Nobody wants to hear it, but growing up is inevitable and can’t be avoided. 12-year-olds become middle-aged men and women in the blink of an eye, and youthful crushes soon become embittered husbands and wives. The history of literature is packed with classic coming-of-age best sellers, from J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye to To Kill a Mockingbird and the rest. Still, plenty of other brilliant audiobooks about growing up (and getting old) are just waiting to be discovered. From young adult books to iconic tales covering gender identity, these listens are perfect for older, young, and middle-aged people. Getting older is inevitable. After all, you might as well enjoy this long life.
Growing up isn’t the same for everybody. Sure, that seems somewhat redundant, but listeners are in no doubt after experiencing the intense beauty of Cea Sunrise Person’s brilliant North of Normal. Narrated by the author, this is the story of a childhood decidedly different from that of most young girls, of a family giving up the beautiful comfort of California for subsistence living in the middle of Canadian nowhere.
North of Normal is a compelling listen from start to finish, conjuring up questions of belonging and normality without skimping on the fun and the hilarity. Not all childhoods are the same, but some are more different than others.
There is a reason Michael Crummey’s latest heartbreaking novel has been in the conversation for any literary award worth mentioning (including being a finalist for the 2019 Scotiabank Giller Prize). The Innocents is a lush tale about two siblings working out how to live on the northern shores of Newfoundland, an isolated stretch of Canada with plenty of space for wandering thoughts and dreams.
The relationship between a brother and a sister is one of the most magical that this world cultivates, but things aren’t always as simple as they seem. Great siblings don’t always make best friends. Gorgeously narrated by Mary Lewis, The Innocents is a must-read turned must-listen.
Initially published in 1953, James Baldwin’s debut novel remains startlingly prescient today. It has long been a must-read, but Adam Lazarre-White’s tender narration of Go Tell It on the Mountain takes a great book and creates a remarkable audiobook.
Go Tell It on the Mountain is a powerful look into 1930s Harlem with the church at its core, an influence as damaging and neglectful as it was inspiring and uplifting. It is an audiobook about changing minds, changing bodies, and changing worlds, with John Grimes caught in the middle of it all.
There are good and great books; Go Tell It On the Mountain is very much in the latter category. This is an essential book, available in audio format.
Jeannette Walls had a dysfunctional upbringing, although that is an understatement. It was a wandering life with romance everywhere, but romance isn’t eternal. Eventually, the rose-tinted views faded, and Walls surrounded herself with nothing but grey. Escape was the only option, but such things are easier said than done.
Fantastically narrated by Walls herself, her memoir The Glass Castle is empowering and imposing in equal measure. This audiobook is an intense tale of growing up that is as prescient for older listeners as it is for high school teens. The Glass Castle is a stunning listen, one of the best audiobooks about growing up out there right now.
Betty Smith’s 1943 classic A Tree Grows in Brooklyn is a shimmering tale of growing up in the 1900s under impossible circumstances. Eleven-year-old Francie Nolan doesn’t have it easy. The family has moved from Ireland to Brooklyn, and the American Dream is a little less glittering than the Nolans had hoped. When her father dies, this pre-teen has to grow up and grow up fast.
With her masterful narration, Kate Burton does a tremendous job of bringing Smith’s characters to life, filling the audiobook with tender love and space at all the right times. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn is the story of a tween growing older fast, but it is about so much more than that, making for an absolute must-listen.
Unorthodox is a coming-of-age story with a difference. Deborah Feldman was born into a strict Hasidic community, but the nagging feeling that it wasn’t for her never faded. What follows is a tale of bravery and determination on an entirely different level, of a young girl fighting against the odds to forge a life she wants to live.
A New York Times best-selling title, Unorthodox is stunningly narrated by Rachel Botchan and Cassandra Campbell, adding another sheen of magic to a remarkable tale. You only get one chance at life, and Deborah Feldman wasn’t about to let that pass her by. A girl’s guide to life? Not quite, but a gripping listen nonetheless.
FOLD (Festival of Literary Diversity) founder Jael Richardson’s debut novel Gutter Child sparkles in audio format, with Phoenix Pagliacci’s narration meshing perfectly with the story’s intensity. That story is one of a world divided between those in charge and those in servitude, with ongoing work seemingly the only way out.
Gutter Child is a heart-wrenching tale of hope and its detractors, of a young girl fighting tooth and nail to prove that destiny is what you make of it. Elimina Dubois is a child in the privileged Mainland who finds herself in the policed Gutter district following her mother’s death, making for a social experiment with potentially catastrophic consequences.
Gutter Child is about injustice and inequality, but there is more to this tale than initially meets the eye. This is a genuinely captivating listen.
In Helen Simonson’s Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand, the title character learns a hard lesson: we often find that it is not we who guide life but a life which teaches us. And Major Ernest Pettigrew is about to embark on a crash course in 21st-century living that he isn’t exactly ready for.
There is growing up, growing old, and giving up. The Major hasn’t entirely completed the set. This newly widowed army man isn’t interested in a world's noise and chaos without his much-missed and much-loved wife. The aging process is more than enough for him. But when another of his loved ones dies, and he strikes up an unexpected friendship with a widowed shopkeeper, the Major realizes the time has come to face the present.
Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand is a delightful listen, with Bill Wallis bringing Simonson’s charming words to life and filling the characters with body and soul.
Jesse Thistle’s From the Ashes has garnered many awards, including the Kobo Emerging Writer Prize for Nonfiction, the CBC Best Canadian Nonfiction Book of the Year, and the top spot in the Indigenous Voices Awards. But the glittering reception his stunning debut memoir has received is a world away from the struggles and strife of life Thistle faced as a high school dropout.
Thistle was facing an uphill battle from the get-go. He was orphaned in grim circumstances and the tumult of a groundless existence before finding solace in the hazy comforts of drugs and alcohol. Somehow, someway, Thistle managed to grab life from the claws of death. Mental health and well-being became a priority, not an enemy.
As Thistle says in his narration, life is never hopeless, even when the abyss seems close, and appreciating being mortal can bring the gift of years to come. From the Ashes is a startling listen packed with inspiration in the most unlikely places.
Its 32-hour running time may seem daunting, but that’s no reason to put off Donna Tartt’s sprawling The Goldfinch, which took the 2014 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. An epic journey worth embracing, The Goldfinch is a story of abandonment and acceptance, survival and self-invention. It centers on 13-year-old Theo Decker, a lost child searching endlessly for his mother with only a single painting for solace.
American actor David Pittu magnificently narrates The Goldfinch, imbuing Tartt’s characters with excitement and tension in all the right places. Above all else, The Goldfinch is the story of life, from the good to the bad.
Are debut novels always this composed? That is an impossible question to answer, but Kiley Reid’s captivating Such a Fun Age is a statement of intent for the ages.
Voiced by the brilliant Nicole Lewis, Such a Fun Age is the story of Emira Tucker, a Black babysitter who is broke and aimless, and Alix Chamberlain, an entrepreneur behind a confidence-driving brand who’s used to getting her way. The two discover they have more in common than they initially realized. What follows is a prescient story of society, racism, and meaning, the concept of family and what it means to be an adult.
Such a Fun Age is an incredible debut, perfectly built for audiobooks and a brilliant listen from start to finish. It’s an absolute must for the wish list and one of the best books available in audio format.
For listeners who are approaching retirement and are looking to learn more about what this journey may entail, Joan Chittister’s The Gift of Years is truly a gift that keeps on giving. This informative and helpful audiobook about aging helps listeners feel optimistic about growing old and improving their mental health and quality of life.
Chittister is a Benedictine nun, best-selling author, and lecturer who dedicates her work to peace and justice. The Gift of Years is a particular hit with listeners who are more spiritually or religiously inclined, and Elizabeth Bookser Barkley beautifully narrates Chittister’s words. If you want to clear your mind of negative thoughts and look at aging as an empowering process, add this inspirational listen to your library.
This New York Times No. 1 best seller is an essential listen about life and death. In this fascinating and educational audiobook, Dr. Atul Gawande, a surgeon whose priority is his patients’ quality of life, explores how modern medicine is used for elderly patients and those seeking end-of-life care.
Robert Petkoff narrates this title with clarity and compassion. Gawande explores the reality of extending patients’ lives, the ethics of moving the elderly into care homes, and the role of hospice care. Although it is written by a highly educated and experienced medical professional, Being Mortal is accessible and easy to digest for all listeners.
Growing older and wiser can feel empowering, but some uncomfortable realities come along with it. Enter Dr. Lucy Pollock to make things better to process and understand.
As a geriatrician, Pollock specializes in elderly care, and in her self-narrated audiobook, she explores everything from dementia and illness to care homes and personal finances. She also guides listeners in dealing with all the inconveniences and worries that come with an aging body and discussing one’s final wishes and end-of-life arrangements.
The Book About Getting Older is an insightful audiobook about aging and death, made for listeners who don’t want to talk about the doom and gloom of growing old.
Without this Ernest Hemingway classic, any list of the best books about getting older would be incomplete. It follows the story of Santiago, a seasoned fisherman who suffers throughout the story after failing to catch any fish for months. Santiago faces his biggest challenge as his physical health declines and his will to continue depletes.
Hemingway’s tale is a moving story about overcoming plight and enduring the struggles that come with old age and not giving up. First published in 1952, The Old Man and the Sea earned Hemingway the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1953. This timeless piece of literature is brought to life in audio format by legendary actor Donald Sutherland.
Unlike other titles on this list, How It All Began is not just about growing up and getting older; it’s about relationships and how one event in life can trigger a butterfly effect. Penelope Lively lends her stellar storytelling skills as she explores this concept.
How It All Began starts with one unfortunate accident when Charlotte breaks her hip. What follows is a whole hoard of events that affects multiple people differently. Through it all, Lively shows listeners how relationships can break down, develop, and heal throughout life. Anna Bentinck does the story justice with her outstanding audio performance that will captivate listeners from start to finish.
A Man Called Ove is about, well, a man called Ove, who encompasses all the traits of the “grumpy old man” trope. That is, until he finds himself in an unexpected friendship that flips his world on its head. As this relationship blossoms, listeners discover a different side to Ove’s character.
Author Fredrik Backman combines a heartbreaking tale with a strong dose of humour, while narrator Joan Walker brings each of the loveable characters to life in this stunning listen. It’s a heartwarming audiobook that will make listeners laugh and cry as they learn, along with Ove, how it is never too late to change your ways.
