A lesson in the courage children teach us all

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Living life with parents who are unable to nourish and love in the way parents should often defeats the soft souls of children...but in this touching and often painful story, again i am humbled to have been able to understand what so many untold stories happen every day. Inspiring and a lesson in just how wise young children can be....and how deeply they will fight to survive hellish experiences in tact, with grace and with hope.

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It s hard to stop listening

I really enjoyed listening to this book, the author brings you sailing with her point of view and around the world .

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Compelling & worrying

Interesting if harrowing story of a fourteen year old girl taken to sea by her abusive but competent father and of her alcoholic drug addicted mother - a dysfunctional family of three scared and bullied daughters. First quarter of book is harrowing detailing physical & sexual abuse of a young girl by her father. You spend most of the rest of the book waiting, as she plans you to, for it to be repeated but come out at the end admiring them both for their tenacity and courage. She is not a great narrator - somewhat monotonous, which is a real shame.

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Brilliantly narrated by the author

Where does Fourteen rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I read the kindle version of this Memoir back in July 2016 and loved it. I was lucky enough to be given the audio book as a gift. My initial 5* review of the kindle version stands for this audiobook. Although I should like to add that the narration by the author is brilliant. "This is a great 'coming of age', adventure and survival memoir and so well written. The author had me turning the pages even though I didn't want the book to finish. The 'sailing' alone would have had me captivated..... Leslie's father takes his 3 daughters on a 45' boat journey across the ocean to Tahiti - can you even imagine that!! - The descriptions of this voyage are brilliant. There's an undercurrent though of the non-water type which Leslie is frightened of and eventually tries to stand-up-to... Mrs Johansen - Leslie's mother isn't great at sea and so her daughters are to set-sail with their father alone. I am happy to recommend this memoir. Please don't feel you need to be interested in boats/sailing/the ocean to enjoy this book - there's more to this memoir than first meets the eye."

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great exciting and emotional story

loved this story, difficult at times due to the abuse but a lot of lessons in there. the sailing was told in a real at times terrifying manner

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What an adventure

Young girl grows up during an epic adventure. Highly recommended for anyone liking sailing and adventure. Her observations age appropriate so the story is even better,

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Ticks many boxes

What did you like most about Fourteen?

What I liked most about Leslie Johansen Nack's story was the atmosphere, expertly recreated from her past, as she and her sisters lived an unusual lifestyle from most other girls in their early teens, with an adventure on the horizon (no pun intended).

What did you like best about this story?

The best part, for me, was the exhilarating adventure, the sense of danger, and all the time an underlying awareness of her father's proximity.

Which character – as performed by Leslie Johansen Nack – was your favourite?

This is a difficult one to answer because Ms Nack tends not to over-dramatize her performance, so I'm tempted to say that her portrayal of her own character was my favourite.

Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

It would be accurate to say that I was caught up with the expected adventure, tempered by this girl's coming-of-age story, and followed with the beautifully-described islands of the South Pacific and, finally, the story's climax.

Any additional comments?

Needless to say, I rather enjoyed this audio book.

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2 people found this helpful