Listen free for 30 days
-
They Cage the Animals at Night
- The True Story of an Abandoned Child's Struggle for Emotional Survival
- Narrated by: Jim Meskimen
- Length: 9 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged Audiobook
- Categories: Relationships, Parenting & Personal Development, Parenting & Families
Add to basket failed.
Add to wishlist failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Listen with a free trial
Buy Now for £25.69
No valid payment method on file.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Listeners also enjoyed...
-
The Asylum
- By: Ann Cusack - contributor, Carol Minto, Joe Cusack - contributor
- Narrated by: Fiona McNeill
- Length: 8 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For 46 years, Carol Minto has quietly gone about her life, carrying with her the most extraordinary and heartbreaking secrets. In The Asylum, Carol tells the full story of how she overcame unimaginable suffering, to find the happiness and solace she has today as a mother and grandmother.
-
-
A very sad read.
- By S. J. on 11-08-21
-
Letters to God
- From the Major Motion Picture
- By: Patrick Doughtie, John Perry
- Narrated by: Kate Mulligan
- Length: 6 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Inspired by the major motion picture Letters to God, this audio download novel is for readers eager to hear more of this inspiring story. Tyler, a nine-year-old boy, is stricken with incurable brain cancer and begins to write letters to God. He turns his suffering into spiritual lessons for his widowed mother, his embittered adolescent brother, and a troubled postman. This story of hope will help readers from all walks work toward greater understanding of God’s presence and care.
-
Look at You Now
- One Girl's Journey from Shame to Strength
- By: Liz Pryor
- Narrated by: Liz Pryor
- Length: 7 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 1979 Liz Pryor is a 17-year-old girl from a good family in the wealthy Chicago suburbs. Halfway through her senior year of high school, she discovers that she is pregnant, a fact her parents are determined to keep a secret from her friends, siblings, and community forever. One snowy January day, after driving across three states, her mother drops her off at what Liz thinks is a Catholic home for unwed mothers but which is, in truth, a locked government-run facility for delinquent and impoverished pregnant teenage girls.
-
-
Gripping Story
- By elaine a. gladstone on 14-03-17
-
The Distance Home
- By: Paula Saunders
- Narrated by: Rebecca Lowman
- Length: 9 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 1960s rural America two siblings grow up in a place of love and turmoil. Rene is the apple of her father’s eye: an overachiever, athletic, clever, the best brain in class and the best dancer in school. Her older brother, Leon, doted on by his mother, is shy, a stutterer, but also a brilliant dancer. Rene and Leon share a talent, but it is a gift their father adores in his daughter and loathes in his son, and that could make all the difference. These two children may be best friends, but life promises to take them down very different paths....
-
Snatched
- Trapped by a Woman to Be Sold to Men
- By: Elizabeth Harper
- Narrated by: Fiona Boylan
- Length: 7 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Groomed and procured by a woman, raped by several men and labelled ‘one of the most abused girl in Rotherham’, now Elizabeth Harper is fighting for answers as to why so many people paid to protect our children simply turned a blind eye. Elizabeth not only survived four years of relentless abuse, she helped blow the lid off the Rotherham grooming scandal—one of the largest child sexual exploitation cover-ups this country has ever seen. Now, for the first time, she tells her story in full.
-
-
must listen !
- By Mandy on 08-04-22
-
One for the Murphys
- By: Lynda Hunt
- Narrated by: Nora Hunter
- Length: 5 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Carley uses humor and street smarts to keep her emotional walls high and thick. But the day she becomes a foster child and moves in with the Murphys, she's blindsided. This loving, bustling family shows Carley the stable family life she never thought existed, and she feels like an alien in their cookie-cutter-perfect household.
-
The Asylum
- By: Ann Cusack - contributor, Carol Minto, Joe Cusack - contributor
- Narrated by: Fiona McNeill
- Length: 8 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For 46 years, Carol Minto has quietly gone about her life, carrying with her the most extraordinary and heartbreaking secrets. In The Asylum, Carol tells the full story of how she overcame unimaginable suffering, to find the happiness and solace she has today as a mother and grandmother.
-
-
A very sad read.
- By S. J. on 11-08-21
-
Letters to God
- From the Major Motion Picture
- By: Patrick Doughtie, John Perry
- Narrated by: Kate Mulligan
- Length: 6 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Inspired by the major motion picture Letters to God, this audio download novel is for readers eager to hear more of this inspiring story. Tyler, a nine-year-old boy, is stricken with incurable brain cancer and begins to write letters to God. He turns his suffering into spiritual lessons for his widowed mother, his embittered adolescent brother, and a troubled postman. This story of hope will help readers from all walks work toward greater understanding of God’s presence and care.
-
Look at You Now
- One Girl's Journey from Shame to Strength
- By: Liz Pryor
- Narrated by: Liz Pryor
- Length: 7 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 1979 Liz Pryor is a 17-year-old girl from a good family in the wealthy Chicago suburbs. Halfway through her senior year of high school, she discovers that she is pregnant, a fact her parents are determined to keep a secret from her friends, siblings, and community forever. One snowy January day, after driving across three states, her mother drops her off at what Liz thinks is a Catholic home for unwed mothers but which is, in truth, a locked government-run facility for delinquent and impoverished pregnant teenage girls.
-
-
Gripping Story
- By elaine a. gladstone on 14-03-17
-
The Distance Home
- By: Paula Saunders
- Narrated by: Rebecca Lowman
- Length: 9 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 1960s rural America two siblings grow up in a place of love and turmoil. Rene is the apple of her father’s eye: an overachiever, athletic, clever, the best brain in class and the best dancer in school. Her older brother, Leon, doted on by his mother, is shy, a stutterer, but also a brilliant dancer. Rene and Leon share a talent, but it is a gift their father adores in his daughter and loathes in his son, and that could make all the difference. These two children may be best friends, but life promises to take them down very different paths....
-
Snatched
- Trapped by a Woman to Be Sold to Men
- By: Elizabeth Harper
- Narrated by: Fiona Boylan
- Length: 7 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Groomed and procured by a woman, raped by several men and labelled ‘one of the most abused girl in Rotherham’, now Elizabeth Harper is fighting for answers as to why so many people paid to protect our children simply turned a blind eye. Elizabeth not only survived four years of relentless abuse, she helped blow the lid off the Rotherham grooming scandal—one of the largest child sexual exploitation cover-ups this country has ever seen. Now, for the first time, she tells her story in full.
-
-
must listen !
- By Mandy on 08-04-22
-
One for the Murphys
- By: Lynda Hunt
- Narrated by: Nora Hunter
- Length: 5 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Carley uses humor and street smarts to keep her emotional walls high and thick. But the day she becomes a foster child and moves in with the Murphys, she's blindsided. This loving, bustling family shows Carley the stable family life she never thought existed, and she feels like an alien in their cookie-cutter-perfect household.
-
This I Know
- By: Eldonna Edwards
- Narrated by: Bailey Carr
- Length: 10 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Eleven-year-old Grace Carter has a talent for hiding things. She's had plenty of practice, burying thoughts and feelings that might anger her strict evangelical pastor father. The Knowing, as Grace calls it, offers glimpses of people's pasts and futures. It enables her to see into the depth of her mother's sadness, and even allows Grace to talk to Isaac, her twin brother who died at birth. To her wise, loving Aunt Pearl, the Knowing is a family gift; to her daddy, it's close to witchcraft.
-
-
Beautiful!
- By Red on 25-08-19
-
A Family Secret
- My Shocking True Story of Surviving a Childhood in Hell
- By: Maureen Wood
- Narrated by: Rachel Atkins
- Length: 7 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Abused from the age of eight by her older brother and then her step-father, Maureen Wood quickly became numb to the constant suffering. But Maureen’s world crumbled when her own mother started to abuse her too. A Family Secret is the harrowing true story of how one little girl survived sickening abuse by the people who should have loved her most and how an innocent baby finally saved her.
-
-
justice
- By Ajay on 15-06-21
-
Neglected
- Scared, Hungry and Alone, Jamey Craves Affection
- By: Cathy Glass
- Narrated by: Denica Fairman
- Length: 7 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Little Jamey, two and a half years old, is placed with experienced foster carer, Cathy Glass, as an emergency. The police and social services had no choice after a neighbour reported Jamey had been left alone all night while his mother went out partying. Scared, hungry and withdrawn, Jamey has spent so much time in his cot that his leg muscles haven’t developed, and he can barely walk. He is craving affection, and Cathy and her family find him very easy to love. However, as Jamey begins to settle in and make progress a new threat emerges. Coronavirus and lockdown change everything.
-
-
Did not enjoy
- By lassieduff on 25-03-22
-
Keri 1: The Original Child Abuse True Story
- By: Kat Ward
- Narrated by: Bridget Thomas
- Length: 26 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From the outside, there was no reason to suspect the family life of young schoolchild Keri was anything but unremarkable. Two loving parents, a backdrop of 1960s Britain; life had provided for her, at least with the riches of modesty. Keri herself however, would often confound teachers with her erratic behaviour, which was at best sullen and withdrawn; at worst violently disruptive. When challenged, she would only exacerbate her growing reputation as a fantasist; weaving terrible tales about the "abuse" she was suffering at the hands of her very creators.
-
-
Keri 1
- By Golden girl on 17-09-18
-
I Will Always Write Back
- How One Letter Changed Two Lives
- By: Martin Ganda, Caitlin Alifirenka, Liz Welch
- Narrated by: Chukwudi Iwuji, Emily Bauer
- Length: 8 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The New York Times best-selling true story of an all-American girl and a boy from Zimbabwe and the letter that changed both of their lives forever. It started as an assignment. Everyone in Caitlin's class wrote to an unknown student somewhere in a distant place. Martin was lucky to even receive a pen-pal letter. There were only 10 letters, and 50 kids in his class. But he was the top student, so he got the first one. That letter was the beginning of a correspondence that spanned six years and changed two lives.
-
-
I will allways write back
- By Kindle Customer Patricia TAYLOR on 10-09-17
-
The Lost Girls
- The True Story of the Cleveland Abductions and the Incredible Rescue of Michelle Knight, Amanda Berry, and Gina Dejesus
- By: John Glatt
- Narrated by: Shaun Grindell
- Length: 11 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In The Lost Girls, John Glatt tells the truly amazing story of Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus, and Michelle Knight - who were kidnapped, imprisoned, and repeatedly raped and beaten in a Cleveland house for over a decade by Ariel Castro - and their amazing escape in May 2013, which made headlines all over the world.
-
-
Incredible
- By MRS S L MARTIN on 03-05-20
-
Two Thousand Minnows
- A Young Girl's Story of Separation, Forgiveness, and Hope
- By: Sandra Leigh Vaughan
- Narrated by: Elizabeth Evans
- Length: 17 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Sandra Leigh was seven years old, she fell into the role of protector of her mother and three younger siblings. One winter night, she ushered her mother out of the house during one of her father’s tirades, and then snuck her back into the dark home through a window. Sandra was used to events like these; what she wasn’t used to were the mountains and nature surrounding her new home in West Virginia.
-
-
Really good
- By Amazon Customer on 14-03-22
-
The Mighty Miss Malone
- By: Christopher Paul Curtis
- Narrated by: Bahni Turpin
- Length: 7 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the Newbery Medal and Coretta Scott King Award - winning Bud, not Buddy, Bud met a girl named Deza Malone in a Hooverville. This is her story. “We are a family on a journey to a place called wonderful" is the motto of Deza Malone's family. Deza is the smartest girl in her class in Gary, Indiana, singled out by teachers for a special path in life. But the Great Depression has hit Gary hard, and there are no jobs for black men. When her beloved father leaves to find work, Deza, Mother, and her older brother Jimmie go in search of him.
-
KERI 2: The Original Child Abuse True Story
- Child Abuse True Stories
- By: Kat Ward
- Narrated by: Bridget Thomas
- Length: 15 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Being a teenager isn't easy. Even kids who grow up in happy, loving households encounter all manner of problems during adolescence. But children who were abused, raped, bullied, mistreated or neglected during their earliest years, face the transition at an even greater disadvantage. For they not only come completely ill-prepared, but also badly scarred, and often still licking the wounds from their childhoods.
-
-
unbelievable
- By Rosie on 27-05-19
-
What Remains True
- A Novel
- By: Janis Thomas
- Narrated by: Lauren Ezzo, Scott Lange, Mikael Naramore, and others
- Length: 9 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From the outside, the Davenports look like any other family living a completely ordinary life - until that devastating day when five-year-old Jonah is killed, and the family is torn apart. As the fury of guilt engulfs them, the Davenports slowly start to unravel, one by one. Losing her son forces Rachel to withdraw into a frayed, fuzzy reality. Her husband, Sam, tries to remain stoic, but he's consumed by regret with the choices he's made. Eden mourns her brother, while desperately fighting to regain a sense of normalcy.
-
Cupboard Boy: A Shockingly True Story of Horrific Child Abuse
- The PT Saunders Story, Book 1
- By: P.T. Saunders
- Narrated by: Paul Winter
- Length: 1 hr and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Under the cover of anonymity, Paul Saunders courageously tells his shockingly true story of how he and his stepsiblings were repeatedly abused by their mother and stepfather. It doesn’t make “easy” listening, but living through it wasn’t fun, either.
-
-
a well written story although very sad
- By Marie Richardson on 17-01-21
-
How High the Moon
- By: Karyn Parsons
- Narrated by: Sisi Aisha Johnson
- Length: 6 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It's 1944, and in a small Southern town, 11-year-old Ella spends her summers running wild with her cousins and friends. But life isn't always so sunny. The deep racial tension that simmers beneath their town's peaceful facade never quite goes away, and Ella misses her mama - a beautiful jazz singer who lives in Boston.
-
-
Heartbreakingly Beautiful
- By Dean on 06-03-20
Summary
The heartbreaking, iconic true story of an abandoned little boy's horrific journey through the American foster care system.
One misty evening, Jennings Michael Burch's mother, too sick to care for him, left her eight-year-old son at an orphanage with the words, "I'll be right back." She wasn't.... Shuttled through a bleak series of foster homes, orphanages, and institutions, Jennings never remained in any of them long enough to make a friend. Instead, he clung to a tattered stuffed animal named Doggie, his sole source of comfort in a frightening world.
Here, in his own words, Jennings Michael Burch reveals the abuse and neglect he experienced during his lost childhood. But while his experiences are both shocking and devastating, his story is ultimately one of hope - the triumphant tale of a forgotten child who somehow found the courage to reach out for love and found it waiting for him.
Critic reviews
“A deeply moving and inspiring story.” (Alan Arkin)
“Everyone who cares about the quality of life and the future of nation should read this book.” (William R. Bricker, National Director, Boys Clubs of America)
“This heartbreaking, shocking, ultimately triumphant tale is an extremely important book.” (Lucy Freeman, author of Fight Against Fears)
More from the same
What listeners say about They Cage the Animals at Night
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- mandy wales
- 05-07-21
Excellent!!
I constantly listen to books on a audible while I do my boring job and I have to say this is one of the best books , absolutely loved the story and the narrator tells it wonderfully, highly recommended....
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Selene Rackley
- 24-05-18
Very interesting story
I enjoyed this true story so much and wish I would have learned more of Jenning's life as he grew older. I've read other books about those monstrous orphanages. What makes someone be cruel to a child. I hope others will read this story. I recommend it.
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Cedricka
- 03-02-20
Thank God for always being there for Jennings
I love this book so much i read it 3 time and i still cry when Jennings cry and happy when he find the love and care he deserves... i thank you Jennings Michael Burch for sharing you're story and i hope that one day I'm brave enough as you to share mines with the world too.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Amazon Customer
- 07-01-20
awesome book
favorite book in the world. very well wrote. could read this book a dozen times.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Douglas
- 30-09-19
One of my favorite books in high school
This book, and Goodnight Mister Tom by Michelle Magorian were some of my top favorite books as a child in high school and as an adult now. Coming from a difficult childhood myself, I found love in these books that I didn't really find anywhere else. This book is a cherished memory. I'm so glad they finally have it on Audible.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- CarolineWade
- 31-08-19
One less animal to cage
This was a really great book! I love the way the author pulls you into his childhood. Some very sad moments, but through the story Doggy provided great comfort.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Elena Maria Regalado
- 20-07-19
Wonderfully written and spectacular narration
This is such a heart felt story. It makes you great fun for what you have and wish you could give more to kids in need.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Yakov
- 15-02-19
Good book
This is the saddest book ever it is amazing you should read it you will like it
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Nichole
- 02-01-19
love it
I read this book when i was in school and loved it. i downloaded the audio book and it was just as good as i remember. Heartbreaking yet inspiring and hopeful.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Anonymous User
- 25-10-18
This book pulled at all of my heart strings.
this is a remarkable story of overcoming the odds. I see this kind of scarimenss everyday. Hard to believe not much has changed in the system.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- KIC
- 16-10-18
Sadly, I got pretty bored with this one.
I do generally enjoy autobiographies. Jennings' story has all the elements of a great, though heartbreaking story.
I think a combination of the narrator, the pacing of the story, and the perspective from the child only, with no insight or retrospect from the adult authour just doesn't give me the depth I usually appreciate from autobiographies.
It's just the authour's choice, putting the story together in this way, and I don't think I'll even finish it. There's no idea of who Jennings is now. It's like you're floating along side his childhood self, watching helplessly as he is tossed from this home to that.
The language and emotional tone is repetitive. "Oh boy, oh gosh, gee whiz" yet there is no emotive elements to the performance, and the conversation feels flat.
1 person found this helpful