Listen free for 30 days
-
Broken Open
- How Difficult Times Can Help Us Grow
- Narrated by: Susan Denaker
- Length: 13 hrs and 2 mins
- Categories: Relationships, Parenting & Personal Development, Personal Development
People who bought this also bought...
-
Cassandra Speaks
- When Women Are the Storytellers, the Human Story Changes
- By: Elizabeth Lesser
- Narrated by: Xe Sands
- Length: 6 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Elizabeth Lesser believes that if women’s voices had been equally heard and respected throughout history, humankind would have followed different hero myths and guiding stories - stories that value caretaking, champion compassion, and elevate communication over vengeance and violence. Cassandra Speaks is about the stories we tell and how those stories become the culture. It’s about the stories we still blindly cling to, and the ones that cling to us: the origin tales, the guiding myths, the religious parables, the literature and films and fairy tales passed down....
-
-
A wonderful book
- By maz on 15-01-21
-
Burnout
- The Secret to Solving the Stress Cycle
- By: Emily Nagoski, Amelia Nagoski
- Narrated by: Emily Nagoski
- Length: 7 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The gap between what it's really like to be a woman and what people expect women to be is a primary cause of burnout, because we exhaust ourselves trying to close the space between the two. How can you 'love your body' when everything around you tells you you're inadequate? How do you 'lean in' at work when you're already giving 110 percent and aren't recognized for it? How can you live happily and healthily in a world that is constantly telling you you're too fat, too needy, too noisy and too selfish?
-
-
Life changing book! Im telling everyone about it!
- By Lisa on 22-02-20
-
Wake Up Grateful
- The Transformative Practice of Taking Nothing for Granted
- By: Kristi Nelson
- Narrated by: Kristi Nelson
- Length: 7 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
What does it mean to truly live gratefully, every day? In Wake Up Grateful, Kristi Nelson, executive director of A Network for Grateful Living, unlocks the path to recognizing abundance in every moment, and gives listeners the tools to bring this transformational shift in perspective into their daily lives. Nelson goes beyond the proverbial question of whether the glass is half full or half empty, and encourages listeners to awaken to the gift of having a glass at all.
-
The Gifts of Imperfection
- By: Brené Brown
- Narrated by: Brené Brown
- Length: 4 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
What transforms this audiobook from written word to effective daily practices are the 10 guideposts to wholehearted living. The guideposts not only help us understand the practices that will allow us to change our lives and families, they also walk us through the unattainable and sabotaging expectations that get in the way.
-
-
Love hearing Brené read it this time!
- By A Vedder on 12-09-20
-
The Body Is Not an Apology
- The Power of Radical Self-Love
- By: Sonya Renee Taylor
- Narrated by: Sonya Renee Taylor
- Length: 4 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A global movement guided by love. Humans are a varied and divergent bunch with all manner of beliefs, morals, and bodies. Systems of oppression thrive off our inability to make peace with difference and injure the relationship we have with our own bodies. The Body Is Not an Apology offers radical self-love as the balm to heal the wounds inflicted by these violent systems. World-renowned activist and poet Sonya Renee Taylor invites us to reconnect with the radical origins of our minds and bodies and celebrate our collective, enduring strength.
-
-
Essential healing from eloquent lips
- By Tarot Dynamo on 06-01-19
-
The Gift
- 12 Lessons to Save Your Life
- By: Edith Eger, Esmé Schwall Weigand - contributor
- Narrated by: Tovah Feldshuh
- Length: 5 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the end, it's not what happens to us that matters most - it's what we choose to do with it. We all face suffering - sadness, loss, despair, fear, anxiety, failure. But we also have a choice; to give in and give up in the face of trauma or difficulties or to live every moment as a gift. Celebrated therapist and Holocaust survivor Dr Edith Eger provides a hands-on guide that gently encourages us to change the imprisoning thoughts and destructive behaviours that may be holding us back.
-
-
Essential reading/listening
- By Anonymous User on 14-01-21
-
Cassandra Speaks
- When Women Are the Storytellers, the Human Story Changes
- By: Elizabeth Lesser
- Narrated by: Xe Sands
- Length: 6 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Elizabeth Lesser believes that if women’s voices had been equally heard and respected throughout history, humankind would have followed different hero myths and guiding stories - stories that value caretaking, champion compassion, and elevate communication over vengeance and violence. Cassandra Speaks is about the stories we tell and how those stories become the culture. It’s about the stories we still blindly cling to, and the ones that cling to us: the origin tales, the guiding myths, the religious parables, the literature and films and fairy tales passed down....
-
-
A wonderful book
- By maz on 15-01-21
-
Burnout
- The Secret to Solving the Stress Cycle
- By: Emily Nagoski, Amelia Nagoski
- Narrated by: Emily Nagoski
- Length: 7 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The gap between what it's really like to be a woman and what people expect women to be is a primary cause of burnout, because we exhaust ourselves trying to close the space between the two. How can you 'love your body' when everything around you tells you you're inadequate? How do you 'lean in' at work when you're already giving 110 percent and aren't recognized for it? How can you live happily and healthily in a world that is constantly telling you you're too fat, too needy, too noisy and too selfish?
-
-
Life changing book! Im telling everyone about it!
- By Lisa on 22-02-20
-
Wake Up Grateful
- The Transformative Practice of Taking Nothing for Granted
- By: Kristi Nelson
- Narrated by: Kristi Nelson
- Length: 7 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
What does it mean to truly live gratefully, every day? In Wake Up Grateful, Kristi Nelson, executive director of A Network for Grateful Living, unlocks the path to recognizing abundance in every moment, and gives listeners the tools to bring this transformational shift in perspective into their daily lives. Nelson goes beyond the proverbial question of whether the glass is half full or half empty, and encourages listeners to awaken to the gift of having a glass at all.
-
The Gifts of Imperfection
- By: Brené Brown
- Narrated by: Brené Brown
- Length: 4 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
What transforms this audiobook from written word to effective daily practices are the 10 guideposts to wholehearted living. The guideposts not only help us understand the practices that will allow us to change our lives and families, they also walk us through the unattainable and sabotaging expectations that get in the way.
-
-
Love hearing Brené read it this time!
- By A Vedder on 12-09-20
-
The Body Is Not an Apology
- The Power of Radical Self-Love
- By: Sonya Renee Taylor
- Narrated by: Sonya Renee Taylor
- Length: 4 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A global movement guided by love. Humans are a varied and divergent bunch with all manner of beliefs, morals, and bodies. Systems of oppression thrive off our inability to make peace with difference and injure the relationship we have with our own bodies. The Body Is Not an Apology offers radical self-love as the balm to heal the wounds inflicted by these violent systems. World-renowned activist and poet Sonya Renee Taylor invites us to reconnect with the radical origins of our minds and bodies and celebrate our collective, enduring strength.
-
-
Essential healing from eloquent lips
- By Tarot Dynamo on 06-01-19
-
The Gift
- 12 Lessons to Save Your Life
- By: Edith Eger, Esmé Schwall Weigand - contributor
- Narrated by: Tovah Feldshuh
- Length: 5 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the end, it's not what happens to us that matters most - it's what we choose to do with it. We all face suffering - sadness, loss, despair, fear, anxiety, failure. But we also have a choice; to give in and give up in the face of trauma or difficulties or to live every moment as a gift. Celebrated therapist and Holocaust survivor Dr Edith Eger provides a hands-on guide that gently encourages us to change the imprisoning thoughts and destructive behaviours that may be holding us back.
-
-
Essential reading/listening
- By Anonymous User on 14-01-21
-
The Seat of the Soul
- An Inspiring Vision of Humanity's Spiritual Destiny
- By: Gary Zukav
- Narrated by: Oprah Winfrey - preface, Maya Angelou - preface, Gary Zukav
- Length: 10 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This iconic book encourages you to become the authority in your own life. It will change the way you see the world, interact with other people, and understand your own actions and motivations. In it, Gary Zukav takes you on a penetrating exploration of the new phase that humanity has entered: one where harmony, cooperation, sharing and reverence for life become more important than the ability to manipulate and control.
-
-
the seat of utter pseudo scientific pish
- By Amazon Customer on 24-01-20
-
Livewired
- The Inside Story of the Ever-Changing Brain
- By: David Eagleman
- Narrated by: David Eagleman
- Length: 9 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
How can a blind person learn to see with her tongue or a deaf person learn to hear with his skin? What does a baby born without a nose tell us about our sensory machinery? Might we someday control a robot with our thoughts? And what does any of this have to do with why we dream? The answers to these questions are not right in front of our eyes; they're right behind our eyes. This book is not simply about what the brain is but what it does. Covering decades of research to the present day, Livewired also presents new findings from Eagleman's own research.
-
-
There are some good bits but overall very labored
- By Roger D. on 08-11-20
-
Juliet Takes a Breath
- A Gabby Rivera Novel
- By: Gabby Rivera
- Narrated by: Lillian Claire
- Length: 7 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Juliet Milagros Palante is leaving the Bronx and headed to Portland, Oregon. She just came out to her family and isn't sure if her mom will ever speak to her again. But Juliet has a plan, sort of, one that's going to help her figure out this whole "Puerto Rican lesbian" thing. She's interning with the author of her favorite book: Harlowe Brisbane, the ultimate authority on feminism, women's bodies, and other gay-sounding stuff. Will Juliet be able to figure out her life over the course of one magical summer? Find out.
-
-
Awesome
- By Joyfull on 09-07-20
-
Internal Family Systems Therapy
- Second Edition
- By: Richard C. Schwartz, Martha Sweezy
- Narrated by: Brian Arens
- Length: 12 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
IFS reveals how the subpersonalities or "parts" of each individual's psyche relate to each other like members of a family, and how - just as in a family - polarization among parts can lead to emotional suffering. IFS originator Richard Schwartz and master clinician Martha Sweezy explain core concepts and provide practical guidelines for implementing IFS with clients who are struggling with trauma, anxiety, depression, eating disorders, addiction, and other behavioral problems.
-
-
In-depth, fascinating introduction to IFS
- By Josie McLellan on 28-11-20
-
WOLFPACK
- How to Come Together, Unleash Our Power and Change the Game
- By: Abby Wambach
- Narrated by: Abby Wambach
- Length: 1 hr and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Abby Wambach became a champion because of her incredible talent as a football player. She became an icon because of her remarkable wisdom as a leader. As the cocaptain of the 2015 Women's World Cup Champion Team, she created a culture not just of excellence but of honour, commitment, resilience, and sisterhood. She helped transform a group of individual women into one of the most successful, powerful and united Wolfpacks of all time.
-
-
Empowering
- By melanie dixon on 30-10-20
-
The Shift
- How I (Lost and) Found Myself After 40 - and You Can Too
- By: Sam Baker
- Narrated by: Sam Baker
- Length: 9 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Women over 40 are the most ignored demographic in society. And yet this is the time when you are likely to have the most freedom, power, confidence and self knowledge than ever before. Some serious life has been lived: there have been great loves, heartbreaks, births, marriages, careers, betrayals, bereavements and survival. So what now? What happens when the narrative given to you by society - husband, babies, house - runs out and you become storyless? Writer and journalist Sam Baker seeks to empower and give voice to women to create a new narrative....
-
-
Depressing
- By Lorraine Hawkins on 19-09-20
-
The Places That Scare You
- A Guide to Fearlessness in Difficult Times
- By: Pema Chödrön
- Narrated by: Joanna Rotte
- Length: 4 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Here Pema provides the tools to deal with the problems and difficulties that life throws our way. This wisdom is always available to us, she teaches, but we usually block it with habitual patterns rooted in fear. Beyond that fear lies a state of openheartedness and tenderness. This audiobook teaches us how to awaken our basic goodness and connect with others, to accept ourselves and others complete with faults and imperfections, and to stay in the present moment by seeing through the strategies of ego that cause us to resist life as it is.
-
-
incredible book
- By GG&L on 11-11-20
-
Marrow
- A Love Story
- By: Elizabeth Lesser
- Narrated by: Elizabeth Lesser, Sally Field
- Length: 9 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A mesmerizing and courageous memoir: the story of two sisters uncovering the depth of their love through the life-and-death experience of a bone marrow transplant. Throughout her life Elizabeth Lesser has sought understanding about what it means to be true to yourself and, at the same time, truly connected to the ones you love. But when her sister, Maggie, needs a bone marrow transplant to save her life, and Lesser learns that she is the perfect match, she faces a far more immediate and complex question about what it really means to love.
-
-
Wow
- By Rebekah on 26-03-19
-
Untamed
- Stop Pleasing, Start Living
- By: Glennon Doyle
- Narrated by: Glennon Doyle
- Length: 8 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For many years, Glennon Doyle denied her discontent. Then, while speaking at a conference, she looked at a woman across the room and fell instantly in love. Three words flooded her mind: There. She. Is. At first, Glennon assumed these words came to her from on high but soon she realised they had come to her from within. This was the voice she had buried beneath decades of numbing addictions and social conditioning. Glennon decided to let go of the world’s expectations of her and reclaim her true untamed self.
-
-
Repetitive & Obvious
- By Amazon Customer on 08-06-20
-
When Things Fall Apart
- Heart Advice for Difficult Times
- By: Pema Chödrön
- Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell
- Length: 5 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Pema Chödrön's perennially best-selling classic on overcoming life's difficulties cuts to the heart of spirituality and personal growth, and makes for a perfect addition to one's spiritual library. Drawing from traditional Buddhist wisdom, she offers life-changing tools for transforming suffering and negative patterns into habitual ease and boundless joy.
-
-
Brilliant book, narrated badly.
- By Monserrat on 24-09-18
-
Self Compassion
- By: Kristin Neff
- Narrated by: Katherine Fenton
- Length: 10 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Kristin Neff, PhD is a professor in human development whose 10 years of research forms the basis of her timely book. Self Compassion offers a powerful solution for combating the current malaise of depression, anxiety and self criticism that comes with living in a pressured and competitive culture. Through tried and tested exercises, listeners learn the three core components that will help replace negative and destructive measures of self worth and success with a kinder and nonjudgmental approach in order to bring about profound life change and deeper happiness.
-
-
What I really needed to hear and learn
- By Thomas Brown on 22-06-20
-
Radical Compassion
- Learning to Love Yourself and Your World with the Practice of RAIN
- By: Tara Brach
- Narrated by: Tara Brach
- Length: 8 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
World-renowned meditation teacher Tara Brach shares a simple four-step practice to awaken compassion and release the grip of painful emotions. Heartfelt and deeply practical, Radical Compassion teaches us to find healing and freedom through the sources of love, courage and deep wisdom alive within us all.
-
-
Tara Brach is Wonderful!
- By Philippa on 25-01-20
Summary
New York Times best seller
This inspiring guide to healing and growth illuminates the richness and potential of every life, even in the face of loss and adversity.In the more than 25 years since she co-founded Omega Institute - now the world’s largest center for spiritual retreat and personal growth - Elizabeth Lesser has been an intimate witness to the ways in which people weather change and transition. In a beautifully crafted blend of moving stories, humorous insights, practical guidance, and personal memoir, she offers tools to help us make the choice we all face in times of challenge: Will we be broken down and defeated, or broken open and transformed?
Lesser shares tales of ordinary people who have risen from the ashes of illness, divorce, loss of a job or a loved one - stronger, wiser, and more in touch with their purpose and passion. And she draws on the world’s great spiritual and psychological traditions to support us as we too learn to break open and blossom into who we were meant to be.
More from the same
What listeners say about Broken Open
Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Anonymous User
- 06-09-18
essential read for everyone.
Lesser has a down to earth perspective and her life experiences are the ingredients to supporting others in looking at their own lives - she provides mystical incredible stories, as well as more regular anecdotes. Mixed with practical solutions and advice at the end. It's a real piece of art all together I found it absolutely brilliant.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Stella
- 09-03-18
A guiding lamp along life’s path
This book has to be my new favourite. Susan’s voice is so soothing in reading Elizabeth Lesser’s incredible book. It is a mixture of personal experiences, stories that will stir a smile or a tear and valuable guidance to help us find our way through the dark into the light of clarity. 10/10...
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Joanna
- 31-05-16
A must read
A book that I identified with a lot. It gave ne hope and made me look at my life in a positive light.
-
Overall

- Allya
- 01-02-10
Disappointing
The voice of the narrator did not match the subject matter. I found her voice pretentious and disconnected from the text.
14 people found this helpful
-
Overall

- Mary
- 13-01-09
Fabulous Stories...Truly Deep and Moving
Having seen Elizabeth on Oprah I was drawn to her. This book is a jewel. It is beautifully read too. This went on my Ipod and has been my constant companion for 2 days. What gorgeous stories she shares.
I have wept copious tears of joy and sorrow, and feel that she has captured with such beauty...the rich and complex experiences of life.
63 people found this helpful
-
Overall

- Reading Constantly
- 19-11-10
Good content; ok narrator
Elizabeth Lesser's framing of how we can learn from bad experiences should be required reading for everyone in their 20's. We'd all ignore it perhaps, but maybe some of it would stick as we mature and grow. If you have never considered what your "take-aways" or lessons learned are from really bad experiences, then read this book. Even if you understand this at your core, then read this book. I enjoy the framework that she uses especially in the last portion of the book to talk about what is possible. The parts that I didn't enjoy about listening to the book were twofold. I felt as if the narrator was talking in too "airy-fairy" a voice and was sing-songy. It made the text sound preachy and I don't think that was Lesser's intent. She seemed to modulate herself about halfway through the book, or maybe I just numbed out to the irritation because I wanted to get through the content.
The second thing that I didn't appreciated as much was the metaphor of a hero's journey that Lesser applied to her own life. I think she was trying to apply perhaps, some objectivity? But I think it came off as seeming smug or not really taking accountability for the harm she inflicted on others. Calling her extra-marital affair a journey with her "Shaman Lover", I thought was a bit affected. Come on Ms. Lesser, you cheated on your husband- simply put. Your other descriptions of what it was, were very well written and you did accept accountability, but I felt put off by some of the labels that didn't seem quite as useful as the rest of your writing.
Having said ALL of that, I still recommend reading the book, but this may be one that is better read than listened to.
7 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Bubbles' Mom
- 21-09-12
Great Book - Would Recommend, But....
Would you consider the audio edition of Broken Open to be better than the print version?
Never read print
What other book might you compare Broken Open to and why?
Anatomy of the Spirit, Until Today
Would you be willing to try another one of Susan Denaker’s performances?
NO. That is the reason I'm writing this review. Her voice is pretty difficult to listen too. And her child and eldery people immitations are too much to bear. They are grinding and syrupy. Takes away from the book's essence and meaning.
If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?
I would not make a film about this book.
Any additional comments?
Again, highly recommend this book as a reader. Not as an audio book. At least until you get a new narrator.
5 people found this helpful
-
Overall

- Cora Judd
- 08-03-09
belly-button gazing....
A lot of energy is expended on intensive naval gazing and flowery prose. The author's own story dominates and yet fails to inspire. Others' stories (within the book) are interesting but burdened with tortured prose. If you're looking for practical insights and fresh eyes on life, keep looking. Outliers is good for that.
9 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Amazon Customer
- 10-08-18
Just what I needed
This book helped to save my life, just when I was feeling like I couldn't go on any longer. It gave me an understanding about what I was going through and sparked a new hope in me so that I could keep pushing through, believing that I would emerge with a greater awareness and strength
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Zhara
- 15-07-20
A glorified autobiography, lacking depth
The narration was great, easy listening. And the first half of the book was interesting, informative even, but afterwards it just went downhill and I struggled so much to finish it. While the book may be helpful to many, I have listened to dozens of "self help" type of books and truthfully this is nothing more than an autobiography with a lesson that can be summarized into a paragraph or less. The author relies too heavily on the lessons of other spiritual teachers and doesn't offer any real insight of her own. Her story about her life's trials are only relatable to a specific genre and she adds far too much personal information that has no bearing on the lesson she is trying to get across. I didn't get much out of this book besides frustration, so I won't be reading it again and I wouldn't recommend to anyone either.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Amazon Customer
- 06-08-18
So thankful to have found this
A friend referred me to this book as I mentioned I’d be going to a retreat at Omega Institute. It couldn’t have found me at a better time and was exactly what I needed to hear at this point in my journey.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- momofmany
- 06-02-18
Skip it ! Nothing here
The author doesn’t have a though of her own . Quote after quote belonging to someone else . Better books to read . Disappointed!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall

- Kindle Customer
- 12-05-09
Not my cup of tea
I thought I'd try something different from what I usually get. I'm sorry I did. I'm sure some folks enjoy the metaphysical stuff, but for me this was just like sitting and listening to an eleven hour long sermon. I agree with what the author was saying (self power, learn from mistakes, take time to enjoy the small stuff), but I guess my perfered form of agreement is not in listening to the book.
8 people found this helpful