Audiobooks Like The Glass Castle

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Jeannette Walls narrates her own memoir, which changes the quality of the listening experience entirely — this isn't an actor interpreting someone's life, it's the person herself deciding which memories to hold steady and which to let tremble. At 10 hours she earns the emotional weight without overstaying. Every single title on this list has earned extremely high listener ratings, and the recommendations share that same quality of nonfiction that sounds like the author found the right distance from their material.

10 audiobooks for fans of The Glass Castle

  1. 1
    Finding Me cover

    Finding Me

    by Viola Davis

    Narrated by Viola Davis

    ★ 4.91 ABR Score (228.9K ratings)
    ★ 4.53 Goodreads (184.9K) ★ 4.94 Audible (44.0K)
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    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.

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  2. 2
    Educated cover

    Educated

    by Tara Westover

    Narrated by Julia Whelan

    ★ 4.84 ABR Score (2.0M ratings)
    ★ 4.46 Goodreads (1.9M) ★ 4.78 Audible (128.2K)
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    Westover recounts her journey from Idaho survivalist compound to Cambridge PhD, with Julia Whelan capturing both her initial naivety and hard-won wisdom.

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  3. 3
    I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings cover

    I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

    Maya Angelou's Autobiography • Book 1

    by Maya Angelou

    Narrated by Maya Angelou

    ★ 4.59 ABR Score (596.3K ratings)
    ★ 4.3 Goodreads (586.4K) ★ 4.74 Audible (9.9K)
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    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.

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  4. 4
    Born a Crime cover

    Born a Crime

    by Trevor Noah

    Narrated by Chumel Torres

    ★ 4.47 ABR Score (817.2K ratings)
    ★ 4.49 Goodreads (817.0K) ★ 4.86 Audible (169)
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    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.

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  5. 5
    The Choice: Embrace the Possible cover

    The Choice: Embrace the Possible

    by Edith Eger, Edith Eva Eger

    Narrated by Tovah Feldshuh

    ★ 4.80 ABR Score (138.9K ratings)
    ★ 4.57 Goodreads (132.9K) ★ 4.91 Audible (6.0K)
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    Holocaust survivor Edith Eger's journey from Auschwitz prisoner forced to dance for Mengele to renowned psychologist becomes profoundly intimate through Tovah Feldshuh's compassionate narration.

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  6. 6
    Never Finished: Unshackle Your Mind and Win the War Within cover

    Never Finished: Unshackle Your Mind and Win the War Within

    by David Goggins

    Narrated by David Goggins, Adam Skolnick, Jacqueline Gardner

    ★ 4.76 ABR Score (80.2K ratings)
    ★ 4.39 Goodreads (48.0K) ★ 4.9 Audible (32.2K)
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    Goggins continues his brutal honesty about mental toughness, sharing strategies from his 'Mental Lab' for pushing past perceived limitations and comfortable mediocrity.

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  7. 7
    Stripped Down cover

    Stripped Down

    by Bunnie Xo

    Narrated by Bunnie Xo

    ★ 4.71 ABR Score (12.2K ratings)
    ★ 4.59 Goodreads (7.6K) ★ 4.92 Audible (4.6K)
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    From Vegas trailer parks to Nashville mansions, Bunnie Xo narrates her own brutal journey with unflinching honesty and surprising humor about addiction and redemption.

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  8. 8
    What My Bones Know cover

    What My Bones Know

    by Stephanie Foo

    Narrated by Stephanie Foo

    ★ 4.68 ABR Score (83.9K ratings)
    ★ 4.49 Goodreads (79.3K) ★ 4.85 Audible (4.6K)
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    This American Life producer Foo narrates her own journey through complex PTSD diagnosis and treatment, bringing raw honesty to her exploration of intergenerational trauma and healing.

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  9. 9
    God's Smuggler cover

    God's Smuggler

    by Unknown Author

    Narrated by Simon Vance

    ★ 4.63 ABR Score (50.5K ratings)
    ★ 4.38 Goodreads (47.8K) ★ 4.9 Audible (2.6K)
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    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.

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  10. 10
    Unprotected cover

    Unprotected

    by Billy Porter

    Narrated by Billy Porter

    ★ 4.61 ABR Score (12.6K ratings)
    ★ 4.46 Goodreads (9.2K) ★ 4.88 Audible (3.4K)
    More about this pick

    Billy Porter narrates his own powerful memoir about race, sexuality, art, and healing with the same bold authenticity that defines his career. His voice carries the weight of survival and the joy of hard-won self-acceptance.

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How We Rank Audiobooks

Rankings are driven by listener ratings and review counts from Audible and Goodreads. Books with high ratings across a large number of listeners rank higher — a 4.5 with 50,000 ratings says more than a 4.8 with 200.

Unlike most book lists, we weight audiobook-specific factors: narrator performance, production quality, and how well a story translates to audio. A great book with a poor narration isn't a great audiobook.

We don't accept paid placements or prioritize new releases. These rankings reflect what listeners actually enjoy, not what's being promoted.

Rankings update periodically as new ratings come in and new titles are added to the collection.

Read our full ranking methodology →