Last week, I shared my favorite book of 2025 (here), and today, my favorite audiobook is featured. Many friends insist reading with their ears is impossible for them and prefer reading a “real” book or an e-book. Reading with your ears is not for everyone, but I enjoy listening to a narrator bring a story to life.
In 2025, I read with my ears a lot! Most of the 87 books (current count) on my Read list were a combination of reading with both my eyes and ears. This year, I had no trouble choosing the best audiobook of the year. The memoir is the book I will talk about for years to come. Without a doubt!
Between Two Kingdoms: A Memoir of a Life Interrupted by Suleika Jaouod and read by the author.
Suleika Jaouad was diagnosed with leukemia just months after graduating from Princeton in 2011. Between Two Kingdoms recounts Jaouad’s cancer diagnosis and the grueling treatment she received in the Kingdom of Illness and then the challenges of returning to a normal life in the Kingdom of the Well.
I was only vaguely familiar with Suleika Jaouod before reading her memoir with an online book group. Her husband is Jon Batiste, a singer/songwriter and the former band leader on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. My husband and I have been fans of his music for years and knew his wife had been ill. Now I am an even greater admirer of hers!
Her memoir and HER LIFE are studies of survival and how to live a full life after trauma. Between Two Kingdoms was published in 2021, but it was just the inspiring story I needed in 2025.
Please share your favorite audiobooks with me.
Look for these recommendations and other books at Knox County Online Library or your local independent bookstore each week.
Linda Sullivan is an avid reader and wants to inspire you to become one, too. For more recommendations or to talk books, reach out to her at thebookwhisperertn@gmail.com. She can also be found @thebookwhisperertn on Instagram.
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