The Bittlemores
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wish list failed.
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Buy Now for $31.67
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Jann Arden
-
Written by:
-
Jann Arden
About this listen
A heartfelt, comic, and deeply satisfying debut novel from the #1 bestselling author, singer-songwriter, member of Canada's Music Hall of Fame and star of her own hit TV sitcom. A little bit All Creatures Great and Small, a little bit Fargo and all Jann Arden!
On mean Harp Bittlemore’s blighted farm, hidden away in the Backhills, nothing has gone right for a very long time. Crops don’t grow, the pigs and chickens stay skinny and the three aged dairy cows, Berle, Crilla and Dally, are so desperate they are plotting an escape. The one thing holding them back is the thought of abandoning young Willa, the single bright point in their life since her older sister, Margaret, ran away.
But Willa Bittlemore, just turning 14, is planning her own rebellion. Something doesn’t add up in the story she’s been told about her missing sister, and she's beginning to question if her horrible parents are even her parents at all. Just as things are really coming to a head, a bright young police officer starts investigating a cold case involving a baby stolen from a little rural hospital 28 years earlier, and Willa and the cows find out exactly how far the Bittlemores will go to protect a festering secret.
Written with Jann’s trademark outrageous humour and full of her down-to-earth wisdom, The Bittlemores is a rural fairytale, a coming-of-age story and a prairie mystery all-in-one, saturated with her observations of the world she grew up in and her deep connection to the animals we exploit. This marvel of a first novel digs into how people come to be so cruel, but it also glories in the miracle of human kindness.
©2023 Jann Arden (P)2023 Random House CanadaYou may also enjoy...
-
If I Knew Then
- Finding Wisdom in Failure and Power in Aging
- Written by: Jann Arden
- Narrated by: Jann Arden
- Length: 3 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Digging deep into her strengths, her failures and her losses, Jann Arden brings us an inspiring account of how she has surprised herself, in her fifties, by at last becoming completely her own person. Like many women, it took Jann a long time to realize that trying to be pleasing and likeable and beautiful in the eyes of others was a loser's game. Letting it rip, and damning the consequences, is not only liberating, it's a hell of a lot of fun: "Being the age I am—that so many women are—is just the best time of my life."
-
-
I wish it was longer!!
- By Amazon Customer on 2020-10-27
Written by: Jann Arden
-
Feeding My Mother
- Comfort and Laughter in the Kitchen as My Mom Lives with Memory Loss
- Written by: Jann Arden
- Narrated by: Jann Arden
- Length: 2 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Jann Arden moved in to a house just across the way from her parents in rural Alberta to be close to them but also so they could be her refuge from the demands of the music business and a performing career. Funny how time works. Since her dad died in 2015, Jann cooks for her mom five or six times a week. Her mom finds comfort in her daughter's kitchen, not just in the delicious food but also just sitting with her as she cooks. And Jann finds some peace in caring for her mom, even as her mom slowly becomes a stranger.
-
-
Good Message but not a captivating story
- By Tanya Vanden Berg on 2018-09-13
Written by: Jann Arden
-
Falling Backwards
- A Memoir
- Written by: Jann Arden
- Narrated by: Jann Arden
- Length: 8 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Jann Arden is funny. And sincere. She has legions of devoted fans. And a radio show. She is a darling of the music scene - always candid, always unplugged. You thought you knew Jann Arden, but there is more - to her listeners' delight, in Falling Backwards Jann reveals her childhood, her bond with family, her struggle in the formative years and what keeps her so grounded in the whirlwind entertainment industry. Jann has always been true to herself, except for a minor lapse when she was young. Oh wait, wasn't that all of us?
-
-
She's GREAT.
- By deb on 2023-07-13
Written by: Jann Arden
-
The Road Years
- A Memoir, Continued . . .
- Written by: Rick Mercer
- Narrated by: Rick Mercer
- Length: 7 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
At the end of his memoir Talking to Canadians, Rick Mercer was poised to make the biggest leap yet in his extraordinary career. The Road Years picks up the story at that exciting point, with the greenlighting of what would become Rick Mercer Report. Plans for the show, of course, included political satire and Rick’s patented rants.
-
-
A great listen that will keep you laughing
- By Anonymous User on 2023-11-15
Written by: Rick Mercer
-
My Name Is Barbra
- Written by: Barbra Streisand
- Narrated by: Barbra Streisand
- Length: 48 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Barbra Streisand is by any account a living legend, a woman who in a career spanning six decades has excelled in every area of entertainment. She is among the handful of EGOT winners (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony) and has one of the greatest and most recognizable voices in the history of popular music. She has been nominated for a Grammy 46 times, and with Yentl she became the first woman to write, produce, direct, and star in a major motion picture. In My Name Is Barbra, she tells her own story about her life and extraordinary career.
-
-
Uggh.......
- By Anonymous User on 2023-11-18
Written by: Barbra Streisand
-
Bits and Pieces
- My Mother, My Brother, and Me
- Written by: Whoopi Goldberg
- Narrated by: Whoopi Goldberg
- Length: 6 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
If it weren’t for Emma Johnson, Caryn Johnson would have never become Whoopi Goldberg. Emma gave her children the loving care and wisdom they needed to succeed in life, always encouraging them to be true to themselves. When Whoopi lost her mother in 2010—and then her older brother, Clyde, five years later—she felt deeply alone; the only people who truly knew her were gone. Emma raised her children not just to survive, but to thrive. In this intimate and heartfelt memoir, Whoopi shares many of the deeply personal stories of their lives together for the first time.
-
-
Loved her excitement, her laughter
- By Rosa Palmieri on 2024-11-10
Written by: Whoopi Goldberg
-
If I Knew Then
- Finding Wisdom in Failure and Power in Aging
- Written by: Jann Arden
- Narrated by: Jann Arden
- Length: 3 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Digging deep into her strengths, her failures and her losses, Jann Arden brings us an inspiring account of how she has surprised herself, in her fifties, by at last becoming completely her own person. Like many women, it took Jann a long time to realize that trying to be pleasing and likeable and beautiful in the eyes of others was a loser's game. Letting it rip, and damning the consequences, is not only liberating, it's a hell of a lot of fun: "Being the age I am—that so many women are—is just the best time of my life."
-
-
I wish it was longer!!
- By Amazon Customer on 2020-10-27
Written by: Jann Arden
-
Feeding My Mother
- Comfort and Laughter in the Kitchen as My Mom Lives with Memory Loss
- Written by: Jann Arden
- Narrated by: Jann Arden
- Length: 2 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Jann Arden moved in to a house just across the way from her parents in rural Alberta to be close to them but also so they could be her refuge from the demands of the music business and a performing career. Funny how time works. Since her dad died in 2015, Jann cooks for her mom five or six times a week. Her mom finds comfort in her daughter's kitchen, not just in the delicious food but also just sitting with her as she cooks. And Jann finds some peace in caring for her mom, even as her mom slowly becomes a stranger.
-
-
Good Message but not a captivating story
- By Tanya Vanden Berg on 2018-09-13
Written by: Jann Arden
-
Falling Backwards
- A Memoir
- Written by: Jann Arden
- Narrated by: Jann Arden
- Length: 8 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Jann Arden is funny. And sincere. She has legions of devoted fans. And a radio show. She is a darling of the music scene - always candid, always unplugged. You thought you knew Jann Arden, but there is more - to her listeners' delight, in Falling Backwards Jann reveals her childhood, her bond with family, her struggle in the formative years and what keeps her so grounded in the whirlwind entertainment industry. Jann has always been true to herself, except for a minor lapse when she was young. Oh wait, wasn't that all of us?
-
-
She's GREAT.
- By deb on 2023-07-13
Written by: Jann Arden
-
The Road Years
- A Memoir, Continued . . .
- Written by: Rick Mercer
- Narrated by: Rick Mercer
- Length: 7 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
At the end of his memoir Talking to Canadians, Rick Mercer was poised to make the biggest leap yet in his extraordinary career. The Road Years picks up the story at that exciting point, with the greenlighting of what would become Rick Mercer Report. Plans for the show, of course, included political satire and Rick’s patented rants.
-
-
A great listen that will keep you laughing
- By Anonymous User on 2023-11-15
Written by: Rick Mercer
-
My Name Is Barbra
- Written by: Barbra Streisand
- Narrated by: Barbra Streisand
- Length: 48 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Barbra Streisand is by any account a living legend, a woman who in a career spanning six decades has excelled in every area of entertainment. She is among the handful of EGOT winners (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony) and has one of the greatest and most recognizable voices in the history of popular music. She has been nominated for a Grammy 46 times, and with Yentl she became the first woman to write, produce, direct, and star in a major motion picture. In My Name Is Barbra, she tells her own story about her life and extraordinary career.
-
-
Uggh.......
- By Anonymous User on 2023-11-18
Written by: Barbra Streisand
-
Bits and Pieces
- My Mother, My Brother, and Me
- Written by: Whoopi Goldberg
- Narrated by: Whoopi Goldberg
- Length: 6 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
If it weren’t for Emma Johnson, Caryn Johnson would have never become Whoopi Goldberg. Emma gave her children the loving care and wisdom they needed to succeed in life, always encouraging them to be true to themselves. When Whoopi lost her mother in 2010—and then her older brother, Clyde, five years later—she felt deeply alone; the only people who truly knew her were gone. Emma raised her children not just to survive, but to thrive. In this intimate and heartfelt memoir, Whoopi shares many of the deeply personal stories of their lives together for the first time.
-
-
Loved her excitement, her laughter
- By Rosa Palmieri on 2024-11-10
Written by: Whoopi Goldberg
-
In Pieces
- Written by: Sally Field
- Narrated by: Sally Field
- Length: 10 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this intimate, haunting, literary memoir read by the author, an American icon tells her story for the first time, in her own gorgeous words - about a challenging and lonely childhood, the craft that helped her find her voice, and a powerful emotional legacy that shaped her journey as a daughter and a mother.
-
-
Raw & Truthful Autobiography
- By Cindy Susut on 2018-12-05
Written by: Sally Field
-
Talking to My Angels
- Written by: Melissa Etheridge
- Narrated by: Melissa Etheridge
- Length: 6 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Over the past twenty years, Melissa Etheridge has been blessed with success, love, joy, contentment, freedom, and release. She became a mother again, recorded eleven albums, toured the world, performed at the Grammy Awards, won an Oscar, discovered her one true love, and underwent a profound spiritual awakening. She also experienced illness, incomparable loss, heartache, guilt, shame, and devastating grief. Yet through it all, Melissa found the strength and courage to carry on. Talking to My Angels is a profoundly honest look into her inner life as a woman, an artist, a mother, and a survivor.
-
-
Just Beautiful
- By Leah A. on 2024-08-24
Written by: Melissa Etheridge
-
When Crickets Cry
- Written by: Charles Martin
- Narrated by: Adam Verner
- Length: 11 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It begins on the shaded town square in a sleepy Southern town. A spirited seven-year-old has a brisk business at her lemonade stand. But the little girl’s pretty yellow dress can’t quite hide the ugly scar on her chest. Her latest customer, a bearded stranger, drains his cup and heads to his car, his mind on a boat he's restoring at a nearby lake. The stranger understands more about the scar than he wants to admit. And the beat-up bread truck careening around the corner with its radio blaring is about to change the trajectory of both their lives.
-
-
The compassion of the story
- By Charlene Kasinec on 2023-12-23
Written by: Charles Martin
-
Mary, Mary
- Written by: Lesley Crewe
- Narrated by: Stephanie Domet
- Length: 8 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In a Cape Breton family of black sheep, Mary is pure as the driven snow. She is patient and kind with her alcoholic grandmother and volatile mother, loyal and attentive to her spoiled cousin, and pleasant and polite all day as a grocery cashier. Her well-off aunt, the only other normal person in the family, wants to help her more, but Mary’s mother is too prickly and proud. So Mary goes to work, comes home, takes care of her family, and wonders if there’ll ever be more to life.
-
-
Another Amazing story
- By Jenn Collins on 2022-05-04
Written by: Lesley Crewe
-
Mourning Has Broken
- Love, Loss and Reclaiming Joy
- Written by: Erin Davis
- Narrated by: Erin Davis, Jann Arden
- Length: 9 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On the morning of May 11, 2015, Erin Davis, one of Canada’s most beloved radio personalities, suffered a devastating blow when her daughter, Lauren, who had marked a joyous Mother’s Day with her husband and young son only hours before, failed to awaken to her baby’s cries. Thus began Erin’s journey of grieving out loud with her family, friends, and listeners and of demonstrating by example how to pick up and keep going after suffering the worst loss a parent can endure.
-
-
A Touching Journey Through Life & Loss
- By Renee T on 2019-04-23
Written by: Erin Davis
-
A Different Kind of Gone
- A Novel
- Written by: Catherine Ryan Hyde
- Narrated by: Patricia Shade
- Length: 8 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When nineteen-year-old Jill Moss goes missing near the Utah-Arizona border, everyone has an opinion. Only Norma Gallagher, a search and rescue volunteer, knows the real story. Norma’s already found Jill, huddled in a cave and terrified that her abusive boyfriend, Jake, will kill her. If he ever sees her again. To protect Jill from a dangerous man, Norma quietly delivers the girl to her grateful parents in California, even though she’s conflicted. Keeping Jill safe and hidden from Jake, the press, and the public will be their secret. But secrets can’t last forever.
Written by: Catherine Ryan Hyde
What listeners say about The Bittlemores
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Review
- 2023-11-10
Loved this!
I think this was so enjoyable! As the author reading HER book, she narrated it the way she wanted it listened to.
It was funny, charming and so Canadian. This is going onto my Christmas gift list. I won’t look at farm animals the same way ever again. Thanks Jann, you are a talent!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Susan Schembri
- 2024-01-14
Pleasantly Surprised
I really enjoyed this book and especially the narration set the bar for good storytelling
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Denny Byrne
- 2024-01-26
Modern day Charlotte’s Webb!
Loved it. Jann’s narration was top notch and made the story all the more enjoyable.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Sheena Henderson
- 2023-11-22
So much to love
Okay, as others have said, this wasn't Jann Arden's best reading, but it wasn't terrible and I still loved hearing her tell this story she's been writing for so long. This book is reminiscent of Charlotte's Web, Animal Farm and Judy Blume, with a dark side and a thread of suspense throughout. I found it hard to put down. I love Jann Arden but wasn't sure what to expect from this book. I was certainly not disappointed and am heading out to buy a hardcopy for my mother for Christmas.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Kikster
- 2024-01-18
Great work
I loved listening to the story! I’d recommend this to anyone! A nice light listen! Thanks Jann
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Sheila Trew
- 2024-01-20
It is one of those books I just had to hear the end!
This book has a steady pace. I just had to hear the hole book. I liked the detail I. E the many people involved and the description of how they fit into the story. Thank you.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Alana Kraft
- 2023-11-20
Loved all the characters
Great story and I loved all the characters.
I hope you have more books to write.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Bev Bandstra
- 2024-02-07
Good story, unnecessarily bad language
I really enjoyed the premise of the story, and Arden's creative narration. I wanted to quit because of all the bad language which I found offensive, but wanted to find out what happened to the main characters. So I gritted my teeth, hit the skip button a lot, and made it to the end. I think the antagonists could have been sufficiently portrayed without all those adjectives. Loved the clever cows!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Arlene Hjertaas
- 2024-04-25
Loved it
Jann Arden is one of my favorite singer, songwriter, TV personality, and now, author! I love her sense of humor as much as I love her outspoken perspective on issues she feels strongly about. The book was a delight to read and I recommend it to everyone.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Amazon Customer
- 2023-12-08
Love this woman
Jann was awesome at narrating. Love the characters even the dark ones. Love the animals.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!