
An Absent Mind
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
$0.99/mo for the first 3 months

Buy for $16.00
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Sandra Burr
-
Mel Foster
-
By:
-
Eric Rill
About this listen
Seventy-one and a man used to controlling those around him, Saul finds himself slipping into what he describes as his slow dance with death.
His ramblings, humor, emotions, lucid moments, and confusion are laid bare as well as the thoughts and feelings of his loved ones: his wife, Monique, conflicted and depressed, caring yet angry; his daughter, Florence, compassionate yet proper and reserved; his son, Joey, self-centered and narcissistic, seemingly indifferent to his family's challenges; and his doctor, an Alzheimer's specialist who cares for Saul until his final days.
From the beginning Saul and his family know how it has to end because no one has ever outsmarted Alzheimer's. But as they navigate the meandering road that will eventually bring Saul's demise, they leave behind their once disconnected lives and come together to weather their difficult journey.
Heartfelt and moving, this lauded novel, winner of 2014 gold medals from the Independent Publisher Book Awards, Readers' Favorite Book Awards, and the Living Now Book Award for Inspirational Fiction, will appeal to fans of Lisa Genova's Still Alice or Nicholas Sparks' The Notebook.
©2015 Eric Rill (P)2014 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved.Listeners also enjoyed...
-
The Call of the Wild
- By: Jack London
- Narrated by: Pablo Schreiber
- Length: 3 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Rediscover one of literature’s most beloved classics, richly reissued in a pivotal new audio recording. Emmy and Tony Award-nominated actor Pablo Schreiber (The Wire, Orange Is the New Black) delivers a stirring performance of Jack London’s fierce yet tender tale of loyalty between man and beast, told from the point of view of a dog.
-
-
The Call of the Wild
- By Amazon Customer on 12-18-18
By: Jack London
-
I Heard the Owl Call My Name
- By: Margaret Craven
- Narrated by: Frank Muller
- Length: 3 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The touching story of a young, mortally ill priest who spends his last days working among the Kwakiutl Indians of British Columbia.
-
-
Uncanny insight...
- By MetaThink on 03-22-15
By: Margaret Craven
-
My Holiday in North Korea
- The Funniest/Worst Place on Earth
- By: Wendy E. Simmons
- Narrated by: Jeena Yi
- Length: 4 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In My Holiday in North Korea: The Funniest/Worst Place on Earth, Wendy shares a glimpse of North Korea as it's never been seen before. Even though it's the scariest place on Earth, somehow Wendy forgot to check her sense of humor at the border. But Wendy's initial amusement and bewilderment soon turned to frustration and growing paranoia.
-
-
Lots of swearing.
- By Gail on 06-21-16
By: Wendy E. Simmons
-
The Moonlit Mind
- A Tale of Suspense
- By: Dean Koontz
- Narrated by: Peter Berkrot
- Length: 3 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Twelve-year-old Crispin has lived on the streets since he was nine - with only his wits and his daring to sustain him, and only his silent dog, Harley, to call his friend. He is always on the move, never lingering in any one place long enough to risk being discovered. Still, there are certain places he returns to. In the midst of the tumultuous city, they are havens of solitude: like the hushed environs of St. Mary Salome Cemetery, a place where Crispin can feel at peace - safe, at least for a while, from the fearsome memories that plague him... and seep into his darkest nightmares.
-
-
Knootz-lite
- By Michael on 01-20-13
By: Dean Koontz
-
The Perfect Christmas
- By: Debbie Macomber
- Narrated by: Tavia Gilbert
- Length: 4 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For Cassie Beaumont, it's meeting her perfect match. Cassie, at 33, wants a husband and kids, and so far, nothing's worked. Not blind dates, not the Internet and certainly not leaving love to chance. What's left? A professional matchmaker. He's Simon Dodson, and he's very choosy about the clients he takes on. Cassie finds Simon a difficult, acerbic know-it-all, and she's astonished when he accepts her as a client.
-
-
Warm and Fuzzy Christmas
- By Jeanette on 01-07-10
By: Debbie Macomber
-
Mockingbird
- By: Kathryn Erskine
- Narrated by: Angela Jayne Rogers
- Length: 4 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Mockingbird—a poignant gem by acclaimed author Kathryn Erskine—a talented young artist struggles to overcome a disability. Diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome, 10-year-old Caitlin faces a range of social and emotional challenges. The unexpected death of her caring brother makes matters even worse, but will the memory of his words of wisdom and the help of a compassionate counselor be enough to enable her to connect with others?
-
-
Excellent book for ALL readers
- By Kaui on 07-12-12
By: Kathryn Erskine
-
The Call of the Wild
- By: Jack London
- Narrated by: Pablo Schreiber
- Length: 3 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Rediscover one of literature’s most beloved classics, richly reissued in a pivotal new audio recording. Emmy and Tony Award-nominated actor Pablo Schreiber (The Wire, Orange Is the New Black) delivers a stirring performance of Jack London’s fierce yet tender tale of loyalty between man and beast, told from the point of view of a dog.
-
-
The Call of the Wild
- By Amazon Customer on 12-18-18
By: Jack London
-
I Heard the Owl Call My Name
- By: Margaret Craven
- Narrated by: Frank Muller
- Length: 3 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The touching story of a young, mortally ill priest who spends his last days working among the Kwakiutl Indians of British Columbia.
-
-
Uncanny insight...
- By MetaThink on 03-22-15
By: Margaret Craven
-
My Holiday in North Korea
- The Funniest/Worst Place on Earth
- By: Wendy E. Simmons
- Narrated by: Jeena Yi
- Length: 4 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In My Holiday in North Korea: The Funniest/Worst Place on Earth, Wendy shares a glimpse of North Korea as it's never been seen before. Even though it's the scariest place on Earth, somehow Wendy forgot to check her sense of humor at the border. But Wendy's initial amusement and bewilderment soon turned to frustration and growing paranoia.
-
-
Lots of swearing.
- By Gail on 06-21-16
By: Wendy E. Simmons
-
The Moonlit Mind
- A Tale of Suspense
- By: Dean Koontz
- Narrated by: Peter Berkrot
- Length: 3 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Twelve-year-old Crispin has lived on the streets since he was nine - with only his wits and his daring to sustain him, and only his silent dog, Harley, to call his friend. He is always on the move, never lingering in any one place long enough to risk being discovered. Still, there are certain places he returns to. In the midst of the tumultuous city, they are havens of solitude: like the hushed environs of St. Mary Salome Cemetery, a place where Crispin can feel at peace - safe, at least for a while, from the fearsome memories that plague him... and seep into his darkest nightmares.
-
-
Knootz-lite
- By Michael on 01-20-13
By: Dean Koontz
-
The Perfect Christmas
- By: Debbie Macomber
- Narrated by: Tavia Gilbert
- Length: 4 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For Cassie Beaumont, it's meeting her perfect match. Cassie, at 33, wants a husband and kids, and so far, nothing's worked. Not blind dates, not the Internet and certainly not leaving love to chance. What's left? A professional matchmaker. He's Simon Dodson, and he's very choosy about the clients he takes on. Cassie finds Simon a difficult, acerbic know-it-all, and she's astonished when he accepts her as a client.
-
-
Warm and Fuzzy Christmas
- By Jeanette on 01-07-10
By: Debbie Macomber
-
Mockingbird
- By: Kathryn Erskine
- Narrated by: Angela Jayne Rogers
- Length: 4 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Mockingbird—a poignant gem by acclaimed author Kathryn Erskine—a talented young artist struggles to overcome a disability. Diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome, 10-year-old Caitlin faces a range of social and emotional challenges. The unexpected death of her caring brother makes matters even worse, but will the memory of his words of wisdom and the help of a compassionate counselor be enough to enable her to connect with others?
-
-
Excellent book for ALL readers
- By Kaui on 07-12-12
By: Kathryn Erskine
-
Cocaine Blues
- By: Kerry Greenwood
- Narrated by: Stephanie Daniel
- Length: 5 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It's the end of the roaring twenties, and the exuberant and Honourable Phryne Fisher is dancing and gaming with gay abandon. But she becomes bored with London and the endless round of parties. In search of excitement, she sets her sights on a spot of detective work in Melbourne, Australia. And so mystery and the beautiful Russian dancer, Sasha de Lisse, appear in her life. From then on it's all cocaine and communism until her adventure reaches its steamy end in the Turkish baths of Little Lonsdale Street.
-
-
A series that just gets better
- By Barbara Kindle Customer on 02-01-11
By: Kerry Greenwood
-
Slapstick
- By: Kurt Vonnegut
- Narrated by: Adam Grupper
- Length: 4 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Perhaps the most autobiographical (and deliberately least disciplined) of Vonnegut's novels, Slapstick (1976) is in the form of a broken family odyssey and is surely a demonstration of its eponymous title. The story centers on brother and sister twins, children of Wilbur Swain, who are in sympathetic and (possibly) telepathic communication and who represent Vonnegut's relationship with his own sister who died young of cancer almost two decades before the book's publication.
-
-
Lonely No More!
- By Darwin8u on 11-16-16
By: Kurt Vonnegut
-
A Man Called Ove
- A Novel
- By: Fredrik Backman
- Narrated by: J. K. Simmons
- Length: 9 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Meet Ove. He’s a curmudgeon—the kind of man who points at people he dislikes as if they were burglars caught outside his bedroom window. He has staunch principles, strict routines, and a short fuse. But behind the cranky exterior there is a story and a sadness. So when one November morning a chatty young couple with two chatty young daughters move in next door and accidentally flatten Ove’s mailbox, it is the lead-in to a comical and heartwarming tale of unkempt cats, unexpected friendship, and the ancient art of backing up a U-Haul.
-
-
By Far the Best Narrator of a Book I've Had
- By WanderLaw on 04-05-20
By: Fredrik Backman
-
Happiness Falls (Good Morning America Book Club)
- A Novel
- By: Angie Kim
- Narrated by: Shannon Tyo, Sean Patrick Hopkins, Thomas Pruyn, and others
- Length: 13 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Mia, the irreverent, hyperanalytical twenty-year-old daughter, has an explanation for everything—which is why she isn’t initially concerned when her father and younger brother Eugene don’t return from a walk in a nearby park. They must have lost their phone. Or stopped for an errand somewhere. But by the time Mia’s brother runs through the front door bloody and alone, it becomes clear that the father in this tight-knit family is missing and the only witness is Eugene, who has the rare genetic condition Angelman syndrome and cannot speak.
-
-
A mixed review, but recommend
- By Andrea B. on 09-07-23
By: Angie Kim
-
Zen in the Art of Writing
- By: Ray Bradbury
- Narrated by: Jim Frangione
- Length: 3 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
"Every morning I jump out of bed and step on a land mine. The land mine is me. After the explosion, I spend the rest of the day putting the pieces back together. Now, it's your turn. Jump!" Zest. Gusto. Curiosity. These are the qualities every writer must have, as well as a spirit of adventure. In this exuberant book, the incomparable Ray Bradbury shares the wisdom, experience, and excitement of a lifetime of writing. Here are practical tips on the art of writing from a master of the craft - everything from finding original ideas to developing your own voice and style.
-
-
Evocative fuel for any Muse!
- By Amazon Customer on 03-22-18
By: Ray Bradbury
-
Nightshades
- A Paranormal Thriller (Nightshades, Book 1)
- By: Melissa F. Olson
- Narrated by: Luke Daniels
- Length: 4 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Alex McKenna is the new Special Agent in Charge of the Chicago office of the Bureau of Preternatural Investigations - the division tasked with investigating crimes involving shades. Or vampires, as they're more widely known. Children have been going missing, and agents are routinely being slaughtered. It's up to McKenna, and some unlikely allies, to get to the bottom of the problem, and find the kids before it's too late.
-
-
Fun, with enough novelty to be interesting
- By S. Yates on 01-27-18
By: Melissa F. Olson
-
The Unpleasant Profession of Jonathan Hoag
- By: Robert A. Heinlein
- Narrated by: Tom Weiner
- Length: 3 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Jonathan Hoag has a curious problem. Every evening, he finds a mysterious reddish substance under his fingernails, with no memory what he was doing during the day to get it there. Jonathan hires the husband and wife detective team of Ted and Cynthia Randall to follow him during the day and find out. But Ted and Cynthia find themselves instantly out of their depth. Jonathan leaves no fingerprints. His few memories about his profession turn out to be false.
-
-
Brilliant Sci-Fi Detective Action!
- By Nils J. Rasmussen on 04-18-14
-
The Sky People
- By: Terry Goodkind
- Narrated by: Mia Barron
- Length: 3 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Sun People are bound by an ancient law, left by the long-vanished Sky People: They must never kill. To other tribes, who have no such law, the Sun People are easy prey who will not defend themselves. Their game is poached, their stores raided, their women abducted, their men are killed for sport. But when Raging River and her sister are attacked by a Wolf People raiding party, River fights back and kills one of the warriors. Worse, she has killed the son of their chief.
-
-
Way too short
- By SB on 06-22-19
By: Terry Goodkind
-
The Great Believers
- By: Rebecca Makkai
- Narrated by: Michael Crouch
- Length: 18 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 1985, Yale Tishman, the development director for an art gallery in Chicago, is about to pull off an amazing coup, bringing in an extraordinary collection of 1920s paintings as a gift to the gallery. Yet as his career begins to flourish, the carnage of the AIDS epidemic grows around him. One by one, his friends are dying and after his friend Nico's funeral, the virus circles closer and closer to Yale himself. Soon the only person he has left is Fiona, Nico's little sister.
-
-
A story for all time
- By Carla jo Thompson on 08-06-18
By: Rebecca Makkai
-
Still Alice
- By: Lisa Genova
- Narrated by: Lisa Genova
- Length: 7 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Alice Howland is proud of the life she worked so hard to build. At 50 years old, she's a cognitive psychology professor at Harvard and a world-renowned expert in linguistics with a successful husband and three grown children. When she begins to grow disoriented and forgetful, a tragic diagnosis changes her life - and her relationship with her family and the world - forever.
-
-
Please pay for a professional Reader
- By sunstan on 12-07-14
By: Lisa Genova
-
Truths I Never Told You
- By: Kelly Rimmer
- Narrated by: Sarah Mollo-Christensen, Piper Goodeve, Jean Ann Douglass
- Length: 11 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From the best-selling author of The Things We Cannot Say, Before I Let You Go, and the upcoming The Warsaw Orphan, comes a poignant post-WWII novel that explores the expectations society places on women set within an engrossing family mystery that may unravel everything once believed to be true.
-
-
Another great story by Kelly Rimmer
- By Lisa N. on 08-15-20
By: Kelly Rimmer
-
Home Front
- By: Kristin Hannah
- Narrated by: Maggi-Meg Reed
- Length: 15 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Like many couples, Michael and Jolene Zarkades have to face the pressures of everyday life—children, careers, bills, chores—even as their twelve-year marriage is falling apart. Then a deployment sends Jolene deep into harm's way and leaves defense attorney Michael at home, unaccustomed to being a single parent to their two girls. As a mother, it agonizes Jolene to leave her family, but as a solider, she has always understood the true meaning of duty. In her letters home, she paints a rose-colored version of her life on the front lines, shielding her family from the truth.
-
-
Very Disappointed
- By Elizabeth on 03-17-12
By: Kristin Hannah
What listeners say about An Absent Mind
Highly rated for:
Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Amazon Customer
- 05-25-18
Personal Story about Alzheimer's
Great story about Alzheimer's and what to expect through the process. You get to experience the development of each character Narration is great!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Cory SS
- 04-21-17
Excellent representation of all of the perspectives and emotions that come with Alzheimer's
I really enjoyed this book! I thought it did a great job of showing different perspectives of all the people involved when one family member has a terminal illness. I also thought it was great how the author showed that people's reactions and understanding of each other can be mistaken. The way everyone in the family assumed Joey was a loser, just to find that Joey felt unloved and in the end, he's the one who cared for his dad's most beloved companion and cared for his mother. And I felt like the ending was perfect. It really seem true to life. This hit close to home for me because several members of my family are suffering from or have passed from Alzheimer's, and I am very terrified that my future holds the same.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Silvy Rose
- 04-21-18
Great read
Outlines the progression of a truly horrible disaese. Gives insight to those who have not had to watch a loved one taken
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
- Gillian
- 04-17-15
Ambitious but Falls Short
I think "An Absent Mind" tries a little too hard and goes too many places with too little focus. The character's emotions and personality traits are all over the map, they are who they are, either gracious or resentful with little rhyme or reason and it gets annoying. You can't really care for any of them. Alzheimer's was presented well enough with the long term memory being far more readily apparent than short term, but it seemed to cause the family more annoyance than agony. As someone who has it in the family right now, I've gotta say, I was expecting a lot more.
Maybe to those unschooled and just looking for a light read/listen, this'll be good enough, but really, I don't think the character's are developed enough to carry the 4+ hours, short as they may be. Unpopular, maybe, but there you go. My two cents.
Further, the performances are downright annoying. Maybe a daily deal or something? Just make sure you can tolerate the narration...
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
4 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- discerning_buyer
- 08-24-18
Engaging story, educational, fantastic performance
To begin, this is the most wonderfully performed audio book I have listened to yet (roughly 20 books). I can recommend it on this alone almost, but I don't have to thankfully.
The story feels real and close. It feels like you are part of the family. It is sad and depressing to listen to how things deteriorate for them all. I learned a tremendous amount about this disease and I enjoyed it very much.
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
- Elizabeth
- 03-05-17
Poignant telling
This book had a predictably sad ending, as there is only one possible outcome for an Alzheimer's sufferer. But it was told with humor and truth from the voices of those affected. I was slightly disappointed by the ending, as throughout we were hearing from the voices of the family. The stark contrast of the obituary was somehow not in keeping with the story, I would have preferred one last chapter from Florence or Joey. Overall I enjoyed it and would definitely recommend it.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Jasmine Vick
- 09-17-17
if your a child of an Alzheimer parent
My Dad died with this disease and it gave me better understand of what he and my Mother went through.. as children living far apart we don't get it. This is a great book to read and reread as your parents life changes. it's a shame to have them live so long with this disease. As all of you I pray for a treatment and cure. I am sorry Dad I didn't understand and it was so easy to pretend it wasn't happening. Mom you had a lot to handle I am sorry you wouldn't let anyone help even if was to just listen.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
6 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- KSH
- 04-13-17
Painful and Beautiful
I think that next to Fredrick Bachman's "A Man Called Ove" this book will always stay in my heart more than any other book(s) I have listened to. Alzheimer's is a devastating disease, and Eric Rill did an amazing job in showing the various points of view of both the patient and his family members. He even shows the mindset of the physician treating Saul.
It was not difficult to understand the feelings that each character expressed. I identified with all of them which I guess isn't that unusual based on my family relations and dealing with the prolonged illnesses and deaths of both an ex-husband with whom I was still close and then my beloved husband.
There are so many feelings that arise during a lengthy illness. It's often difficult to deal with those feelings, but the author was spot on with so many of them here.
The narration was excellent...really excellent! Sandra Burr and Mel Foster "lived" their readings. I usually forgot that I was not listening to Saul and Monique and Florence and Joey. That, to me, is talent.
I am so glad that this book was recommended to me in an email from Audible. I will listen to it again, and I highly recommend it.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Wendy Chamberlin
- 06-08-17
Cathartic
It took me two years to listen to this book as that is as long as it has been since my dad passed from Alzheimer's. I'm glad I waited until now as this brought up so many vivid memories, yet the ability to spend time looking at the experience from so many perspectives was helpful.
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
- Cherri
- 08-26-17
I loved this story especially the narration.
Listened to this in one night. I was captivated by the narration. The ability to get a view from each individual in the story made it more real, making me be able seemingly to be a voyeur in their minds. Very well written and informative about this horrific disease that is happening to so many people myself included.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
2 people found this helpful