
Before I Die
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 $15.30
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Charlotte Parry
-
By:
-
Jenny Downham
About this listen
For the many who love The Fault in Our Stars, this is the story of a girl who is determined to live, love, and to write her own ending before her time is finally up.
Tessa has just months to live. Fighting back against hospital visits, endless tests, drugs with excruciating side-effects, Tessa compiles a list. It’s her To Do Before I Die list. And number one is Sex. Released from the constraints of ‘normal’ life, Tessa tastes new experiences to make her feel alive while her failing body struggles to keep up. Tessa’s feelings, her relationships with her father and brother, her estranged mother, her best friend, and her new boyfriend, all are painfully crystallised in the precious weeks before Tessa’s time runs out.
©2007 Jenny Downham (P)2007 Random House Inc. Listening Library, an imprint of the Random House Audio Publishing GroupListeners also enjoyed...
-
All the Bright Places
- Movie Tie-In Edition
- By: Jennifer Niven
- Narrated by: Kirby Heyborne, Ariadne Meyers
- Length: 11 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Theodore Finch is fascinated by death, and he constantly thinks of ways he might die. But each time, something good, no matter how small, stops him. Violet Markey lives for the future, counting the days until graduation, when she can escape her Indiana town and her aching grief in the wake of her sister's recent death. When Finch and Violet meet on the ledge of the bell tower at school, it's unclear who saves whom.
-
-
Best YA Quirky Love Story of 2015
- By FanB14 on 06-09-15
By: Jennifer Niven
-
The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper
- By: Phaedra Patrick
- Narrated by: James Langton
- Length: 8 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Sixty-nine-year-old Arthur Pepper lives a simple life. He gets out of bed at precisely 7:30 a.m., just as he did when his wife, Miriam, was alive. He dresses in the same gray slacks and mustard sweater-vest; waters his fern, Frederica; and heads out to his garden. But on the one-year anniversary of Miriam's death, something changes. Sorting through Miriam's possessions, Arthur finds an exquisite gold charm bracelet he's never seen before.
-
-
Disappointing.
- By BikeVON on 05-17-16
By: Phaedra Patrick
-
The Killer Next Door
- By: Alex Marwood
- Narrated by: Imogen Church
- Length: 12 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Everyone who lives at 23 Beulah Grove has a secret. If they didn't, they wouldn't be renting rooms in a dodgy old building for cash - no credit check, no lease. It's the kind of place you end up when you you've run out of other options.The six residents mostly keep to themselves, but one unbearably hot summer night, a terrible accident pushes them into an uneasy alliance. What they don't know is that one of them is a killer. He's already chosen his next victim, and he'll do anything to protect his secret.
-
-
Incredible--but not for the faint of heart
- By Lesley on 01-11-15
By: Alex Marwood
-
The Chalk Man
- A Novel
- By: C. J. Tudor
- Narrated by: Euan Morton
- Length: 9 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 1986, Eddie and his friends are on the verge of adolescence, spending their days biking in search of adventure. The chalk men are their secret code, stick figures they draw for one another as hidden messages. But one morning, the friends find a chalk man leading them to the woods. They follow the message, only to find the dead body of a teenage girl. In 2016, Eddie is nursing a drinking problem and trying to forget his past, until one day he gets a letter containing a chalk man — the same one he and his friends saw when they found the body.
-
-
Sufficiently interesting and fast paced
- By Aquakittie on 01-16-18
By: C. J. Tudor
-
Just for Today
- By: Nell Hudson
- Narrated by: Nell Hudson
- Length: 7 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It all starts on New Year's Eve. A night that has to be a success, whatever the cost. For Joni and her friends, it'll be a party that promises all the high stakes and glamour of any other, but by sunrise, they'll be dealing with something darker than the usual post-party comedown. Not that they let this stand in their way. For this is their year to revel in all that the playground of London has to offer: sneaking into places they shouldn't, breaking every rule, falling in love with the wrong people. All the while avoiding one undeniable truth: it's not if the party ends, it's how.
-
-
Great writer, great actress
- By MinPin Mommy on 03-25-25
By: Nell Hudson
-
Secret Smile
- By: Nicci French
- Narrated by: Anne Flosnik
- Length: 9 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Miranda's sister Kerri has a new boyfriend. He's a handsome charmer who seems to dote on Kerri. But Brendan isn't the man he says he is. Miranda should know. She broke off her own affair with him just a few weeks ago when she found him reading her diary.
-
-
I want my 9 hours back
- By Ashley on 07-19-23
By: Nicci French
-
All the Bright Places
- Movie Tie-In Edition
- By: Jennifer Niven
- Narrated by: Kirby Heyborne, Ariadne Meyers
- Length: 11 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Theodore Finch is fascinated by death, and he constantly thinks of ways he might die. But each time, something good, no matter how small, stops him. Violet Markey lives for the future, counting the days until graduation, when she can escape her Indiana town and her aching grief in the wake of her sister's recent death. When Finch and Violet meet on the ledge of the bell tower at school, it's unclear who saves whom.
-
-
Best YA Quirky Love Story of 2015
- By FanB14 on 06-09-15
By: Jennifer Niven
-
The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper
- By: Phaedra Patrick
- Narrated by: James Langton
- Length: 8 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Sixty-nine-year-old Arthur Pepper lives a simple life. He gets out of bed at precisely 7:30 a.m., just as he did when his wife, Miriam, was alive. He dresses in the same gray slacks and mustard sweater-vest; waters his fern, Frederica; and heads out to his garden. But on the one-year anniversary of Miriam's death, something changes. Sorting through Miriam's possessions, Arthur finds an exquisite gold charm bracelet he's never seen before.
-
-
Disappointing.
- By BikeVON on 05-17-16
By: Phaedra Patrick
-
The Killer Next Door
- By: Alex Marwood
- Narrated by: Imogen Church
- Length: 12 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Everyone who lives at 23 Beulah Grove has a secret. If they didn't, they wouldn't be renting rooms in a dodgy old building for cash - no credit check, no lease. It's the kind of place you end up when you you've run out of other options.The six residents mostly keep to themselves, but one unbearably hot summer night, a terrible accident pushes them into an uneasy alliance. What they don't know is that one of them is a killer. He's already chosen his next victim, and he'll do anything to protect his secret.
-
-
Incredible--but not for the faint of heart
- By Lesley on 01-11-15
By: Alex Marwood
-
The Chalk Man
- A Novel
- By: C. J. Tudor
- Narrated by: Euan Morton
- Length: 9 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 1986, Eddie and his friends are on the verge of adolescence, spending their days biking in search of adventure. The chalk men are their secret code, stick figures they draw for one another as hidden messages. But one morning, the friends find a chalk man leading them to the woods. They follow the message, only to find the dead body of a teenage girl. In 2016, Eddie is nursing a drinking problem and trying to forget his past, until one day he gets a letter containing a chalk man — the same one he and his friends saw when they found the body.
-
-
Sufficiently interesting and fast paced
- By Aquakittie on 01-16-18
By: C. J. Tudor
-
Just for Today
- By: Nell Hudson
- Narrated by: Nell Hudson
- Length: 7 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It all starts on New Year's Eve. A night that has to be a success, whatever the cost. For Joni and her friends, it'll be a party that promises all the high stakes and glamour of any other, but by sunrise, they'll be dealing with something darker than the usual post-party comedown. Not that they let this stand in their way. For this is their year to revel in all that the playground of London has to offer: sneaking into places they shouldn't, breaking every rule, falling in love with the wrong people. All the while avoiding one undeniable truth: it's not if the party ends, it's how.
-
-
Great writer, great actress
- By MinPin Mommy on 03-25-25
By: Nell Hudson
-
Secret Smile
- By: Nicci French
- Narrated by: Anne Flosnik
- Length: 9 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Miranda's sister Kerri has a new boyfriend. He's a handsome charmer who seems to dote on Kerri. But Brendan isn't the man he says he is. Miranda should know. She broke off her own affair with him just a few weeks ago when she found him reading her diary.
-
-
I want my 9 hours back
- By Ashley on 07-19-23
By: Nicci French
-
Ketchup Clouds
- By: Annabel Pitcher
- Narrated by: Julie Maisey
- Length: 7 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Zoe has an unconventional pen pal - Mr. Stuart Harris, a Texas Death Row inmate and convicted murderer. But then again, Zoe has an unconventional story to tell. A story about how she fell for two brothers, betrayed one of them, and killed the other. Hidden away in her backyard shed in the middle of the night with a jam sandwich in one hand and a pen in the other, Zoe gives a voice to her heart and her fears after months of silence. Mr. Harris may never respond to Zoe's letters, but at least somebody will know her story...
-
-
amazing
- By Charleneann on 05-03-17
By: Annabel Pitcher
-
Valentina
- By: S. E. Lynes
- Narrated by: Ruth Urquhart
- Length: 10 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Glasgow journalist Shona McGilvery moves with her partner Mikey and their baby to an idyllic cottage in rural Scotland, they believe that all that lies ahead of them is happiness. But with Mikey working offshore, the frightening isolation of the Aberdeenshire countryside begins to drive her insane.... That is, until she is rescued by a new friendship with the enchanting Valentina. She has the perfect home, the perfect man, and a charismatic new best friend - or does she? As her fairytale life begins to unravel, the deep dark wood becomes the least of her fears....
-
-
Well written and entertaining.
- By Getshotzi on 09-03-18
By: S. E. Lynes
-
Girl in the Red Coat
- By: Kate Hamer
- Narrated by: Antonia Beamish
- Length: 11 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Carmel Wakeford becomes separated from her mother at a local children's festival, and is found by a man who claims to be her estranged grandfather. He tells her that her mother has had an accident and that she is to live with him for now. As days become weeks with her new family, eight-year-old Carmel realizes that this man believes she has a special gift.... While her mother desperately tries to find her, Carmel embarks on an extraordinary journey, one that will make her question who she is - and who she might become.
-
-
Disappointing
- By MareFlare on 03-16-16
By: Kate Hamer
-
The Things We Never Said
- By: Susan Elliot Wright
- Narrated by: Kate Lee
- Length: 9 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 1964, Maggie wakes to find herself in a mental asylum, with no idea who she is or how she got there. Remnants of memories swirl in her mind - a familiar song, a storm, a moment of violence. Slowly, she begins to piece together the past and the events which brought her to this point.
-
-
Disappointing
- By Anonymous User on 01-18-22
-
Rubbernecker
- By: Belinda Bauer
- Narrated by: Andrew Wincott
- Length: 8 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The dead can't speak to us, Professor Madoc had said. But that was a lie. The body Patrick Fort is examining in anatomy class is trying to tell him all kinds of things. But no one hears what he does, and no one understands when he tries to tell them. Life is already strange enough for Patrick - being a medical student with Asperger's Syndrome doesn't come without its challenges. And that's before he is faced with solving a possible murder, especially when no one believes a crime has even taken place.
-
-
Different
- By Leigh on 08-17-16
By: Belinda Bauer
-
In Her Wake
- By: Amanda Jennings
- Narrated by: Kate Rawson
- Length: 13 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A tragic family event reveals devastating news that rips apart Bella's comfortable existence. Embarking on a personal journey to uncover the truth, she faces a series of traumatic discoveries that take her to the ruggedly beautiful Cornish coast, where hidden truths, past betrayals and a 25-year-old mystery threaten not just her identity but her life.
-
-
Slow
- By aaron f. on 05-17-16
By: Amanda Jennings
-
The Doll House
- By: Phoebe Morgan
- Narrated by: Stephanie Racine
- Length: 12 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Corinne’s life might look perfect on the outside, but after three failed IVF attempts it’s her last chance to have a baby. And when she finds a tiny part of a doll house outside her flat, it feels as if it’s a sign. But as more pieces begin to turn up, Corinne realises that they are far too familiar. Someone knows about the miniature rocking horse and the little doll with its red velvet dress. Someone has been inside her house...How does the stranger know so much about her life? How long have they been watching? And what are they waiting for...?
-
-
Can you say, Drama!
- By Tina on 10-05-18
By: Phoebe Morgan
-
The Facts of Life and Death
- By: Belinda Bauer
- Narrated by: Colleen Prendergast
- Length: 9 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On the beaches and cliffs of North Devon, lone women have become victims in a terrifying game where only one player knows the rules - and, when those rules change, the new game is murder. But that madman on the loose feels very far from the crumbling, seaside home of 10-year-old Ruby Trick. Instead of living in fear of him, she lives in fear of school bullies, the dark forest crowding her house into the sea, and the threat of her parents' divorce. So when she decides to help her father catch the killer, it seems like a good way to keep her father close.
-
-
Interesting
- By Josef Sikelianos on 12-17-24
By: Belinda Bauer
-
The Stopped Heart
- A Novel
- By: Julie Myerson
- Narrated by: Elizabeth Knowelden, Lucinda Clare
- Length: 14 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Mary Coles and her husband, Graham, have just moved to a cottage on the edge of a small village. The house hasn't been lived in for years, but they are drawn to its original features and surprisingly large garden, which stretches down into a beautiful apple orchard. It's idyllic, remote, picturesque: exactly what they need to put the horror of the past behind them.
-
-
Not What I expected.
- By Heather on 04-26-16
By: Julie Myerson
-
Greenwich Park
- By: Katherine Faulkner
- Narrated by: Laura Kirman
- Length: 10 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this “outstanding debut thriller” (Booklist, starred review), Helen’s idyllic life—handsome architect husband, gorgeous Victorian house, and cherished baby on the way—begins to change the day she attends her first prenatal class. There, she meets Rachel, an unpredictable single mother-to-be who doesn’t seem very maternal: she smokes, drinks, and professes little interest in parenthood.
-
-
Absolutely Fantastic
- By Bitten and Seven Forever on 01-29-22
-
My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece
- By: Annabel Pitcher
- Narrated by: David Tennant
- Length: 5 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
To 10-year-old Jamie, his family has fallen apart because of the loss of someone he barely remembers: his sister Rose, who died five years ago in a terrorist bombing. To his father, life is impossible to make sense of when he lives in a world that could so cruelly take away a 10-year-old girl. To Rose's surviving 15-year-old twin, Jas, every day she lives in Rose's ever-present shadow, forever feeling the loss like a limb, but unable to be seen for herself alone.
-
-
Purchased for the narrator, but found it excellent
- By Amber on 10-07-14
By: Annabel Pitcher
-
Elizabeth Is Missing
- By: Emma Healey
- Narrated by: Davina Porter
- Length: 11 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this darkly riveting debut novel - a sophisticated psychological mystery that is also an heartbreakingly honest meditation on memory, identity, and aging - an elderly woman descending into dementia embarks on a desperate quest to find the best friend she believes has disappeared, and her search for the truth will go back decades and have shattering consequences.
-
-
A contemporary mystery for non-mystery lovers.
- By Amber on 07-09-14
By: Emma Healey
Critic reviews
Review, NYTBR, October 14, 2007: "This may sound too depressing for words, but it is only one indication of the inspired originality of Before I Die, by Jenny Downham, that the reader can finish its last pages feeling thrillingly alive ... I don't care how old you are. This book will not leave you."—John Burnham Schwartz
Starred Review, Kirkus Reviews, September 1, 2007
"Lucid language makes a painful journey bearable, beautiful and transcendent."
Starred Review, Publisher's Weekly, August 6, 2007
"The eloquent dying teen can seem a staple of the YA novel, but this British debut completely breaks the mold. Downham holds nothing back in her wrenching and exceptionally vibrant story."
What listeners say about Before I Die
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- msemo
- 06-05-15
Loved it!
This tragically beautiful story touched me in a way that few books do. Downham's incredible writing and execution made me feel as if I was a part of Tess's world; standing in the same room, experiencing the same emotions,. This story encourages you to think about the small, yet most important things in life. Additionally, Charlotte Parry's narration was brilliant, she breathed so much life in to each charcater. I practically tripped over myself racing to the end even though I was painfully aware of the outcome.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Crazyone
- 12-10-11
Real characters
What did you love best about Before I Die?
I loved how Tessa was portrayed as a human being. She wasn't noble or virtuous. She wasn't selflessly helping everyone around her come to terms with her disease. She was trying to come to terms with her diagnosis. I thought this made her seem more tangible. I really believed in her, which made the inevitable ending that much harder to get through.
Who was your favorite character and why?
All the characters were realistic and very well written and Charlotte Parry did an excellent job with all the different voices.
What does Charlotte Parry bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?
Hearing it read made the emotional connection that much stronger. It wasn't flat and dispassionate.
Any additional comments?
By the time I made it too the end of the book I was crying hard. You will cry too, but, the book is well worth the investment of time and credit. Trust me.
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
- Julia
- 01-29-16
A dying teenager's bucket list
Our children should never die before us. This is a story about a 17 year old young lady named Tessa from a working class area in the United Kingdom who is living with a terminal diagnosis. She has decided that she wishes to live a lifetime of experiences in the short period of time that she has left. Some of these experiences are not as socially acceptable as her parents would like! However many are just the things that dreams are made of.
What I found was so poignant was the family dynamic. Although this is a fictional tale there are many families who, sadly, are experiencing these terrible truths on a daily basis.
Beautifully written as it was not at all pretentious and was written in the British vernacular plus enhanced by a very impressive performance by Charlotte Perry.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!