Showing results by publisher "Recorded Books" in Friendship

Ever since Fern Espinoza and Lily Graden met as teenagers volunteering at a conference center in Costa Rica twenty years ago, they have shared a close friendship, even though they live in different states. They can hardly believe it when their teen dream of traveling to Africa together becomes a reality. It’s the trip of a lifetime—but life sure isn’t what they thought it would be back when they were young.

Audrey Parker's life changes forever when Pearl Harbor is attacked on December 7, 1941. Her brother, a talented young Navy pilot, had been stationed there, poised to fulfill their late father's distinguished legacy. Fresh out of nursing school with a passion and a born gift for helping others, both Audrey and her friend, Lizzie, suddenly find their nation on the brink of war. Driven to do whatever they can to serve, they enlist in the Army and embark on a new adventure as flight nurses.

At Ridgewood High, Amy, Frankie, Rachael, and Nina formed a deep bond. Now, 15 years after leaving school behind, they’re back for a reunion, laughing, reminiscing, and chatting how much has changed - and how much hasn’t. But Frankie has an idea to help solve that: a singles cruise for the holidays.

Dancing at the Rascal Fair by National Book Award nominee Ivan Doig captures the passion and tenacity of turn-of-the-century immigrants struggling to build new lives amidst Montana’s windswept Rockies. The tale unfolds into a contest of the heart between Anna Ramsay and Angus McCaskill—kept apart by obligations—as they and their stormy kin vie to tame the brutal land.

What I wanted more than anything was to be standing beside Schmidt, in concert with Schmidt, at the foot of Saint Sebastian’s Abyss along with Schmidt, hands cupped to the sides of our faces, debating art, transcendence, and the glory of the apocalypse.” Former best friends who built their careers writing about a single work of art meet after a decades-long falling-out. One of them, called to the other’s deathbed for unknown reasons by a “relatively short” nine-page email, spends his flight to Berlin reflecting on Dutch Renaissance painter Count Hugo Beckenbauer.

Born under different stars—Mungo a Protestant and James a Catholic—they should be sworn enemies if they’re to be seen as men at all. Their environment is a hyper-masculine and sectarian one, for gangs of young men and the violence they might dole out dominate the Glaswegian estate where they live. And yet against all odds Mungo and James become best friends as they find a sanctuary in the pigeon dovecote that James has built for his prize racing birds.

Grace and Claire have formed a close friendship over their love of reading. After many years and many books that provided armchair adventures, the time has come for them to go somewhere instead of only dreaming of someday. Traveling to Venice, Florence, and Bellagio, the Suitcase Sisters find themselves immersed in the magnificent works of art, scrumptious gelato flavors, and endless pasta variations of Italy. And they discover a vulnerability to disclose their struggles in ways they never did at home.

Isabelle “Izzy” Flanders and Yoko Akia are beginning a new project—an indoor-outdoor café that will be the cornerstone of a market village. Izzy knows just the person to get the project off the ground: her old college classmate, Zoe Danfield, now vice president of a huge construction corporation. But the Zoe that Izzy reencounters doesn’t seem like her confident old friend. This Zoe is stressed, and Izzy eventually learns why. Buildings and bridges have been collapsing all over the world, causing hundreds of deaths, and Zoe suspects her firm’s inferior foundation materials are the cause.

Best friends Audrey Barrett and Eve Dawson are looking forward to celebrating Christmas in postwar America, thrilled at the prospect of starting new traditions with their five-year-old sons. But when the 1951 Sears Christmas Wish Book arrives and the boys start obsessing over every toy in it, Audrey and Eve realize they must first teach them the true significance of the holiday. They begin by helping Bobby and Harry plan gifts of encouragement and service for those in their community, starting by walking an elderly neighbor’s yellow Lab.

In this uplifting holiday novel from New York Times bestselling author Fern Michaels, there are secrets to be uncovered, friendships to deepen, and romance in the air when four women travel to Italy for a Christmas to remember....

Fair Meadows Retirement Community might as well be a country club for most of the retirees enjoying the pool, golf course, and book clubs. But for the caregivers whose family members reside upstairs in the special memory care unit, vacation is over. Comforting these forgotten folks is exactly why the Woolgatherers group has formed. The members make prayer shawls to support those affected by the heartbreaking reality of not being recognized by a loved one—people like Sam Talbot, who has been barely existing since his wife moved into Memory Care.

Blaine Grayson returns to Three Sisters Island with a grand plan - to take Camp Kicking Moose to the next level. Her dream starts to unravel when she discovers Moose Manor's kitchen has been badly remodeled by her sister, Cam, who doesn't know how to cook. Added to that blow is the cold shoulder given by her best friend, Artie Lotosky, now a doctor to the unbridged Maine islands. As old wounds are opened, Blaine starts to wonder if she made a mistake by coming home.

During a treacherous winter trek to the basecamp of Annapurna, one woman is forced to confront the events leading up to her best friend’s tragic death twenty years earlier as well as the nature of their friendship, the meaning of love, and the unexpected consequences of what is spoken—and what is not. When Livy receives a package containing the ashes of her best friend, she knows she must return to the place Mo loved best to honor her memory. Leaving her son and her estranged husband behind, Livy travels to Kathmandu and the mountain towns of Nepal, and to the past.

After a winter spent writing her latest novel, Annie looks forward to a summer with friends who have become like the family she never had. But then her landlord announces that his grandson will be moving into her cozy Chappaquiddick cottage - and she'll be moving out. Year-round island housing is tough to find. Shaken by the thought of being forced to leave the people and the community she's grown to love, Annie seeks distraction in the July 4th celebrations - and stumbles upon a young woman who's unconscious on her front lawn...and barely alive....

At last, shy Kimberly has the love she's longed for - complete with a lavish destination wedding. But her fiancé's past relationships, and her baggage, are about to turn their special dream day into a perfect nightmare. Meanwhile, a shattering business reversal has all-about-the-money Hahna at odds with the young boho writer she loves - and tempted big-time by the man who got away. And Twila is still reeling from a sexual assault - and out for revenge, no matter what the personal cost.

One hot fall day, schoolteacher Layla Sanford arrives at her cozy home to find she has two guests. One is a tiny, adorable Yorkie in a cable-knit sweater and a fuzzy yellow ducky hat. The other is Layla’s best friend Christine, Ducky’s beloved person and momager. Ducky, after all, is no regular dog. He’s a TikTok star with millions of followers, making up in personality and photogenic appeal what he lacks in size. Layla agrees to watch Ducky while Christine is called away for work and is quickly charmed by the miniature mutt.

After her mother's death, Delaney Byrne faces escalating debts and a sister to support. Their home is burglarized, hinting at her mother’s obsession with a hidden treasure in Arizona's mountains. When her estranged best friend, Joss, proposes one final treasure hunt, Delaney is skeptical but desperate. As they delve into the wilderness, Delaney and Joss navigate a maze of old betrayals and hidden dangers. Each clue they uncover draws them closer to the treasure but deeper into risk. Delaney vows not to repeat her mother’s mistakes, but the mountain’s perils are relentless, and trust is scarce.

On the rugged Oregon coast in the early 1900s, a group of women's lives intertwine through their shared pioneering spirit and the steadfast presence of Mary Gerritse. Struggling with her daughter Belle's desire to live with her grandparents, Mary discovers her own mother facing illness and her father hiring a caretaker with a troubled past. Despite tensions, Mary leaves Belle with her grandparents, feeling guilt and resentment. When past secrets bubble over into troubles in the present, Mary's identity is shaken.

Three very different women. Only one thing in common. But when their family patriarch dies and they must share his estate, the truths they discover will test them - and everything they think they know about each other.

A powerful, uplifting story of female friendship and resilience—with just a hint of magic—as three young women whose bond was shattered years before by tragedy rediscover their connection, with the help of a long-lost gift they were meant to share.