
Of Bears and Ballots
An Alaskan Adventure in Small-Town Politics
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 $17.19
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Karen White
-
By:
-
Heather Lende
About this listen
The writer whom the Los Angeles Times calls “part Annie Dillard, part Anne Lamott,” now brings her quirky and compassionate take on holding local office.
Following the 2016 election, writer Heather Lende was one of the thousands of women inspired to take a more active role in politics. Though her entire campaign for assembly member in Haines, Alaska, cost less than $1,000, she won!
But tiny, breathtakingly beautiful Haines - a place accessible from the nearest city, Juneau, only by boat or plane - isn't the sleepy town that it appears to be: from a bitter debate about the expansion of the fishing boat harbor to the matter of how to stop bears from rifling through garbage on Main Street to the recall campaign that targeted three assembly members, including Lende, we witness the nitty-gritty of passing legislation, the lofty ideals of our republic, and how the polarizing national politics of our era play out in one small town.
With an entertaining cast of offbeat but relatable characters, Of Bears and Ballots is an inspirational tale about what living in a community really means, and what we owe one another.
©2020 Heather Lende (P)2020 HighBridge, a division of Recorded BooksListeners also enjoyed...
-
Find the Good
- Unexpected Life Lessons From a Small-Town Obituary Writer
- By: Heather Lende
- Narrated by: Heather Lende
- Length: 2 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
As she was digging deep into the lives of community members, Heather Lende, the obituary writer for her tiny hometown newspaper in Haines, Alaska, began to notice something. Even the crustiest old Alaskan sourpuss who died in a one-room cabin always had Halloween candy for the neighborhood kids, and the eccentric owner of the seafood store who regularly warned her about government conspiracies knew how to be a true friend - his memorial service was packed.
-
-
Life, Death, Grace & Humor
- By Gillian on 06-22-16
By: Heather Lende
-
Alaska
- A Novel
- By: James A. Michener
- Narrated by: Larry McKeever
- Length: 57 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The high points in the story of Alaska since the American acquisition are brought vividly to life through more than 100 characters, real and fictional.
-
-
I KNOW ALASKA LIKE THE BACK OF MY HAND
- By Jim "The Impatient" on 08-19-15
-
Coming into the Country
- By: John McPhee
- Narrated by: Nelson Runger
- Length: 16 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Coming into the Country is an unforgettable account of Alaska and Alaskans. It is a rich tapestry of vivid characters, observed landscapes, and descriptive narrative, in three principal segments that deal, respectively, with a total wilderness, with urban Alaska, and with life in the remoteness of the bush.
-
-
Welcome to Alaska
- By James on 10-30-11
By: John McPhee
-
A Quiet Life
- A Novel
- By: Ethan Joella
- Narrated by: Stacey Glemboski, Melissa Redmond, Byron Wagner
- Length: 8 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From the author of A Little Hope—a Read with Jenna Bonus Pick—comes an enormously powerful and life-affirming novel about three individuals facing challenges and grappling with loss in his or her own way.
-
-
Wonderful audio
- By Barbara S on 12-18-22
By: Ethan Joella
-
Becoming
- By: Michelle Obama
- Narrated by: Michelle Obama
- Length: 19 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In her memoir, a work of deep reflection and mesmerizing storytelling, Michelle Obama invites listeners into her world, chronicling the experiences that have shaped her - from her childhood on the South Side of Chicago to her years as an executive balancing the demands of motherhood and work to her time spent at the world's most famous address. With unerring honesty and lively wit, she describes her triumphs and her disappointments, both public and private, telling her full story as she has lived it - in her own words and on her own terms.
-
-
Didn't know what I was getting into
- By Kenneth Woodward on 12-05-18
By: Michelle Obama
-
Shortest Way Home
- One Mayor's Challenge and a Model for America's Future
- By: Pete Buttigieg
- Narrated by: Pete Buttigieg
- Length: 9 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Once described by The Washington Post as "the most interesting mayor you've never heard of", Pete Buttigieg, the 36-year-old Democratic mayor of South Bend, Indiana, has improbably emerged as one of the nation's most visionary politicians. First elected in 2011, Buttigieg left a successful business career to move back to his hometown, previously tagged by Newsweek as a "dying city", and transformed it into a shining model of urban reinvention.
-
-
Reveals a Person Wise & Experienced & Literate
- By dbbks3 on 03-17-19
By: Pete Buttigieg
-
Find the Good
- Unexpected Life Lessons From a Small-Town Obituary Writer
- By: Heather Lende
- Narrated by: Heather Lende
- Length: 2 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
As she was digging deep into the lives of community members, Heather Lende, the obituary writer for her tiny hometown newspaper in Haines, Alaska, began to notice something. Even the crustiest old Alaskan sourpuss who died in a one-room cabin always had Halloween candy for the neighborhood kids, and the eccentric owner of the seafood store who regularly warned her about government conspiracies knew how to be a true friend - his memorial service was packed.
-
-
Life, Death, Grace & Humor
- By Gillian on 06-22-16
By: Heather Lende
-
Alaska
- A Novel
- By: James A. Michener
- Narrated by: Larry McKeever
- Length: 57 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The high points in the story of Alaska since the American acquisition are brought vividly to life through more than 100 characters, real and fictional.
-
-
I KNOW ALASKA LIKE THE BACK OF MY HAND
- By Jim "The Impatient" on 08-19-15
-
Coming into the Country
- By: John McPhee
- Narrated by: Nelson Runger
- Length: 16 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Coming into the Country is an unforgettable account of Alaska and Alaskans. It is a rich tapestry of vivid characters, observed landscapes, and descriptive narrative, in three principal segments that deal, respectively, with a total wilderness, with urban Alaska, and with life in the remoteness of the bush.
-
-
Welcome to Alaska
- By James on 10-30-11
By: John McPhee
-
A Quiet Life
- A Novel
- By: Ethan Joella
- Narrated by: Stacey Glemboski, Melissa Redmond, Byron Wagner
- Length: 8 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From the author of A Little Hope—a Read with Jenna Bonus Pick—comes an enormously powerful and life-affirming novel about three individuals facing challenges and grappling with loss in his or her own way.
-
-
Wonderful audio
- By Barbara S on 12-18-22
By: Ethan Joella
-
Becoming
- By: Michelle Obama
- Narrated by: Michelle Obama
- Length: 19 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In her memoir, a work of deep reflection and mesmerizing storytelling, Michelle Obama invites listeners into her world, chronicling the experiences that have shaped her - from her childhood on the South Side of Chicago to her years as an executive balancing the demands of motherhood and work to her time spent at the world's most famous address. With unerring honesty and lively wit, she describes her triumphs and her disappointments, both public and private, telling her full story as she has lived it - in her own words and on her own terms.
-
-
Didn't know what I was getting into
- By Kenneth Woodward on 12-05-18
By: Michelle Obama
-
Shortest Way Home
- One Mayor's Challenge and a Model for America's Future
- By: Pete Buttigieg
- Narrated by: Pete Buttigieg
- Length: 9 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Once described by The Washington Post as "the most interesting mayor you've never heard of", Pete Buttigieg, the 36-year-old Democratic mayor of South Bend, Indiana, has improbably emerged as one of the nation's most visionary politicians. First elected in 2011, Buttigieg left a successful business career to move back to his hometown, previously tagged by Newsweek as a "dying city", and transformed it into a shining model of urban reinvention.
-
-
Reveals a Person Wise & Experienced & Literate
- By dbbks3 on 03-17-19
By: Pete Buttigieg
-
The Long Slide
- Thirty Years in American Journalism
- By: Tucker Carlson
- Narrated by: Tucker Carlson
- Length: 6 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Thirty years ago, Tucker Carlson got his first job out of college fact-checking for a quarterly magazine, and he went on to write for many other publications before becoming the primetime Fox News host he is today. In The Long Slide, Tucker delivers a few of his favorite pieces - annotated with new commentary and insight - to memorialize the tolerance and diversity of thought that the media used to celebrate instead of punish.
-
-
Tucker does it again
- By JOE SWOLE on 08-10-21
By: Tucker Carlson
-
Both/And
- A Life in Many Worlds
- By: Huma Abedin
- Narrated by: Huma Abedin
- Length: 21 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The daughter of Indian and Pakistani intellectuals and advocates, Abedin grew up in the United States and Saudi Arabia and traveled widely. Both/And grapples with family, legacy, identity, faith, marriage, motherhood - and work - with wisdom, sophistication, grace, and clarity.
-
-
Amazing book, absolutely recommended!
- By Prerit Pramod on 11-05-21
By: Huma Abedin
-
Strangers in Their Own Land
- Anger and Mourning on the American Right
- By: Arlie Russell Hochschild
- Narrated by: Suzanne Toren
- Length: 11 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Strangers in Their Own Land, the renowned sociologist Arlie Hochschild embarks on a thought-provoking journey from her liberal hometown of Berkeley, California, deep into Louisiana bayou country - a stronghold of the conservative right. As she gets to know people who strongly oppose many of the ideas she famously champions, Hochschild nevertheless finds common ground and quickly warms to the people she meets.
-
-
Performance undercuts thesis
- By married, one tall dog, one smelly dog on 01-02-17
-
My Life on the Road
- By: Gloria Steinem
- Narrated by: Debra Winger, Gloria Steinem
- Length: 9 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Gloria Steinem - writer, activist, organizer, and one of the most inspiring leaders in the world - now tells a story she has never told before, a candid account of how her early years led her to live an on-the-road kind of life, traveling, listening to people, learning, and creating change. She reveals the story of her own growth in tandem with the growth of an ongoing movement for equality. This is the story at the heart of My Life on the Road.
-
-
Completely Changed Me
- By Angel Adams on 11-05-15
By: Gloria Steinem
-
Congratulations, the Best Is Over!
- Essays
- By: R. Eric Thomas
- Narrated by: R. Eric Thomas
- Length: 6 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
After going viral “reading” the chaotic political news, having one-too-many awkward social encounters, and coming to terms with his intersecting identities, R. Eric Thomas finally knew who he was and where he was going. He was living his best life. But then everything changed. In this collection of insightful and hilarious essays, Thomas moves back to his perpetually misunderstood hometown of Baltimore (a place he never wanted to return, even to be buried) and behaving completely out of character.
-
-
so delightful, and relatable
- By Susannah on 06-21-24
By: R. Eric Thomas
-
I Swear
- Politics Is Messier than My Minivan
- By: Katie Porter
- Narrated by: Katie Porter
- Length: 9 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Never having run for office before, Katie Porter charted a new path in 2018 when she was elected to Congress as a Democrat in historically conservative Orange County, California. Underestimated as a single mom and chided for her progressive values, Katie defied expectations. Then, using her signature whiteboard, she began to take CEOs and corrupt government officials to task in Congressional hearings. The videos went viral, introducing Americans to her no-bullshit style, and making her a coveted guest on cable news and late-night television.
-
-
Truly Genuine Storytelling
- By LReeves on 04-25-23
By: Katie Porter
-
Tucker
- By: Chadwick Moore
- Narrated by: Chadwick Moore
- Length: 5 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For tens of millions of Americans, Tucker Carlson was long the only voice on cable news providing a counternarrative to establishment Washington and the mainstream press on the most important issues of our time: the Covid-19 vaccine, January 6, the Ukraine war, and even UFOs, just to name a few.
-
-
A master class on living an ethical life.
- By Jason on 08-05-23
By: Chadwick Moore
-
Not My First Rodeo
- Lessons from the Heartland
- By: Kristi Noem
- Narrated by: Kristi Noem, Charity Spencer
- Length: 6 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
“We don’t complain about things, Kristi. We fix them.” Taking her father’s words to heart, South Dakota's first woman governor Kristi Noem shares heartfelt—and heartbreaking—lessons on making things right in the world, from her childhood on a farm in the vastness of rural America, to the marbled halls of Congress, to the national spotlight amid a global pandemic.
-
-
Fantastic book
- By Ken Miner on 06-28-22
By: Kristi Noem
-
My Grandfather's Son
- A Memoir
- By: Clarence Thomas
- Narrated by: Clarence Thomas
- Length: 11 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Provocative, inspiring, and unflinchingly honest, My Grandfather's Son is the story of one of America's most remarkable and controversial leaders, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, told in his own words.
-
-
Wonderful read
- By Amazon Customer on 10-17-21
By: Clarence Thomas
-
Fit to Serve
- Reflections on a Secret Life, Private Struggle, and Public Battle to Become the First Openly Gay U.S. Ambassador
- By: Ambassador James C. Hormel, Erin Martin
- Narrated by: Richard Waterhouse
- Length: 9 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This is the memoir of James C. Hormel - a man who grew up feeling different not only because his family owned the Hormel “empire” and lived in a 26 bedroom house in a small Midwest town, but because he was gay at a time when homosexuality was not discussed or accepted. Outwardly he tried to live up to the life his father wanted for him - he was a successful professional, had married a lovely woman, and had children - but as volatile changes in the late 1960s impeded on the American psyche, Hormel realized that he could not hide his true self forever.
-
-
Fit to Serve against All Odds. A credit to all.
- By Tinker on 03-18-13
By: Ambassador James C. Hormel, and others
-
Heart of Fire
- An Immigrant Daughter's Story
- By: Mazie K. Hirono
- Narrated by: Mazie K. Hirono
- Length: 14 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Mazie Hirono is one of the most fiercely outspoken Democrats in Congress, but her journey to the U.S. Senate was far from likely. Raised on a rice farm in rural Japan, she was seven years old when her mother, Laura, left her abusive husband and sailed with her two elder children to Hawaii, crossing the Pacific in steerage in search of a better life. Though the girl then known as "Keiko" did not speak or read English when she entered first grade, she would go on to serve as a state representative and as Hawaii's lieutenant governor before winning election to Congress in 2006.
-
-
Mahalo Maize
- By Kalani Costa on 05-03-21
By: Mazie K. Hirono
-
Grounded
- A Senator’s Lessons on Winning Back Rural America
- By: Jon Tester
- Narrated by: Jon Tester
- Length: 12 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Senator Jon Tester is a rare voice in Congress. He is the only United States senator who manages a full-time job outside of the Senate - as a farmer. But what has really come to distinguish Tester in the Senate is his commitment to accountability, his ability to stand up to Donald Trump, and his success in, time and again, winning red state voters back to the Democratic Party.
-
-
Great job, Jon!
- By Montana on 12-10-20
By: Jon Tester
What listeners say about Of Bears and Ballots
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- DAVID
- 08-30-20
Wrong reader
The reader’s voice is a mismatch to the writing—unless Heather has gotten cranky and bitter in her old age.
Heather’s constant blaming of Trump for everything, even in Haines, is childish but following the crowd. Hard to resist peer pressure I guess.
Don’t think she’s cut out for leadership. Can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.
—DVB
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!