
What I Leave Behind
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 $7.49
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Michael Crouch
-
By:
-
Alison McGhee
About this listen
After his dad commits suicide, Will tries to overcome his own misery by secretly helping the people around him in this exquisitely crafted story made up of 100 chapters of 100 words each, by award-winning and best-selling author Alison McGhee.
Sixteen-year-old Will spends most of his days the same way: Working at the Dollar Only store, trying to replicate his late father’s famous cornbread recipe, and walking the streets of Los Angeles. Will started walking after his father committed suicide, and three years later he hasn’t stopped. But there are some places Will can’t walk by: The blessings store with the chest of 100 Chinese blessings in the back, the bridge on Fourth Street where his father died, and his childhood friend Playa’s house.
When Will learns Playa was raped at a party - a party he was at, where he saw Playa, and where he believes he could have stopped the worst from happening if he hadn’t left early - it spurs Will to stop being complacent in his own sadness and do some good in the world. He begins to leave small gifts for everyone in his life, from Superman the homeless guy he passes on his way to work, to the Little Butterfly Dude he walks by on the way home, to Playa herself. And it is through those acts of kindness that Will is finally able to push past his own trauma and truly begin to live his life again. Oh, and discover the truth about that cornbread.
©2018 Alison McGhee (P)2018 Simon & SchusterListeners also enjoyed...
-
Schizo
- A Novel
- By: Nic Sheff
- Narrated by: Michael Crouch
- Length: 5 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Driven to the point of obsession to find his missing younger brother, Teddy, and wrapped up in a romance that may or may not be the real thing, Miles is forever chasing shadows. As Miles feels his world closing around him, he struggles to keep it open, but what you think you know about his world is actually a blur of gray, and the sharp focus of reality proves startling.
-
-
Good story
- By VLG on 08-06-18
By: Nic Sheff
-
Kids of Appetite
- By: David Arnold
- Narrated by: Phoebe Strole, Michael Crouch, Ryan Vincent Anderson
- Length: 10 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Victor Benucci and Madeline Falco have a story to tell. It begins with the death of Vic's father. It ends with the murder of Mad's uncle. The Hackensack Police Department would very much like to hear it. But in order to tell their story, Vic and Mad must focus on all the chapters in between.
-
-
Very good also very emotional
- By Alec on 02-24-17
By: David Arnold
-
Flight of the Puffin
- By: Ann Braden
- Narrated by: Michael Crouch, Maxwell Glick, Dani Martineck, and others
- Length: 4 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Libby comes from a long line of bullies. She wants to be different, but sometimes that doesn’t work out. To bolster herself, she makes a card with the message You are amazing. That card sets off a chain reaction that ends up making a difference in the lives of some kids who could also use a boost - be it from dealing with bullies, unaccepting families, or the hole that grief leaves.
-
-
inspiring and a little disappointing
- By Melissa Mastrangelo on 07-25-22
By: Ann Braden
-
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
-
When You Reach Me
- By: Rebecca Stead
- Narrated by: Cynthia Holloway
- Length: 4 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
By sixth grade, Miranda and her best friend, Sal, know how to navigate their New York City neighborhood. They know where it's safe to go, like the local grocery store, and they know whom to avoid, like the crazy guy on the corner.
But things start to unravel. Sal gets punched by a new kid for what seems like no reason, and he shuts Miranda out of his life. The apartment key that Miranda's mom keeps hidden for emergencies is stolen. And then Miranda finds a mysterious note.
-
-
Excellent intrigue story
- By Brianna on 12-26-09
By: Rebecca Stead
-
Gwendy's Button Box
- Includes Bonus Story "The Music Room"
- By: Stephen King, Richard Chizmar
- Narrated by: Maggie Siff
- Length: 2 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
There are three ways up to Castle View from the town of Castle Rock: Route 117, Pleasant Road, and the Suicide Stairs. Every day in the summer of 1974, 12-year-old Gwendy Peterson has taken the stairs, which are held by strong (if time-rusted) iron bolts and zigzag up the cliffside. At the top of the stairs, Gwendy catches her breath and listens to the shouts of the kids on the playground. One day a stranger calls to Gwendy: "Hey, girl. Come on over here for a bit. We ought to palaver, you and me."
-
-
THE PEOPLE SEE A LEVER, THEY WANT TO PULL IT
- By Jim "The Impatient" on 06-07-17
By: Stephen King, and others
-
Schizo
- A Novel
- By: Nic Sheff
- Narrated by: Michael Crouch
- Length: 5 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Driven to the point of obsession to find his missing younger brother, Teddy, and wrapped up in a romance that may or may not be the real thing, Miles is forever chasing shadows. As Miles feels his world closing around him, he struggles to keep it open, but what you think you know about his world is actually a blur of gray, and the sharp focus of reality proves startling.
-
-
Good story
- By VLG on 08-06-18
By: Nic Sheff
-
Kids of Appetite
- By: David Arnold
- Narrated by: Phoebe Strole, Michael Crouch, Ryan Vincent Anderson
- Length: 10 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Victor Benucci and Madeline Falco have a story to tell. It begins with the death of Vic's father. It ends with the murder of Mad's uncle. The Hackensack Police Department would very much like to hear it. But in order to tell their story, Vic and Mad must focus on all the chapters in between.
-
-
Very good also very emotional
- By Alec on 02-24-17
By: David Arnold
-
Flight of the Puffin
- By: Ann Braden
- Narrated by: Michael Crouch, Maxwell Glick, Dani Martineck, and others
- Length: 4 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Libby comes from a long line of bullies. She wants to be different, but sometimes that doesn’t work out. To bolster herself, she makes a card with the message You are amazing. That card sets off a chain reaction that ends up making a difference in the lives of some kids who could also use a boost - be it from dealing with bullies, unaccepting families, or the hole that grief leaves.
-
-
inspiring and a little disappointing
- By Melissa Mastrangelo on 07-25-22
By: Ann Braden
-
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
-
When You Reach Me
- By: Rebecca Stead
- Narrated by: Cynthia Holloway
- Length: 4 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
By sixth grade, Miranda and her best friend, Sal, know how to navigate their New York City neighborhood. They know where it's safe to go, like the local grocery store, and they know whom to avoid, like the crazy guy on the corner.
But things start to unravel. Sal gets punched by a new kid for what seems like no reason, and he shuts Miranda out of his life. The apartment key that Miranda's mom keeps hidden for emergencies is stolen. And then Miranda finds a mysterious note.
-
-
Excellent intrigue story
- By Brianna on 12-26-09
By: Rebecca Stead
-
Gwendy's Button Box
- Includes Bonus Story "The Music Room"
- By: Stephen King, Richard Chizmar
- Narrated by: Maggie Siff
- Length: 2 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
There are three ways up to Castle View from the town of Castle Rock: Route 117, Pleasant Road, and the Suicide Stairs. Every day in the summer of 1974, 12-year-old Gwendy Peterson has taken the stairs, which are held by strong (if time-rusted) iron bolts and zigzag up the cliffside. At the top of the stairs, Gwendy catches her breath and listens to the shouts of the kids on the playground. One day a stranger calls to Gwendy: "Hey, girl. Come on over here for a bit. We ought to palaver, you and me."
-
-
THE PEOPLE SEE A LEVER, THEY WANT TO PULL IT
- By Jim "The Impatient" on 06-07-17
By: Stephen King, and others
-
Matchmaking for Beginners
- A Novel
- By: Maddie Dawson
- Narrated by: Amy McFadden, Joyce Bean
- Length: 12 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Marnie MacGraw wants an ordinary life - a husband, kids, and a minivan in the suburbs. Now that she’s marrying the man of her dreams, she’s sure this is the life she’ll get. Then Marnie meets Blix Holliday, her fiancé’s irascible matchmaking great-aunt who’s dying, and everything changes - just as Blix told her it would. When her marriage ends after two miserable weeks, Marnie is understandably shocked.
-
-
I Wanted to Like It More
- By Marshallchick on 06-24-18
By: Maddie Dawson
-
Tenth of December
- Stories
- By: George Saunders
- Narrated by: George Saunders
- Length: 5 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Writing brilliantly and profoundly about class, sex, love, loss, work, despair, and war, Saunders cuts to the core of the contemporary experience. These stories take on the big questions and explore the fault lines of our own morality, delving into the questions of what makes us good and what makes us human.
-
-
Be prepared for something different...but good!
- By Mr. D on 02-21-14
By: George Saunders
-
The Boy in the Black Suit
- By: Jason Reynolds
- Narrated by: Corey Allen
- Length: 7 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Just when 17-year-old Matt thinks he can't handle one more piece of terrible news, he meets a girl who’s dealt with a lot more - and who just might be able to clue him in on how to rise up when life keeps knocking him down - in this wry, gritty novel from the author of When I Was the Greatest. Matt wears a black suit every day. No, not because his mom died - although she did, and it sucks.
-
-
Engaging read about a soft black teen
- By AudioBookHoe on 07-26-17
By: Jason Reynolds
-
Sorta Like a Rock Star
- By: Matthew Quick
- Narrated by: Cynthia Holloway
- Length: 6 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Amber Appleton lives in a bus. Ever since her mom’s boyfriend kicked them out, Amber, her mom, and her totally loyal dog, Bobby Big Boy (a.k.a Thrice B), have been camped out in the back of Hello Yellow (the school bus her mom drives). Still, Amber, the self- proclaimed princess of hope and girl of unyielding optimism, refuses to sweat the bad stuff. But when a fatal tragedy threatens Amber’s optimism - and her way of life - can Amber continue to be the rock star of hope?
-
-
After being hooked by Silver Linings playbook.....
- By Brad Zerkel on 04-22-13
By: Matthew Quick
-
Goodbye Stranger
- By: Rebecca Stead
- Narrated by: Kimberly Farr, Meera Simhan, Kirby Heyborne
- Length: 6 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Bridge is an accident survivor who's wondering why she's still alive. Emily has new curves and an almost-boyfriend who wants a certain kind of picture. Tabitha sees through everybody's games - or so she tells the world. The three girls are best friends with one rule: no fighting. Can it get them through seventh grade?
-
-
Awesome!
- By Noreen on 12-07-15
By: Rebecca Stead
-
Summerlost
- By: Ally Condie
- Narrated by: Phoebe Strole
- Length: 4 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It's the first real summer since the devastating accident that killed Cedar's father and younger brother, Ben. But now Cedar and what's left of her family are returning to the town of Iron Creek for the summer. They're just settling in to their new house when a boy named Leo, dressed in costume, rides by on his bike. Intrigued, Cedar follows him to the renowned Summerlost theatre festival. Soon she not only has a new friend in Leo and a job working concessions at the festival, but she finds herself surrounded by mystery.
-
-
Shakespeare, loss, autism & mystery in a JA novel
- By Kaui on 06-28-16
By: Ally Condie
-
Noggin
- By: John Corey Whaley
- Narrated by: Kirby Heyborne
- Length: 8 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Travis Coates has a good head…on someone else’s shoulders. A touching, hilarious, and wholly original coming-of-age story from John Corey Whaley, author of the Printz and Morris Award-winning Where Things Come Back. Listen - Travis Coates was alive once and then he wasn’t. Now he’s alive again. Simple as that. The in-between part is still a little fuzzy, but Travis can tell you that, at some point or another, his head got chopped off and shoved into a freezer in Denver, Colorado. Five years later, it was reattached to some other guy’s body, and well, here he is.
-
-
the ending was beautifully simplistic, with a topic that is extremely difficult for us, life and death.
- By Anonymous User on 10-13-24
-
Husky
- By: Justin Sayre
- Narrated by: Justin Sayre
- Length: 5 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Twelve-year-old Davis lives in an old brownstone with his mother and grandmother in Brooklyn. He loves people-watching in Prospect Park, visiting his mom in the bakery she owns, and listening to the biggest operas he can find as he walks everywhere. But Davis is having a difficult summer. As questions of sexuality begin to enter his mind, he worries people don't see him as anything other than "husky".
-
-
Outstanding, truly exceptional storytelling
- By johnnyoak on 09-23-15
By: Justin Sayre
-
Short
- By: Holly Goldberg Sloan
- Narrated by: Tara Sands
- Length: 6 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Julia is very short for her age, but by the end of the summer run of The Wizard of Oz, she'll realize how big she is inside, where it counts. She hasn't ever thought of herself as a performer, but when the wonderful director of Oz casts her as a Munchkin, she begins to see herself in a new way. As Julia becomes friendly with the poised and wise Olive and with her deeply artistic neighbor, Mrs. Chang, Julia's own sense of self as an artist grows.
-
-
Cute
- By Kindle Customer on 02-04-17
-
11 Birthdays: A Wish Novel
- By: Wendy Mass
- Narrated by: Kathleen McInerney
- Length: 5 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Amanda is reliving her 11th birthday over and over again - even the fight with her best friend, Leo. How can she fix everything and put the day behind her? Only time, friendship, and luck will tell.
-
-
In the words of a 9 yr old
- By Heather Baker- and kids on 04-03-17
By: Wendy Mass
-
Still Life with Tornado
- By: A.S. King
- Narrated by: Karissa Vacker
- Length: 8 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Sixteen-year-old Sarah can't draw. This is a problem, because as long as she can remember, she has "done the art." She thinks she's having an existential crisis. And she might be right; she does keep running into past and future versions of herself as she wanders the urban ruins of Philadelphia. Or maybe she's finally waking up to the tornado that is her family, the tornado that six years ago sent her once-beloved older brother flying across the country for a reason she can't quite recall.
-
-
The worst book I have every read.
- By Somebody on 08-23-17
By: A.S. King
-
What Happened to My Sister
- A Novel
- By: Elizabeth Flock
- Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell
- Length: 9 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Nine-year-old Carrie Parker and her mother, Libby, are making a fresh start in the small town of Hartsville, North Carolina, ready to put their turbulent past behind them. Violence has shattered their family and left Libby nearly unable to cope. And while Carrie once took comfort in her beloved sister, Emma, her mother has now forbidden even the mention of her name. When Carrie meets Ruth, Honor, and Cricket Chaplin, these three generations of warmhearted women seem to have the loving home Carrie has always dreamed of. But as Carrie and Cricket become fast friends, neither can escape the pull of their families' secrets.
-
-
Breathtaking
- By Pink Amy on 03-11-24
By: Elizabeth Flock
What listeners say about What I Leave Behind
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Mary
- 08-26-21
What I Bring Forward
Will brings love and concern for others out of his own grief. The author uniquely tells a poignant story in 100 short chapters…concise and beautifully to the point. Michael Crouch embodies his characters, and Will is no exception. You can hear the sadness and sweetness of Will in Michael’s voice. And…you care and root for him as he navigates his new world, and hope that his next batch of cornbread is a good one!
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
- ShannonVM
- 07-02-21
Very poignant.
What I Leave Behind was a really touching story, quite charming in its own little way. When it was over I actually felt like bursting into tears, and if I had been any where other than the gym at the time I probably would have!
Will is such a compelling character, made even more so by the always amazing Michael Crouch. He is so incredibly talented and never fails to deliver, always bringing such life to the characters.
I really enjoyed the way this book was written, the structure of it with each chapter being 100 words. I wasn't sure about it at first, since it made the story very concise, but it worked very well in this case and definitely added to the poignancy. This was a happy surprise of a book!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
2 people found this helpful