between: Unforgettable Encounters During Life's Final Moments

   by Hadley Vlahos

   Narrated by Hadley Vlahos R.N.

   ★ 4.72 ABR Score (54.7K ratings)

   ★ 4.49 Goodreads (50.9K) ★ 4.89 Audible (3.8K)

   7h 19m listening time • Released 2023

   Hospice nurse Hadley Vlahos narrates her own profound experiences with dying patients, bringing intimate authenticity to these stories of life's most sacred transitions.

   More about this pick

   Hospice nurse Hadley Vlahos narrates her own profound experiences with dying patients, bringing intimate authenticity to these stories of life's most sacred transitions.

   Start Listening → Get the Book →
   Start Listening → Get the Book →
3. 3

   

   God's Smuggler

   by Unknown Author

   Narrated by Simon Vance

   ★ 4.65 ABR Score (50.5K ratings)

   ★ 4.38 Goodreads (47.8K) ★ 4.9 Audible (2.6K)

   8h 48m listening time • Released 2009

   Simon Vance's measured, trustworthy delivery transforms this true account of Bible smuggling into a page-turner that feels both intimate and urgent. A modern classic that still grips because the stakes, and the faith, feel devastatingly real.

   More about this pick

   Simon Vance's measured, trustworthy delivery transforms this true account of Bible smuggling into a page-turner that feels both intimate and urgent. A modern classic that still grips because the stakes, and the faith, feel devastatingly real.

   Start Listening → Get the Book →
   Start Listening → Get the Book →
4. 4

   

   I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

   Maya Angelou's Autobiography • Book 1

   by Maya Angelou

   Narrated by Maya Angelou

   ★ 4.61 ABR Score (596.3K ratings)

   ★ 4.3 Goodreads (586.4K) ★ 4.74 Audible (9.9K)

   10h 11m listening time • Released 2011

   Maya Angelou chronicles her childhood in 1930s Arkansas, from racist violence to finding her voice through literature and poetry. Hearing Angelou read her own words creates an intimacy that print cannot match.

   More about this pick

   Maya Angelou chronicles her childhood in 1930s Arkansas, from racist violence to finding her voice through literature and poetry. Hearing Angelou read her own words creates an intimacy that print cannot match.

   Start Listening → Get the Book →
   Start Listening → Get the Book →
5. 5

   

   The Glass Castle

   by Jeannette Walls

   Narrated by Jeannette Walls

   ★ 4.53 ABR Score (1.4M ratings)

   ★ 4.33 Goodreads (1.4M) ★ 4.58 Audible (18.5K)

   10h 25m listening time • Released 2010

   Walls' childhood with brilliant but destructive alcoholic parents comes to vivid life through her own narration of this harrowing yet loving memoir.

   More about this pick

   Walls' childhood with brilliant but destructive alcoholic parents comes to vivid life through her own narration of this harrowing yet loving memoir.

   Start Listening → Get the Book →
   Start Listening → Get the Book →
6. 6

   

   Born a Crime

   by Trevor Noah

   Narrated by Chumel Torres

   ★ 4.49 ABR Score (817.2K ratings)

   ★ 4.49 Goodreads (817.0K) ★ 4.86 Audible (169)

   9h 25m listening time • Released 2021

   Noah recounts growing up mixed-race in apartheid South Africa, when his very existence was illegal. Chumel Torres' Spanish narration brings warmth and humor to these powerful stories of family and survival.

   More about this pick

   Noah recounts growing up mixed-race in apartheid South Africa, when his very existence was illegal. Chumel Torres' Spanish narration brings warmth and humor to these powerful stories of family and survival.

   Start Listening → Get the Book →
   Start Listening → Get the Book →
7. 7

   

   The Sound of Gravel

   by Ruth Wariner

   Narrated by Ruth Wariner

   ★ 4.45 ABR Score (73.6K ratings)

   ★ 4.31 Goodreads (68.6K) ★ 4.65 Audible (5.0K)

   9h 4m listening time • Released 2016

   Wariner's own narration of her polygamist childhood in rural Mexico carries the weight of lived experience, making every revelation hit with devastating authenticity.

   More about this pick

   Wariner's own narration of her polygamist childhood in rural Mexico carries the weight of lived experience, making every revelation hit with devastating authenticity.

   Start Listening → Get the Book →
   Start Listening → Get the Book →
8. 8

   

   Stripped Down

   by Bunnie Xo

   Narrated by Bunnie Xo

   ★ 4.74 ABR Score (12.2K ratings)

   ★ 4.59 Goodreads (7.6K) ★ 4.92 Audible (4.6K)

   8h 25m listening time • Released 2026

   From Vegas trailer parks to Nashville mansions, Bunnie Xo narrates her own brutal journey with unflinching honesty and surprising humor about addiction and redemption.

   More about this pick

   From Vegas trailer parks to Nashville mansions, Bunnie Xo narrates her own brutal journey with unflinching honesty and surprising humor about addiction and redemption.

   Start Listening → Get the Book →
   Start Listening → Get the Book →
9. 9

   

   The Light We Carry: Overcoming in Uncertain Times

   by Michelle Obama

   Narrated by Michelle Obama

   ★ 4.64 ABR Score (111.3K ratings)

   ★ 4.27 Goodreads (99.7K) ★ 4.83 Audible (11.6K)

   9h 59m listening time • Released 2022

   Obama's personal narration adds warmth to her practical strategies for maintaining hope and balance during turbulent times.

   More about this pick

   Obama's personal narration adds warmth to her practical strategies for maintaining hope and balance during turbulent times.

   Start Listening → Get the Book →
   Start Listening → Get the Book →
10. 10

    

    Outlaw Platoon: Heroes, Renegades, Infidels, and the Brotherhood of War in Afghanistan

    by Sean Parnell, John R. Bruning

    Narrated by Ray Porter

    ★ 4.63 ABR Score (20.7K ratings)

    ★ 4.4 Goodreads (13.3K) ★ 4.84 Audible (7.4K)

    10h 18m listening time • Released 2012

    Ray Porter's gravelly delivery cuts through the chaos of combat and the raw intimacy of brotherhood—he makes you feel the weight of command decisions that haunt you long after the final mission ends.

    More about this pick

    Ray Porter's gravelly delivery cuts through the chaos of combat and the raw intimacy of brotherhood—he makes you feel the weight of command decisions that haunt you long after the final mission ends.

    Start Listening → Get the Book →
    Start Listening → Get the Book →