
Bella's Gift
How One Little Girl Transformed Our Family and Inspired a Nation
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 $19.79
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Rick Santorum
-
Diana Batarseh
About this listen
Rick and Karen Santorum's inspiring story of life with Bella, their special-needs youngest child.
Four days after Rick and Karen Santorum welcomed their eighth baby into the world, they were given the devastating news that their little girl, Bella, was going to die.
The full story of life with Bella has never been told until now. This inspiring family memoir explores what it means to embrace and celebrate the life of each person and find hope even in the midst of painful challenges.
Bella's Gift is the story of how the entire family came together to love and care for Bella and how God strengthened them during the storms and blessed their family with grace, peace, and joy. Searchingly honest, faith filled, and surprisingly joyful, Bella's Gift is a loving, lived-out testimony to the truth that everyone counts, even "the least of these".
©2015 Thomas Nelson Publishers (P)2015 Thomas Nelson PublishersListeners also enjoyed...
-
I Will Love You Forever
- A True Story about Finding Life, Hope, and Healing While Caring for Hospice Babies
- By: Marianne Hering - contributor, Cori Salchert RN
- Narrated by: Marguerite Gavin
- Length: 6 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
I Will Love You Forever reveals one woman's decades-long quest to find healing and redemption after the accidental death of her sister as a child. Since 2012, God has used hospice babies - those left to live and die without family to care for them - to mend Cori's broken heart. Bringing these fragile hospice babies into their home, Cori and her family have promised not only to hold them briefly, until their last breath on this side of heaven, but to love them forever and always.
-
-
This woman must be heaven sent...
- By Leah on 04-13-18
By: Marianne Hering - contributor, and others
-
Through the Eyes of Hope
- Love More, Worry Less, and See God in the Midst of Your Adversity
- By: Lacey Buchanan
- Narrated by: Lacey Buchanan
- Length: 5 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
What happens when things don't go as planned? What happens when the storm you face is completely out of your control? The Buchanans' precious son Christian was born with a medical condition that is so incredibly unique, it's one of only 50 known cases in the world. This story has captured the hearts of hundreds of thousands.
-
-
Couldn’t get through it
- By Kelly Doke on 03-07-24
By: Lacey Buchanan
-
Everything Happens for a Reason
- And Other Lies I've Loved
- By: Kate Bowler
- Narrated by: Kate Bowler
- Length: 4 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Kate Bowler is a professor at Duke Divinity School with a modest Christian upbringing, but she specializes in the study of the prosperity gospel, a creed that sees fortune as a blessing from God and misfortune as a mark of God's disapproval. At 35, everything in her life seems to point toward "blessing". She is thriving in her job, married to her high school sweetheart, and loves life with her newborn son. Then she is diagnosed with stage IV colon cancer.
-
-
Please give me back the lost hours of my life!
- By Charles on 03-24-19
By: Kate Bowler
-
I Will Carry You
- The Sacred Dance of Grief and Joy
- By: Angie Smith
- Narrated by: Pam Turlow
- Length: 5 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Angie Smith was 18 weeks pregnant with her fourth daughter, Audrey Caroline, when doctors discovered conditions leaving Audrey "incompatible with life". Faced with the decision whether to terminate the pregnancy, Angie and her husband chose to carry Audrey for as long as she had life. This began what turned out to be three months of loving and carrying a little girl that was not expected to live more than a few minutes.
-
-
A Child Loss Family Advisor Tool
- By Robin L. Slater on 07-24-17
By: Angie Smith
-
An Unseen Angel
- A Mother’s Story of Healing and Hope After Sandy Hook
- By: Alissa Parker
- Narrated by: Alissa Parker
- Length: 4 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Alissa Parker lost her daughter Emilie in the Sandy Hook Elementary mass shooting, she started a life-changing journey to answer soul-searching questions about faith, hope, and healing. As she sought for the peace and comfort that could help mend her broken heart, she learned, step by step, how to open her heart to God's grace and will. The story of Alissa and Emilie reminds us that the bonds of love continue beyond this life and that despite tragedy and heartache, we can find strength in our family and our faith.
-
-
Great book
- By Defhed on 06-09-18
By: Alissa Parker
-
Hope Heals
- A True Story of Overwhelming Loss and an Overcoming Love
- By: Katherine Wolf, Jay Wolf, Joni Eareckson Tada - foreword
- Narrated by: Katherine Wolf, Jay Wolf
- Length: 8 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Katherine and Jay Wolf were a young couple living the dream in Southern California, but all was nearly lost when Katherine suffered a shocking near-fatal brainstem stroke and struggled to find hope in a life that looked nothing like the one they had before.
-
-
Excellent Book
- By Lisa on 09-29-22
By: Katherine Wolf, and others
-
I Will Love You Forever
- A True Story about Finding Life, Hope, and Healing While Caring for Hospice Babies
- By: Marianne Hering - contributor, Cori Salchert RN
- Narrated by: Marguerite Gavin
- Length: 6 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
I Will Love You Forever reveals one woman's decades-long quest to find healing and redemption after the accidental death of her sister as a child. Since 2012, God has used hospice babies - those left to live and die without family to care for them - to mend Cori's broken heart. Bringing these fragile hospice babies into their home, Cori and her family have promised not only to hold them briefly, until their last breath on this side of heaven, but to love them forever and always.
-
-
This woman must be heaven sent...
- By Leah on 04-13-18
By: Marianne Hering - contributor, and others
-
Through the Eyes of Hope
- Love More, Worry Less, and See God in the Midst of Your Adversity
- By: Lacey Buchanan
- Narrated by: Lacey Buchanan
- Length: 5 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
What happens when things don't go as planned? What happens when the storm you face is completely out of your control? The Buchanans' precious son Christian was born with a medical condition that is so incredibly unique, it's one of only 50 known cases in the world. This story has captured the hearts of hundreds of thousands.
-
-
Couldn’t get through it
- By Kelly Doke on 03-07-24
By: Lacey Buchanan
-
Everything Happens for a Reason
- And Other Lies I've Loved
- By: Kate Bowler
- Narrated by: Kate Bowler
- Length: 4 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Kate Bowler is a professor at Duke Divinity School with a modest Christian upbringing, but she specializes in the study of the prosperity gospel, a creed that sees fortune as a blessing from God and misfortune as a mark of God's disapproval. At 35, everything in her life seems to point toward "blessing". She is thriving in her job, married to her high school sweetheart, and loves life with her newborn son. Then she is diagnosed with stage IV colon cancer.
-
-
Please give me back the lost hours of my life!
- By Charles on 03-24-19
By: Kate Bowler
-
I Will Carry You
- The Sacred Dance of Grief and Joy
- By: Angie Smith
- Narrated by: Pam Turlow
- Length: 5 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Angie Smith was 18 weeks pregnant with her fourth daughter, Audrey Caroline, when doctors discovered conditions leaving Audrey "incompatible with life". Faced with the decision whether to terminate the pregnancy, Angie and her husband chose to carry Audrey for as long as she had life. This began what turned out to be three months of loving and carrying a little girl that was not expected to live more than a few minutes.
-
-
A Child Loss Family Advisor Tool
- By Robin L. Slater on 07-24-17
By: Angie Smith
-
An Unseen Angel
- A Mother’s Story of Healing and Hope After Sandy Hook
- By: Alissa Parker
- Narrated by: Alissa Parker
- Length: 4 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Alissa Parker lost her daughter Emilie in the Sandy Hook Elementary mass shooting, she started a life-changing journey to answer soul-searching questions about faith, hope, and healing. As she sought for the peace and comfort that could help mend her broken heart, she learned, step by step, how to open her heart to God's grace and will. The story of Alissa and Emilie reminds us that the bonds of love continue beyond this life and that despite tragedy and heartache, we can find strength in our family and our faith.
-
-
Great book
- By Defhed on 06-09-18
By: Alissa Parker
-
Hope Heals
- A True Story of Overwhelming Loss and an Overcoming Love
- By: Katherine Wolf, Jay Wolf, Joni Eareckson Tada - foreword
- Narrated by: Katherine Wolf, Jay Wolf
- Length: 8 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Katherine and Jay Wolf were a young couple living the dream in Southern California, but all was nearly lost when Katherine suffered a shocking near-fatal brainstem stroke and struggled to find hope in a life that looked nothing like the one they had before.
-
-
Excellent Book
- By Lisa on 09-29-22
By: Katherine Wolf, and others
-
You've Been Chosen
- Thriving Through the Unexpected
- By: Cynt Marshall
- Narrated by: Cynt Marshall
- Length: 7 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Cynt Marshall has spent her entire life beating personal and professional odds while also helping everyone she meets see how they are uniquely equipped to thrive. Through it all, this self-described “people person” never stopped reaching out and built a reputation as an inspiring motivator and mentor in business and beyond.
-
-
Heartfelt !!
- By Terri C. on 02-06-23
By: Cynt Marshall
-
Appointments with Heaven
- The True Story of a Country Doctor's Healing Encounters with the Hereafter
- By: Dr. Reggie Anderson, Jennifer Schuchmann
- Narrated by: Eric G. Dove
- Length: 9 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When a patient first asked Dr. Reggie Anderson to sit at her bedside as she passed from this life, something miraculous happened. As he held her hand, the veil between this world and the next parted…and he received an astonishing glimpse of what awaits us in heaven. Little did he know this was just a foretaste of what was to come - a lifetime of God-given "appointments with heaven." Join Reggie as he shares remarkable stories from his life and practice, including the personal tragedy that nearly drove him away from faith forever.
-
-
More about Christianity than the Hereafter
- By Karen on 11-25-14
By: Dr. Reggie Anderson, and others
-
Kisses from Katie
- A Story of Relentless Love and Redemption
- By: Katie Davis, Beth Clark
- Narrated by: Jaimee Draper
- Length: 8 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
"Sometimes I want to spend hours talking with my best friends about boys and fashion and school and life. I want to go to the gym; I want my hair to look nice; I want to be allowed to wear jeans. I want to be a normal young woman living in America, sometimes. But I want other things more. All the time. I want to be spiritually and emotionally filled every day. I want to be loved and cuddled by a hundred children and never go a day without laughing.
-
-
This book changed my life!
- By Carla on 10-02-13
By: Katie Davis, and others
-
The Color of Rain
- How Two Families Found Faith, Hope, & Love in the Midst of Tragedy
- By: Michael Spehn
- Narrated by: Michael Spehn
- Length: 9 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When unexpected grief brings two families together, how do they start their journey to healing? Join Michael and Gina Spehn--bestselling authors and founders of the New Day Foundation--as they tell their story of resilience, remembrance, and reliance on their shared faith.
-
-
Wow
- By Katrina on 04-24-15
By: Michael Spehn
-
Messenger
- The Legacy of Mattie J. T. Stepanek and Heartsongs
- By: Jeni Stepanek
- Narrated by: Jeni Stepanek
- Length: 11 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Oprah Winfrey has called him an inspiration, Maya Angelou saw him as a kindred spirit and fellow poet, and Jimmy Carter described Mattie Stepanek as the "most remarkable person I have ever known". When Jerry Lewis received his lifetime achievement award at the Oscars, footage of Mattie played behind him. Five years after his death from a rare neuromuscular disease, Mattie is still being celebrated for his indomitable spirit and message of hope.
-
-
Loved Jeni telling Mattie’s story
- By Hello Mrs. on 12-29-22
By: Jeni Stepanek
-
Hospice Whispers: Stories of Life
- By: Carla Cheatham
- Narrated by: Carla Cheatham
- Length: 5 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When we fear death, we miss out on a lot of life. This book hopes to change that. While hospices care for persons in their final days, hospice is not about death. It's all about LIFE - real, nitty-gritty, poignant, funny, challenging, and bittersweet life in all its beauty and imperfection.
-
-
Understanding hospice care.
- By Karen S. Bradley on 05-24-15
By: Carla Cheatham
-
Special Heart
- A Journey of Faith, Hope, Courage, and Love
- By: Bret Baier, Jim Mills
- Narrated by: Bret Baier
- Length: 8 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Special Heart is a deeply touching personal story told through the eyes of a journalist as he faces the most daunting challenge in life - far more frightening than reporting from battlefields, infinitely more momentous than interviewing newsmakers of the day: caring for his critically ill newborn son. Baier reflects on past challenges as he looks forward with hope, chronicling the steps on his path to national prominence as a television anchor, as well as his unexpected journey into the world of pediatric cardiac disease.
-
-
Inspiring
- By susie johnson on 11-11-18
By: Bret Baier, and others
-
Daring to Hope
- Finding God's Goodness in the Broken and the Beautiful
- By: Katie Davis Majors, Ann Voskamp - foreword
- Narrated by: Jaimee Draper
- Length: 7 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Katie Davis Majors moved to Uganda, accidentally founded a booming organization, and later became the mother of 13 girls through the miracle of adoption, she determined to weave her life together with the people she desired to serve. But joy often gave way to sorrow as she invested her heart fully in walking alongside people in the grip of poverty, addiction, desperation, and disease.
-
-
Loved it! Pre-ordered. Looked fwd to listen to it.
- By deborah zeller on 11-06-17
By: Katie Davis Majors, and others
-
The Lucky Few
- Finding God's Best in the Most Unlikely Places
- By: Heather Avis
- Narrated by: Heather Avis
- Length: 5 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
These are the faces that call me "mom", the three children who made me a mother. When I started my journey into parenthood I never thought it would look like this. I never planned on having three adopted children, and I certainly never imagined that two of them would have Down syndrome. But like most of the things God does, once we stepped into the craziness and confusion of the unknown and unplanned, we quickly realized that we were indeed among the lucky few.
-
-
A must read!!
- By JuJu on 06-08-17
By: Heather Avis
-
Chicken Soup for the Soul: Stories of Faith
- Inspirational Stories of Hope, Devotion, Faith, and Miracles
- By: Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, Amy Newmark - editor
- Narrated by: Sandra Burr, Tom Parks
- Length: 10 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This is the first Chicken Soup audiobook to focus specifically on stories of faith, including 101 of the best stories from Chicken Soup’s library on faith, hope, miracles, and devotion. These true stories written by regular people tell of prayers answered miraculously, amazing coincidences, rediscovered faith, and the serenity that comes from believing in a greater power, appealing to Christians and those of other faiths, and everyone who seeks enlightenment and inspiration through a good story.
-
-
good read
- By Amazon Customer on 07-29-16
By: Jack Canfield, and others
-
Inconceivable
- A Medical Mistake, the Baby We Couldn't Keep, and Our Choice to Deliver the Ultimate Gift
- By: Carolyn Savage, Sean Savage
- Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell, Danny Campbell
- Length: 9 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A medical mistake during an IVF procedure.An unthinkable situation....you're pregnant with the wrong baby. You can terminate, but you can't keep him. What choice would you make?
-
-
"Misconception" and "Inconceivable"
- By Simone on 12-17-12
By: Carolyn Savage, and others
-
Chicken Soup for the Nurse's Soul
- Stories to Celebrate, Honor, and Inspire the Nursing Profession
- By: Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, Nancy Mitchell-Autio, and others
- Narrated by: Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen
- Length: 1 hr and 13 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This collection of true stories champions the daily contributions, commitments, and sacrifices of nurses and portrays the compassion, intellect, and wit necessary to meet the challenging demands of the profession.
-
-
Great collection of stories, mixed narration
- By Mark and Amy Acker on 09-12-12
By: Jack Canfield, and others
What listeners say about Bella's Gift
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Beck
- 12-19-22
A Lovely Story of Life and Loving Our Lord
A beautiful reminder of our dependence on our Lord and Savior and how priceless and treasured life is.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- clfa
- 06-12-17
Should be required reading!
Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?
One of the BEST books I’ve ever read!!! Even if you don’t have a special needs child, you will be very grateful for the Santorum’s witness of selfless love. A beautiful testimony to holy family life and the power of God’s grace, active in their lives - and our lives too, if only we allow it. Should be required reading in all Catholic/faith-based high schools!!!
What does Rick Santorum and Diana Batarseh bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?
I don’t have a lot of time to read - so I am grateful to listen to books, while driving in my car. This is the only audible book I continued to listen to, however, even after I got home!
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
Yes!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Marj L.
- 07-19-21
Life begins with Bella and the Santorum family.
I truly enjoyed this book of Bella and the Santorums. Is Bella still with y’all? She is so precious in the picture on the front of the book. I would love to hear what happened from where this book ends and where y’all are today. Y’all have a wonderful way of interacting with all your family members.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!