
They Cage the Animals at Night
The True Story of an Abandoned Child's Struggle for Emotional Survival
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Narrated by:
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Jim Meskimen
About this listen
The heartbreaking, iconic true story of an abandoned little boy's horrific journey through the American foster care system.
One misty evening, Jennings Michael Burch's mother, too sick to care for him, left her eight-year-old son at an orphanage with the words, "I'll be right back." She wasn't.... Shuttled through a bleak series of foster homes, orphanages, and institutions, Jennings never remained in any of them long enough to make a friend. Instead, he clung to a tattered stuffed animal named Doggie, his sole source of comfort in a frightening world.
Here, in his own words, Jennings Michael Burch reveals the abuse and neglect he experienced during his lost childhood. But while his experiences are both shocking and devastating, his story is ultimately one of hope - the triumphant tale of a forgotten child who somehow found the courage to reach out for love and found it waiting for him.
©1985 Jennings Michael Burch (P)2018 Penguin AudioListeners also enjoyed...
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Critic reviews
“A deeply moving and inspiring story.” (Alan Arkin)
“Everyone who cares about the quality of life and the future of nation should read this book.” (William R. Bricker, National Director, Boys Clubs of America)
“This heartbreaking, shocking, ultimately triumphant tale is an extremely important book.” (Lucy Freeman, author of Fight Against Fears)
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Story
Stephen Smith is the boy who did not exist. Born out of wedlock in the early 1960s, Steve's parents - both devout Catholics - had felt so 'shamed' by their son's illegitimate birth that they hid him away from the world by locking him in the cellar...for 13 years. Apart from a few admissions to hospital as a result of his 'imprisonment', Steve remained in the coal cellar of the family home where he was deprived of daylight, his childhood, school and human contact until he'd reached his teenage years.
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At first I thought this was horror fiction
- By Ruth Malan on 04-11-20
By: Stephen Smith
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Spilled Milk
- Based on a True Story
- By: K.L. Randis
- Narrated by: K.L. Randis
- Length: 7 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
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Brooke Nolan is a battered child who makes an anonymous phone call about the escalating brutality in her home. When social services jeopardize her safety, condemning her to keep her father's secret, it's a glass of spilled milk at the dinner table that forces her to speak about the cruelty she's been hiding. In her pursuit of safety and justice, Brooke battles a broken court system that pushes to keep her father in the home.
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Honest look at the abuse in homes where secrets are normalized
- By Barbara K. on 04-24-25
By: K.L. Randis
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Broken
- The Most Shocking Childhood Story Ever Told. An Inspirational Author Who Survived It.
- By: Shy Keenan
- Narrated by: Judy Mason
- Length: 10 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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I was born and broken in Birkenhead, abused from infancy by a network of every kind of pervert from ‘thinks it’s love’ to ‘show it hurts’. I was unwanted, beaten, sold, swapped, photographed, filmed, left for dead, corrupted, blamed, betrayed, ignored and orphaned. But I was also born with a fire inside me. I call it my Phoenix Fire. I am no victim—that word only describes what happened to me. Nor am I a survivor because that implies I am over it. I am a Phoenix—a work in progress. This is my story....
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Unbelievable Story
- By Amazon Customer on 09-07-23
By: Shy Keenan
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The Glass Castle
- A Memoir
- By: Jeannette Walls
- Narrated by: Jeannette Walls
- Length: 10 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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Jeannette Walls grew up with parents whose ideals and stubborn nonconformity were both their curse and their salvation. Rex and Rose Mary Walls had four children. In the beginning, they lived like nomads, moving among Southwest desert towns, camping in the mountains. Rex was a charismatic, brilliant man who, when sober, captured his children's imagination. Rose Mary painted and wrote and couldn't stand the responsibility of providing for her family; she called herself an "excitement addict."
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What's normal?
- By Kmrsy on 11-30-13
By: Jeannette Walls
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Hatchet
- By: Gary Paulsen
- Narrated by: Peter Coyote
- Length: 3 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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Newbery Award-winner Gary Paulsen's best-known book comes to audio in this breathless, heart-gripping drama about a boy pitted against the wilderness with only a hatchet and a will to live. On his way to visit his recently divorced father in the Canadian mountains, thirteen-year-old Brian Robeson is the only survivor when the single-engine plane crashes. His body battered, his clothes in shreds, Brian must now stay alive in the boundless Canadian wilderness.
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Outstanding!
- By Raquel Aceves-Mittman on 02-14-12
By: Gary Paulsen
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Sociopath
- A Memoir
- By: Patric Gagne Ph.D.
- Narrated by: Patric Gagne Ph.D.
- Length: 11 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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Patric Gagne realized she made others uncomfortable before she started kindergarten. Something about her caused people to react in a way she didn’t understand. She suspected it was because she didn’t feel things the way other kids did. Emotions like fear, guilt, and empathy eluded her. For the most part, she felt nothing. And she didn’t like the way that “nothing” felt.
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Fascinating and Perfect Performance!
- By ScoobaRubio on 04-05-24
What listeners say about They Cage the Animals at Night
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- Holly
- 08-13-24
Loved this!
Kids are so strong and resilient.
Your story of survival was amazing!
Thanks for sharing
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- Kindle Customer
- 09-04-22
Comments from a reader
This is a memoir that can only be understood by survivors of child abuse. Survivors of child abuse will be able to relate to the lack of connection, abuse, lack of a stable home, and not having friends. Most importantly, this memoir will help survivors of child abuse to recove.
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- Pen Name
- 04-15-24
kindness of the human spirit
Heartwarming! This wasn’t the story I expected but it left me feeling so hopeful about the goodness in people. If only there were more stories like this. What a wonderful read! I will have my teenaged son read this book.
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- shel
- 09-26-24
good
good read, good read, good read, good read good read good read good read good read it was well worth the listen. really great book
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- Anonymous User
- 01-21-25
Suspenseful!
Great read! Very sad story but it was truly eye opening. Would definitely recommend and read again!
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- Selene Rackley
- 05-24-18
Very interesting story
I enjoyed this true story so much and wish I would have learned more of Jenning's life as he grew older. I've read other books about those monstrous orphanages. What makes someone be cruel to a child. I hope others will read this story. I recommend it.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Jason G. Gagnon
- 11-17-22
I Cried
A book I known, and have read for years. I jumped at the audio book. Listen to courage.
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- Anonymous User
- 10-25-18
This book pulled at all of my heart strings.
this is a remarkable story of overcoming the odds. I see this kind of scarimenss everyday. Hard to believe not much has changed in the system.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Very satisfied
- 07-30-21
Unforgettable
I read this book in high school and it was one of the few books that really stuck with me years later. I had to read it again. This is an unforgettable memoir that will make your heart ache for Jennings, who went through things no child should ever have to go though. It was hard to read about the abuse Jennings experienced in the orphanages and foster homes and made it hard to believe people like that exist in this world. But the book is also touching too, with the friends Jennings made along the way, as well as the loving adults who were kind and helped him. It provided a sense of hope. Definitely recommend.
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- P. Herston
- 12-19-23
Great storytelling
While some of the bad people are noted, love how this tale of survival focused on the positive forces and people that helped Jennings develop into a thoughtful and caring person.
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