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Last Words cover art

Last Words

Written by: Shari J. Ryan
Narrated by: Stephanie Willis,Susan Larkin,Chris Kayser
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Publisher's Summary

Number one best-selling novel Last Words is where reality meets fiction and the lines in between are blurred by forbidden love.

Amelia - 1942: The inside of my closet held the last bit of my freedom before I was torn from my home and shoved onto a dark train. Our destination was even darker. "Women and children to the right. Men to the left," they shouted at us. Everything was taken from me, leaving only the smoke-filled air, piercing screams, and soul-burning cries. I was slowly starved and weakened to the bone, but there was a man - a Nazi - who brought me extra food. He called himself a prisoner too, but he scared me, and I wondered if he was the enemy I should fear the most.

Emma - current day: My grandmother hid her past in an old diary under her bed. The tattered, brown leather book sat there for years until she asked me to find it and read her unspoken words. Now, her stories and secrets are consuming every moment of my life.

She's dying...and asking for a man no one in our family has ever heard of. I never imagined a handwritten book could change my entire life, but it has. It opened my eyes to a new beginning, and I learned that love is not the unsaid word my grandmother has refused to speak. It's an action - it's longevity, taboo, and sometimes forbidden. Do we fight for what's wrong, or do we spend our lives searching for what's right? Last words were never spoken because love doesn't stop until a heart is no longer beating.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.

©2017 Shari J. Ryan (P)2018 Audible, Inc.

What listeners say about Last Words

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

A great love story

Thoroughly enjoyed this book. I can’t imagine how tragic this period of history was; wonderful to think there were small glimmers of hope....

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  • PATRICIA
  • 2019-09-18

Emotional and will touch your heart!

There are times when I listen, that I find a book and it sticks with me, not for the characters, but the story is so moving it stays in my heart. This is one of those books. Shari J Ryan has captured a love story that will change the way you think and show you how true love is never ending. Written as a dual couple story, Amelia and Charlie are the first that we meet. We live in the diary of Amelia, as the story of her time as a Jewish prisoner in a Nazi concentration camp unfolds, and an SS soldier, Charlie comes into her life. Their story is what captivated me. It's written with such compassion for both sides, and it does not gloss over the tragic circumstances of either one of them. Amelia today is in the hospital, which brings us to the second couple, her granddaughter, Emma and her new love interest, Amelia's cardiologist, Jackson. These two with a little nudging from the spunky grandmother is sweet and loving and pulls you right in. Their stories, as they intermingle kept me on the edge of my seat. Not in an action packed, suspenseful way, but I had to know what happens next, and if their story has a happy ending. It's heart wrenching, painfully tragic, full of hope and love and entranced me the entire way through. I don't cry when I listen, but this one had me grabbing the tissues and loving every minute of it!

The way this story is written, three narrators gave us the their portrayal of the story, and it could not have been performed better. Each voice gave us every emotion, every inflection made us feel their perspective and feelings, and it was absolutely stunning. Kudos to Stephanie Willis, Susan Larkin and Chris Kayser for bringing this gem to life!

9 people found this helpful

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  • Serenade
  • 2019-05-18

Really wanted to like it, but hated it and returned it.

This may have been a great read had it not been for the extremely juvenile Emma chapters ,which made me cringe. I tried several times and went to Chapter 13 hoping this part of the book would improve, it did not. Also the narration for these chapters was equally annoying. The Amelia chapters on the other hand were riveting and well narrated. Perhaps I should have skipped every other chapter?!

7 people found this helpful

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  • DeRoseBreathe
  • 2019-10-30

So touching

I experienced laughter, tears, fears, angst, and no sleep. (Did have to fast forward through descriptive intimate parts a couple times towards the later half)
Really well written though and exceptionally read. She did a great job.
(A bit too much intimidate personal descriptions for me, I do have an imagination, sharing emotions and feelings would have been just fine. And hoping in bed after just meeting someone is so today’s liberal ways , it would be so much classier if He waited for her. A man can still hunger for a woman they love without being so intimate. Courtship is so much nicer and leaves no confusion or questions.
I loved the ending! I did expect it.

6 people found this helpful

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  • Kathleen Buske
  • 2021-11-26

Wonderful Book

I read a lot of WW II books. This one is a great addition to my collection. The narration was great and I enjoyed listening to all characters. Of course it’s a love story and has some pretty far reaching occurrences of things that would never happen, but that’s what romance does is provide escape from reality. The author did a great job of honoring her grandmother. I highly recommend.

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  • Sr. Julia Theobald
  • 2021-08-14

riveting!

Characters were realistic and drew me into their lives! Want more from this author. Great!

2 people found this helpful

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  • NotMyMothersLibrary!
  • 2023-03-27

Touching Story

Considering this is a fictional story, I thought it was a really good book. This story isn’t about all of the injustices that occurred during WW2. It’s a story of love, endurance and compassion.
Sure Emma was a little immature but once she realized the true hardships people can endure, she looked at life differently. The book was better without preconceived notions of what it should be. I’m glad I didn’t rely on the lowest reviews. I was not disappointed.

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  • Kindle Customer
  • 2021-06-21

A Forever Love

What a story of Love found then lost.! A moving Holocaust survival story. Highly recommend.

1 person found this helpful

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  • Chris Cregar
  • 2021-03-01

excellent!

listened almost straight through! this is probably one of the best Audiobooks I have downloaded. narrators are wonderful, story is riveting. I felt like I was reading the journal myself. I did cry when it ended

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  • Donna M. Sprunger
  • 2020-10-18

Last Words

best audible I have heard since I became a member in the spring of 2020!!

1 person found this helpful

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  • dv
  • 2020-09-13

a great book

excellent story and performance
l truly enjoyed this heartwarming and tender story I do love in the worst of times even in the best of times. thank you for this wonderful book

1 person found this helpful