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The Foundling
- The True Story of a Kidnapping, a Family Secret, and My Search for the Real Me
- Narrated by: Kirby Heyborne
- Length: 11 hrs and 24 mins
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A Family Torn Apart
- By: Cathy Glass
- Narrated by: Denica Fairman
- Length: 7 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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Angie, 6, and sister Polly, 4, are utterly distraught when they arrive to stay with foster carer Cathy Glass. Their older half-sister Ashleigh has accused their father of rape, and the two young sisters have been removed from home to keep them safe. Cathy tries to comfort the girls, but they are inconsolable. They just want their mummy and daddy, who they love dearly. The girls appear to have been well looked after, but as they settle and start to talk of life at home, it becomes clear something is badly wrong.
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great audio listening
- By Amazon Customer on 29-10-2023
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Unsafe
- By: Cathy Glass
- Narrated by: DeNica Fairman
- Length: 7 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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Performance
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Story
Damian is just seven when he is taken in by foster carer Cathy Glass. His mother, Rachel, loves her three young children dearly, but she is vulnerable, naïve and unable to cope on her own. Cathy sets about helping Damian overcome his eating issues, with the hope that he will eventually return home. But when Rachel’s new boyfriend, Troy, arrives on the scene, Cathy becomes deeply concerned. She soon realises that Damian and his siblings are in great danger.
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Learning more about the system
- By Jane on 01-01-2024
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The Forever Witness
- How DNA and Genealogy Solved a Cold Case Double Murder
- By: Edward Humes
- Narrated by: Edward Humes
- Length: 10 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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In November 1987, a young couple on an overnight trip to Seattle vanished without a trace. A week later, the bodies of Tanya Van Cuylenborg and her boyfriend Jay Cook were found in rural Washington. It was a brutal crime, and it was the perfect crime: With few clues and no witnesses, an international manhunt turned up empty, and the sensational case that shocked the Pacific Northwest gradually slipped from the headlines.
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Fascinating and devastating
- By warmestregards on 02-02-2024
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My Mother, Munchausen's and Me
- A True Story of Betrayal and a Shocking Family Secret
- By: Helen Naylor
- Narrated by: Helen Naylor
- Length: 10 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Ten years ago, Helen Naylor discovered her mother, Elinor, had been faking debilitating illnesses for 30 years. After Elinor’s self-induced death, Helen found her diaries, which Elinor wrote daily for more than 50 years. The diaries reveal not only the inner workings of Elinor’s twisted mind and self-delusion, but also shocking revelations about Helen’s childhood. Everything Helen knew about herself and her upbringing was founded on a lie.
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A person who doesn’t really know what child abuse is and apart from her mother pretending to be sick she had a normal childhood
- By Anonymous User on 18-09-2023
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A Litter of Bones: A Scottish Crime Thriller
- DCI Logan Crime Thrillers, Book 1
- By: JD Kirk
- Narrated by: Angus King
- Length: 7 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
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Performance
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Story
Was the biggest case of his career the worst mistake he ever made? Ten years ago, DCI Jack Logan stopped the serial child-killer dubbed "Mister Whisper", earning himself a commendation, a drinking problem, and a broken marriage in the process...When another child disappears a hundred miles north in the Highlands, Jack is sent to lead the investigation and bring the boy home. But as similarities between the two cases grow, could it be that Jack caught the wrong man all those years ago?
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Cat lovers content warning
- By Anonymous User on 07-11-2019
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The Lost Family
- How DNA Testing Is Upending Who We Are
- By: Libby Copeland
- Narrated by: Cindy Kay
- Length: 11 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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Performance
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In The Lost Family, journalist Libby Copeland investigates what happens when we embark on a vast social experiment with little understanding of the ramifications. Copeland explores the culture of genealogy buffs, the science of DNA, and the business of companies like Ancestry and 23andMe, all while tracing the story of one woman, her unusual results, and a relentless methodical drive for answers that becomes a thoroughly modern genetic detective story.
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Not a Novel.
- By Wendy Laigne-Stuart on 23-12-2021
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A Family Torn Apart
- By: Cathy Glass
- Narrated by: Denica Fairman
- Length: 7 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Angie, 6, and sister Polly, 4, are utterly distraught when they arrive to stay with foster carer Cathy Glass. Their older half-sister Ashleigh has accused their father of rape, and the two young sisters have been removed from home to keep them safe. Cathy tries to comfort the girls, but they are inconsolable. They just want their mummy and daddy, who they love dearly. The girls appear to have been well looked after, but as they settle and start to talk of life at home, it becomes clear something is badly wrong.
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great audio listening
- By Amazon Customer on 29-10-2023
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Unsafe
- By: Cathy Glass
- Narrated by: DeNica Fairman
- Length: 7 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Damian is just seven when he is taken in by foster carer Cathy Glass. His mother, Rachel, loves her three young children dearly, but she is vulnerable, naïve and unable to cope on her own. Cathy sets about helping Damian overcome his eating issues, with the hope that he will eventually return home. But when Rachel’s new boyfriend, Troy, arrives on the scene, Cathy becomes deeply concerned. She soon realises that Damian and his siblings are in great danger.
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Learning more about the system
- By Jane on 01-01-2024
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The Forever Witness
- How DNA and Genealogy Solved a Cold Case Double Murder
- By: Edward Humes
- Narrated by: Edward Humes
- Length: 10 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
-
Story
In November 1987, a young couple on an overnight trip to Seattle vanished without a trace. A week later, the bodies of Tanya Van Cuylenborg and her boyfriend Jay Cook were found in rural Washington. It was a brutal crime, and it was the perfect crime: With few clues and no witnesses, an international manhunt turned up empty, and the sensational case that shocked the Pacific Northwest gradually slipped from the headlines.
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Fascinating and devastating
- By warmestregards on 02-02-2024
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My Mother, Munchausen's and Me
- A True Story of Betrayal and a Shocking Family Secret
- By: Helen Naylor
- Narrated by: Helen Naylor
- Length: 10 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
-
Story
Ten years ago, Helen Naylor discovered her mother, Elinor, had been faking debilitating illnesses for 30 years. After Elinor’s self-induced death, Helen found her diaries, which Elinor wrote daily for more than 50 years. The diaries reveal not only the inner workings of Elinor’s twisted mind and self-delusion, but also shocking revelations about Helen’s childhood. Everything Helen knew about herself and her upbringing was founded on a lie.
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A person who doesn’t really know what child abuse is and apart from her mother pretending to be sick she had a normal childhood
- By Anonymous User on 18-09-2023
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A Litter of Bones: A Scottish Crime Thriller
- DCI Logan Crime Thrillers, Book 1
- By: JD Kirk
- Narrated by: Angus King
- Length: 7 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Was the biggest case of his career the worst mistake he ever made? Ten years ago, DCI Jack Logan stopped the serial child-killer dubbed "Mister Whisper", earning himself a commendation, a drinking problem, and a broken marriage in the process...When another child disappears a hundred miles north in the Highlands, Jack is sent to lead the investigation and bring the boy home. But as similarities between the two cases grow, could it be that Jack caught the wrong man all those years ago?
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Cat lovers content warning
- By Anonymous User on 07-11-2019
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The Lost Family
- How DNA Testing Is Upending Who We Are
- By: Libby Copeland
- Narrated by: Cindy Kay
- Length: 11 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
-
Story
In The Lost Family, journalist Libby Copeland investigates what happens when we embark on a vast social experiment with little understanding of the ramifications. Copeland explores the culture of genealogy buffs, the science of DNA, and the business of companies like Ancestry and 23andMe, all while tracing the story of one woman, her unusual results, and a relentless methodical drive for answers that becomes a thoroughly modern genetic detective story.
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Not a Novel.
- By Wendy Laigne-Stuart on 23-12-2021
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The Hospital
- By: Barbara O'Hare
- Narrated by: Charlie Sanderson
- Length: 8 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
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Barbara was 12 when she was admitted to the psychiatric hospital Aston Hall in 1971. From a troubled home, she'd hoped she would find sanctuary there. But during her stay, Barbara was systematically drugged and abused by its head physician, Dr Kenneth Milner. Somehow, eventually, she started to campaign for answers. This is a shocking account of how vulnerable children were preyed upon by the doctor entrusted with their care.
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Totally Shocked
- By Salena on 04-02-2022
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Twice a Daughter
- A Search for Identity, Family, and Belonging
- By: Julie Ryan McGue
- Narrated by: Katie Hagman
- Length: 8 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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Performance
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Story
What does it mean to grow up without a sense of who you are and where you come from? Julie is adopted. She’s also a twin. Because their adoption was closed, she and her sister lack both a health history and their birth parents’ names - which becomes an issue for Julie when, at 48 years old, she finds herself facing several serious health issues.
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My So Called Mum
- Child Neglect, Love, & My Great Britain
- By: Joseph Kane
- Narrated by: Tim Steere
- Length: 7 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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Story
Writing this memoir has to be one of the hardest things I have ever achieved. Out of respect for the dead, this story has been told exactly how it happened. I was born in 1985 in Lancashire, England, to two alcoholic parents. Having selfish parents left me exposed to abuse, poverty, and crime. My loving grandparents helped me the best they could at the weekends, but life was barely survivable.
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Awesome
- By Anonymous User on 06-04-2022
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Ten Doors Down
- The Story of an Extraordinary Adoption Reunion
- By: Robert Tickner
- Narrated by: Robert Tickner
- Length: 7 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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Robert Tickner had always known he was adopted but had rarely felt much curiosity about his origins. Serving in the Hawke and Keating governments, he held the portfolio of minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander affairs, and while there he was instrumental in instigating the national inquiry into the Stolen Generations. When, in his 40s, Robert at last turned his attention to the question of his own birth, he had some sense of the potentially life-changing course that lay ahead of him.
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a very moving story
- By Mary Comino on 20-06-2022
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Tell No One
- By: Brendan Watkins
- Narrated by: David Tredinnick
- Length: 10 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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Performance
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Story
When Brendan Watkins was eight years old, his parents told him he was adopted. In his late twenties, he discovered the identity of his birth mother—a woman who had been a Catholic nun when he was born—but she wanted nothing to do with him. For thirty years he only managed limited communication with her, and had no clues to the identity of his birth father. In 2018, a DNA test led him to the truth: he was the son of a celebrated missionary priest.
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Interesting at time
- By Anonymous User on 04-12-2023
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"My Husband's Trying to Kill Me!"
- A True Story of Money, Marriage, and Murderous Intent
- By: Jim Schutze
- Narrated by: Jonathan Sleep
- Length: 9 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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Story
To the world, Linda DeSilva's marriage to Robert Edelman was perfect. He was her college boyfriend turned wealthy and successful husband, and the father of her children. But what friends and family didn't know was that the Texas real estate tycoon who set her up with a luxurious life in Dallas was also her abuser. When she asked him for a divorce, the violence against her only escalated, until the shocking moment she learned her husband had hired an assassin to take her life.
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The Midwife's Secret
- A missing girl, an accused woman and a family secret in this gripping, heartbreaking historical fiction
- By: Emily Gunnis
- Narrated by: Gemma Whelan
- Length: 10 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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When six-year-old Alice Hilton disappears on New Year's Eve 1979 from Yew Tree Manor, suspicion immediately falls on local boy Bobby James. Bobby claims he knows nothing about it, but his family has a grievance against Alice's landowner father. Tragically the child is never found. Decades later, Willow James, an architect working on a development at Yew Tree Manor, discovers that the land surrounding the house is holding a secret.
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Another great story!
- By Nerissa on 30-10-2021
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Coconut
- A Black Girl Fostered by a White Family in the 1960s and Her Search for Belonging and Identity
- By: Florence Ọlájídé
- Narrated by: Adjoa Andoh
- Length: 12 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
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1963, North London. Nan fosters one-year-old Florence Olajide and calls her "Ann". Florence adores her foster mother more than anything but Nan, and the children around her, all have white skin, and she can’t help but feel different. Then, four years later, after a weekend visit to her birth parents, Florence never returns to Nan. Two months after, sandwiched between her mother and father plus her three siblings, six-year-old Florence steps off a ship in Lagos to the fierce heat of the African sun.
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A Beautiful True Story
- By Taldree on 14-11-2022
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My Mother's Eyes
- By: Shanelle Dawson
- Narrated by: Shanelle Dawson, Alley Pascoe
- Length: 6 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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Performance
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Story
When she was four years old, Shanelle Dawson's mother, Lynette, disappeared. On 8 January 1982, the woman who had been a loving, constant presence vanished without a trace. Four year old's might not be able to articulate questions or understand a lot, but the ache of absence is very real. Year after year that ache persisted. Shanelle's father, Chris Dawson, claimed that his wife just needed to get away. This is what he told Lyn's parents and siblings. This is what he told his daughters. But Lyn never returned home.
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Very well written
- By Anonymous User on 13-10-2023
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Counting the Cost
- By: Jill Duggar, Derick Dillard - contributor, Craig Borlase - contributor
- Narrated by: Jill Duggar
- Length: 7 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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Story
Jill and Derick knew a normal life wasn’t possible for them. As a star on the popular TLC reality show 19 Kids and Counting, Jill grew up in front of viewers who were fascinated by her family’s way of life. She was the responsible, second daughter of Jim Bob and Michelle’s nineteen kids; always with a baby on her hip and happy to wear the modest ankle-length dresses with throat-high necklines.
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Every thing
- By Melisa-Jane on 18-03-2024
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Starvation Heights
- Dangerous Women: True Crime Stories
- By: Gregg Olsen
- Narrated by: Stacey Glemboski
- Length: 15 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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In 1911 two British heiresses, Claire and Dora Williamson, read a brochure about a revolutionary fasting treatment that promised a lifetime of good health. The sanatorium in the village of Olalla, west of Seattle, was surrounded by a beautiful forest, sparkling waters and fresh air. The sisters agreed it sounded perfect and exactly the restorative holiday they needed. But within a month of arriving, under the supervision of Doctor Linda Burfield Hazzard, Claire and Dora began to realise the frightening truth – they were not patients but prisoners at the isolated sanitorium.
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Shocking and sad.
- By Anonymous User on 06-08-2023
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First, I Believe You: A True Story of Healing from Hidden Memories of Severe Childhood Trauma
- By: Carol C. Boyce
- Narrated by: Carol Boyce
- Length: 9 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
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First, I Believe You is an astonishing memoir of resilience and recovery from severe childhood trauma she had no memory of. Terrifying flashbacks haunted her for decades despite an affluent, advantaged childhood, resulting in severe depression, food addiction, anxiety, and nightmares.
Publisher's Summary
The Foundling tells the incredible and inspiring true story of Paul Fronczak, a man who recently discovered via a DNA test that he was not who he thought he was - and set out to solve two 50-year-old mysteries at once. Along the way he upturned the genealogy industry, unearthed his family's deepest secrets, and broke open the second longest cold case in US history, all in a desperate bid to find out who he really is.
In 1964 a woman pretending to be a nurse kidnapped an infant boy named Paul Fronczak from a Chicago hospital.
Two years later police found a boy abandoned outside a variety store in New Jersey. The FBI tracked down Dora Fronczak, the kidnapped infant's mother, and she identified the abandoned boy as her son. The family spent the next 50 years believing they were whole again - but Paul was always unsure about his true identity.
Then, four years ago - spurred on by the birth of his first child, Emma Faith - Paul took a DNA test. The test revealed definitively that he was not Paul Fronczak. From that moment on, Paul has been on a tireless mission to find the man whose life he's been living - and to discover who abandoned him and why.
This is the story of Paul's heart-wrenching and tortuous journey to solve both mysteries and finally learn the truth about his identity.
The Foundling tells the incredible and inspiring true story of Paul Fronczak, a man who recently discovered via a DNA test that he was not who he thought he was - and set out to solve two 50-year-old mysteries at once. Along the way he upturned the genealogy industry, unearthed his family's deepest secrets, and broke open the second longest cold case in US history, all in a desperate bid to find out who he really is.
In 1964 a woman pretending to be a nurse kidnapped an infant boy named Paul Fronczak from a Chicago hospital.
Two years later police found a boy abandoned outside a variety store in New Jersey. The FBI tracked down Dora Fronczak, the kidnapped infant's mother, and she identified the abandoned boy as her son. The family spent the next 50 years believing they were whole again - but Paul was always unsure about his true identity.
Then, four years ago - spurred on by the birth of his first child, Emma Faith - Paul took a DNA test. The test revealed definitively that he was not Paul Fronczak. From that moment on, Paul has been on a tireless mission to find the man whose life he's been living - and to discover who abandoned him and why.
This is the story of Paul's heart-wrenching and tortuous journey to solve both mysteries and finally learn the truth about his identity.
The Foundling is a touching and inspiring story about a child lost and faith found, about the permanence of families and the bloodlines that define you, and about the emotional toll of both losing your identity and rediscovering who you truly are.
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What listeners say about The Foundling
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Anonymous User
- 19-05-2017
Basically a genealogy
This story if fine, it was entertaining enough to want to know what would happen and i finished it which indicates it was not boring. It is essentially a description of a complex genealogy, not my thing but if it was this book would be great. performed well. couldn't help finding the author selfish and searching for something outside himself that can only be found inside himself but this made it no less compelling.
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- Judy
- 22-08-2019
tragic all round
amazing story.. so sad .. lots of victims..
was very complicated and convoluted with many family names and peoples names in the story which made it hard to keep up with if too long was left between listening to the chapters
where is Jill??
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- Dawn
- 21-08-2019
How can this be true?
This is an amazing story, even more so because the story is true. Tragic, but true.
I felt it was too long winded though and found all the very long winded descriptions of DNA seemed to go on an on and on. It was well out of my understanding and after I while I found I was mentally switching off until the story progressed onto something else.
It is sad what was done to the central characters in this story, both the children and the parents and I hope all concerned can find peace in the future.
I also think the narrator was the wrong choice.
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- Aj
- 17-03-2019
Angst ad nauseam
This would have been a good story if the author didn't give us the intimate emotional reaction at every setback. The emotional became so gruelling that I lost track of the actually story.
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- Dawn
- 17-02-2019
Sunrise
This story had me captured trying to find the answer to two puzzles. I was left somewhat frustrated that all the answers had not been found. I wait to see whether a sequel is written with some answers about what happened to the stolen baby.
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- Lorna Furst
- 30-04-2018
Awesome Awesome Awesome
I loved everything about this book it had me from start to finish I just couldn't put it down.
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- V. Stacey
- 23-09-2017
Amazing Determination despite All.
Some People like Paul/Simon/Jack have exhaustive stories.
A message for Paul/Simon/Jack 'you are a being with many names. You are all identities all rolled into one. A truly amazing soul who faced every truth. Be Free now believing this.'
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- Marie Boyd
- 04-09-2017
So worth hearing! So well-read, all absorbing...
This would be my favourite Audible book, so far. The narrator's voice is so easy to listen to. This true life story is well-told, honest and it draws you in; you care so much about the people involved. You empathise with them. I so wanted to know what happened to Paul. I'd highly recommend this book to you. It's left me humble and touched my soul. 🕊
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- Marian
- 03-06-2017
Family secrets - an intriguing tale with twists and turns
All families have their secrets. This is a very moving book which I enjoyed thoroughly. We will never truly understand what may have motivated Paul's parents to abandon him.
Like it or not as humans we have a drive to find our biological parents which can sometimes be painful, sometimes a happy event. With the help of some dna detectives and great genealogy site Paul takes us on his adventure and shares his ups and downs as he discovers more about his identity. I highly recomend this story.
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- Elizabeth Young
- 01-05-2017
Great story
Really interesting story, however I wasn't a fan of the narration. It's strange listening to an autobiography not read by the author, with the narrator putting on voices and having different emotional intimations in his voice when the story is not his. The emotion is not his, so I found it awkward to listen to at times which detracted from the story. It also wasn't very well done so detracted even further. I should have just read it rather than listened.
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