Try free for 30 days
-
A Brilliant Life
- My Mother's Inspiring Story of Surviving the Holocaust
- Narrated by: Rachel Griffiths, Rachelle Unreich
- Length: 8 hrs and 7 mins
Failed to add items
Add to basket failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from Wish List failed.
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Buy Now for $28.00
No valid payment method on file.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Listeners also picked
-
In Bad Faith
- Inside a Secret Ultra-Orthodox Sect and the Brutal Betrayal It Tried to Hide
- By: Dassi Erlich
- Narrated by: Dassi Erlich
- Length: 10 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
As a young girl growing up in a strict ultra-Orthodox family, Dassi's life was preordained - marry young, live a devout life and raise children within the Adass community's religious rules. This righteous path would keep her safe from the immodest, secular world just a few blocks away in suburban Melbourne. But the Adass community was not safe for Dassi. She was fifteen when her revered school principal, Malka Leifer, started to single her out. Dassi's cloistered and harsh upbringing meant she didn't have the words for what was happening to her, but she knew it was very, very wrong.
-
-
Dassi’s incredible guts and resilience, impossible to stop listening!
- By Anonymous User on 06-05-2024
-
Israel
- A Simple Guide to the Most Misunderstood Country on Earth
- By: Noa Tishby
- Narrated by: Noa Tishby
- Length: 9 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Israel. The small strip of arid land is 5,700 miles away but remains a hot-button issue and a thorny topic of debate. But while everyone seems to have a strong opinion about Israel, how many people actually know the facts? Here to fill in the information gap is Israeli American Noa Tishby.
-
-
Bais and fabrication of facts.
- By Anonymous User on 29-08-2022
-
The Covenant of Water
- By: Abraham Verghese
- Narrated by: Abraham Verghese
- Length: 31 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Spanning the years 1900 to 1977, The Covenant of Water is set in Kerala, on South India’s Malabar Coast, and follows three generations of a family that suffers a peculiar affliction: in every generation, at least one person dies by drowning—and in Kerala, water is everywhere. At the turn of the century, a twelve-year-old girl from Kerala’s long-existing Christian community, grieving the death of her father, is sent by boat to her wedding, where she will meet her forty-year-old husband for the first time.
-
-
Plea for Cutting For Stone!
- By karenf on 14-05-2023
-
The Fighter of Auschwitz
- By: Erik Brouwer
- Narrated by: Mark Meadows
- Length: 10 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 1943, the Dutch champion boxer Leen Sanders was sent to Auschwitz. His wife and children were put to death while he was sent 'to the left' with the others who were fit enough for labour. Recognised by an SS officer, he was earmarked for a 'privileged' post in the kitchens in exchange for weekly boxing matches for the entertainment of the Nazi guards. From there, he enacted his resistance to their limitless cruelty. With great risk and danger to his own life, Leen stole, concealed and smuggled food and clothing to alleviate the unbearable suffering of the prisoners in need.
-
The Lost Bookshop
- By: Evie Woods, Nick Biadon
- Narrated by: Avena Mansergh-Wallace, Olivia Mace
- Length: 12 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For too long, Opaline, Martha and Henry have been the side characters in their own lives. But when a vanishing bookshop casts its spell, these three unsuspecting strangers will discover that their own stories are every bit as extraordinary as the ones found in the pages of their beloved books. And by unlocking the secrets of the shelves, they find themselves transported to a world of wonder…where nothing is as it seems.
-
-
Magical fantasy for adults
- By Elizabeth on 19-11-2023
-
The Girl Who Escaped From Auschwitz:
- A totally gripping and absolutely heartbreaking World War 2 novel
- By: Ellie Midwood
- Narrated by: Alison Campbell
- Length: 12 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Nobody leaves Auschwitz alive. Mala, inmate 19880, understood that the moment she stepped off the cattle train into the depths of hell. Edward, inmate 531, is a camp veteran and a political prisoner. They are locked up for no other sin than simply existing. But when they meet, the dark shadow of Auschwitz is lit by a glimmer of hope. Edward makes Mala believe in the impossible. That despite being surrounded by electric wire, machine guns topping endless watchtowers and searchlights roaming the ground, they will leave this death camp.
-
-
awe-inspiring
- By Amazon Customer on 20-02-2023
-
In Bad Faith
- Inside a Secret Ultra-Orthodox Sect and the Brutal Betrayal It Tried to Hide
- By: Dassi Erlich
- Narrated by: Dassi Erlich
- Length: 10 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
As a young girl growing up in a strict ultra-Orthodox family, Dassi's life was preordained - marry young, live a devout life and raise children within the Adass community's religious rules. This righteous path would keep her safe from the immodest, secular world just a few blocks away in suburban Melbourne. But the Adass community was not safe for Dassi. She was fifteen when her revered school principal, Malka Leifer, started to single her out. Dassi's cloistered and harsh upbringing meant she didn't have the words for what was happening to her, but she knew it was very, very wrong.
-
-
Dassi’s incredible guts and resilience, impossible to stop listening!
- By Anonymous User on 06-05-2024
-
Israel
- A Simple Guide to the Most Misunderstood Country on Earth
- By: Noa Tishby
- Narrated by: Noa Tishby
- Length: 9 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Israel. The small strip of arid land is 5,700 miles away but remains a hot-button issue and a thorny topic of debate. But while everyone seems to have a strong opinion about Israel, how many people actually know the facts? Here to fill in the information gap is Israeli American Noa Tishby.
-
-
Bais and fabrication of facts.
- By Anonymous User on 29-08-2022
-
The Covenant of Water
- By: Abraham Verghese
- Narrated by: Abraham Verghese
- Length: 31 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Spanning the years 1900 to 1977, The Covenant of Water is set in Kerala, on South India’s Malabar Coast, and follows three generations of a family that suffers a peculiar affliction: in every generation, at least one person dies by drowning—and in Kerala, water is everywhere. At the turn of the century, a twelve-year-old girl from Kerala’s long-existing Christian community, grieving the death of her father, is sent by boat to her wedding, where she will meet her forty-year-old husband for the first time.
-
-
Plea for Cutting For Stone!
- By karenf on 14-05-2023
-
The Fighter of Auschwitz
- By: Erik Brouwer
- Narrated by: Mark Meadows
- Length: 10 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 1943, the Dutch champion boxer Leen Sanders was sent to Auschwitz. His wife and children were put to death while he was sent 'to the left' with the others who were fit enough for labour. Recognised by an SS officer, he was earmarked for a 'privileged' post in the kitchens in exchange for weekly boxing matches for the entertainment of the Nazi guards. From there, he enacted his resistance to their limitless cruelty. With great risk and danger to his own life, Leen stole, concealed and smuggled food and clothing to alleviate the unbearable suffering of the prisoners in need.
-
The Lost Bookshop
- By: Evie Woods, Nick Biadon
- Narrated by: Avena Mansergh-Wallace, Olivia Mace
- Length: 12 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For too long, Opaline, Martha and Henry have been the side characters in their own lives. But when a vanishing bookshop casts its spell, these three unsuspecting strangers will discover that their own stories are every bit as extraordinary as the ones found in the pages of their beloved books. And by unlocking the secrets of the shelves, they find themselves transported to a world of wonder…where nothing is as it seems.
-
-
Magical fantasy for adults
- By Elizabeth on 19-11-2023
-
The Girl Who Escaped From Auschwitz:
- A totally gripping and absolutely heartbreaking World War 2 novel
- By: Ellie Midwood
- Narrated by: Alison Campbell
- Length: 12 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Nobody leaves Auschwitz alive. Mala, inmate 19880, understood that the moment she stepped off the cattle train into the depths of hell. Edward, inmate 531, is a camp veteran and a political prisoner. They are locked up for no other sin than simply existing. But when they meet, the dark shadow of Auschwitz is lit by a glimmer of hope. Edward makes Mala believe in the impossible. That despite being surrounded by electric wire, machine guns topping endless watchtowers and searchlights roaming the ground, they will leave this death camp.
-
-
awe-inspiring
- By Amazon Customer on 20-02-2023
Publisher's Summary
A mother and daughter.
Love. Loss. Wonder.
The story of a brilliant life.
Over seventy years had passed since Mira Unreich was freed from a concentration camp in Germany. On that spring day in 1945, she found herself alive, against all odds. In the decades that followed, she never explained the mystery underpinning her survival. How could Mira say that in the Holocaust 'I learned about the goodness of people'?
When Mira's journalist daughter Rachelle realised time was running out for Mira, who was ill with cancer, she resolved to ask her mother questions. It would be the most important interview of her life: a chance to discover the secrets to her mother's joy, and an opportunity to fit together the jigsaw puzzle pieces of her own life.
Rachelle discovered so much more than she ever expected. Mira's words would lead her along a surprising path, where she learned for the first time what a truly extraordinary life her mother had led.
A Brilliant Life weaves together the past and the present to capture the powerful connection between a mother and child. It reminds us of the resilience of the soul and the ability of the heart to heal. It is an unforgettable story about fate and chance, love and grief, and the deepest kind of faith.
'A delicate, evocative story of strength and survival that turns on one of the most powerful forces in the known universe: a mother's love' JONATHAN FREEDLAND, bestselling author of The Escape Artist
'Unreich has cleverly painted her mother's story in all its shades of glory and despair; a woman who stepped into the canvas of life and painted her own bright fulfilling future' HARPER'S BAZAAR AUSTRALIA
'Mira's courage and belief in people's goodness radiates throughout this unforgettable testimony' THE AUSTRALIAN WOMEN'S WEEKLY
'An affirmation of the miraculous nature of the human mind to make sense of humanity's worst inclinations, not just survive them' RACHEL GRIFFITHS
'A loving and tender book . . . Mira's story presents a key to the future of humanity' SYDNEY MORNING HERALD
'Astonishingly compelling . . . A breathtaking masterclass on how to retain empathy, faith and optimism in the face of such unfathomable hardship' BETTER READING
More from the same
Narrator
What listeners say about A Brilliant Life
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Jaime
- 13-04-2024
Outstanding
Magnificent narration by Rachel Griffiths. Incredible story that is both harrowing and uplifting. Highly recommend
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Liz sunshine
- 26-11-2023
A book true to it’s title.
Quite an unbelieveable and beautiful written recount of a such a valuable story. Performed flawlessly. I would highly recommend.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Julie raunik
- 01-12-2023
Just wonderful
We can all learn so much from Mira and her beautiful family about actively choosing to live life looking for the good. What a wonderful legacy you achieved Rachelle Unreich. Written and read beautifully.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Fiona Phillips
- 13-12-2023
A must read
The author lovingly brings to life story of her mother. It’s beautifully written with a poignant message for these troubled times! Narration by Rachel Griffiths is an added bonus.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Steph Keisler-Wills
- 11-11-2023
What a great tribute!
Very well written and read. Although some aspects of the book changed my mood, I pushed on and was in awe of what this lady was able to do with her life. I finished it in 2 days.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Leora Givoni
- 13-01-2024
Inspiring Soulful Reading
An incredibly researched and heartfelt book written by daughter Rachel recounting her mother’s story of Holocaust survival. This book encapsulates so much. Psychological and physical triumph over evil, the ability of a survivor, Mira, to go on living with a generous soul , attitude to life and wisdom which she bestows endlessly on her children and hundreds of others. A must read for anyone wanting to learn more about the history of these times, the ability to rise up after what seems impossible and to witness the enduring love of a mother daughter relationship.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Bob R
- 15-01-2024
Boring narration, very disappointed
Rachel Griffiths sounded like she was falling asleep while narrating, as a result my wife and I were doing the same as we listened. There was no interest or intonation in her voice. We decided to stop at the end of chapter 1 and give up.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!