9780061135118
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Full of Grace audiobook

  • By: Dorothea Benton Frank
  • Narrator: Susan Bennett
  • Length: 10 hours 53 minutes
  • Publisher: HarperAudio
  • Publish date: June 14, 2016
  • Language: English
  • (4688 ratings)
(4688 ratings)
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Full of Grace Audiobook Summary

The rich atmosphere of South Carolina, Hilton Head and Charleston, is brought vividly to life by Dorothea Benton Frank, a South Carolina native who, with her exquisitely evocative prose, makes you smell the sea air, see the palmettos, and savor the sweet tea, but this time it comes with a side of antipasti.

Hilton Head, a South Carolina retirement heaven–at least it’s supposed to be, but for Big Al and Connie Russo, the move from New Jersey to this southern paradise has been fraught with just a few complications. Especially for their daughter, Grace.

Well, that’s what she likes to be called. Her family insists on Maria Graziella. Seriously, enough with the Neapolitan. That might have been okay in New Jersey, but now it’s just plain silly, and Grace at thirty-two is, horror of horrors, still unmarried. No wonder her family drives her crazy. Well, that and the fact that she’s living with the man she would marry if they both weren’t so commitment phobic. Michael is a doctor and a scientist and Grace is pretty sure he’s also an atheist. Over the years, Grace has become a bit ambivalent about her faith, but her family is as old-fashioned Italian as they come. So the stage is set for a major showdown that just might change Grace’s outlook on life, family, and the New South.

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Full of Grace Audiobook Narrator

Susan Bennett is the narrator of Full of Grace audiobook that was written by Dorothea Benton Frank

New York Times bestseller Dorothea Benton Frank was born and raised on Sullivans Island, South Carolina. Until her passing in 2019, Dorothea and her husband split their time between New Jersey and South Carolina. A contemporary voice of the South, Dorothea Benton Frank was beloved by fans and friends alike since her debut novel Sullivans Island. Readers from coast to coast fell for the quick wit and the signature humor that permeated her many bestselling novels.

About the Author(s) of Full of Grace

Dorothea Benton Frank is the author of Full of Grace

Full of Grace Full Details

Narrator Susan Bennett
Length 10 hours 53 minutes
Author Dorothea Benton Frank
Publisher HarperAudio
Release date June 14, 2016
ISBN 9780061135118

Additional info

The publisher of the Full of Grace is HarperAudio. The imprint is HarperAudio. It is supplied by HarperAudio. The ISBN-13 is 9780061135118.

Global Availability

This book is only available in the United States.

Goodreads Reviews

Leslie

May 01, 2010

My favorite by Dorthea Benton Frank! All her books make me feel like I am on vacation in Charleston!

Patricia

January 28, 2022

Full of Grace Dorothea Benton Frank, authorThis is my first novel by this author and, although it began on the boring side for me due to all the knit picking among the characters, I powered through and read on. I'm so happy I did too, as it was a beautiful story about family and faith. No one is perfect, but everyone deserves a chance to redeem themselves. I recommend this book to others that can keep an open mind and remember not to give up.

Donna

July 09, 2020

Dorothea Benton Frank is one of my very favorite authors. This book was different from her others, and I loved it. Raised Protestant, I married into an Italian American Catholic family, and I could identify with both Grace and Michael. We have a son who received a similar miracle as a baby and I had discounted it over the years that have gone by...this book refreshed it all in a necessary way.I will say I listened to this on Audible - and did not love the narration.

Linda

June 08, 2022

Laugh out loud funny. The ending felt contrived and “too put together,” but I was looking for a light, beachy read and even with brain cancer and lots of religion it still felt light to me. I’m a devout Catholic so I enjoyed the spiritual side.

Elsi

October 18, 2008

This book was surprising in many ways. Having read several books by this author, I was sure I would like this one as well. I did, but not the way that I expected.The book starts with a rather mundane accounting of Grace's day-to-day life. She's living with her boyfriend, Michael, who is a research physician. On holidays, she visits her family—but without Michael who isn't welcome at her parent's home. Part of the reason is because he's using stem cells in his research and their Catholic doctrine condemns it. But the primary reason is that he's not Italian; he's Irish, of all things.I was lulled along, getting to know the Russos through Grace's visits with them—the conflicts being played out over a dinner table loaded with holiday goodies. Then, the family has to face two crises. First, Nonna falls and breaks her hip. In considerable pain, she refuses to cooperate with her therapists and demands to go home, expecting Grace's mother to care for her around the clock. Then, Michael is diagnosed with a virulent form of cancer and Grace needs her family's support as never before.My favorite character in this book is Father John. I'd like to meet him in real life. In one scene, discussing en vitro fertilization, he says, "I think that the Church's major area of concern has always been that children are begotten not made. Is it right to make children in a laboratory setting just because we can?" And also, "The trick is not to rationalize your decisions knowing that they displease God."I was only looking for a good story, but along with that, I got some wise spiritual guidance. A good deal in my book.

Mary

July 03, 2021

This was not the typical Dorothea Frank book but I still liked it in fact I liked it more because it wasn't her typical story. This was a story of faith and I loved it strictly for that. I went to Europe a few years ago in 2016 and had a deeply religious experience at Lourdes and then Fatima. Lourdes however was a very strong religious experience one i will never forget and I did not go there with any expectations or special request but something happened to me there.

Beth

September 25, 2019

Not your typical Dot Frank. Less low country and more Italian and catholicism. Was Dotty questioning her own spirituality? Unfortunately, I'll never be able to ask her (and I'm sure she would have answered; she was always great with answering anything). Just don't go in expecting what you got in her first novels and enjoy. (But don't eat too much...this one will make you crave pasta, wine and lots of sweets).

Emily

July 25, 2019

This book married some of my favorite things: Charleston, New Jersey/New York, travel and Catholicism. I loved Grace's Jersey family, and the character dialogue reminded me of many family get togethers my own family has been a part of in Queens. The characters were three dimensional and complex, exasperating as much as they were endearing. The story was fantastic until the ending, which I found to be a little forced and implausible.

Lori

January 21, 2015

This book was a page turner for sure. It had a few twists I was not expecting, and I enjoyed seeing how the relationship between a grown daughter and her mother changed from the beginning to the end.

Karen

January 04, 2008

A young woman runs away to South Carolina to escape life, only to make a new one for herself. A typical Dorothea Benton Frank lowcountry novel. What's not to love?

Connie

February 05, 2022

I really enjoyed this novel. While this is not a book solely about Catholicism, it is a prominent theme in this story of a young woman who dearly loves her family, but struggles with their religious beliefs: “The brand of Catholicism my family practiced was so easy to walk away from and twice as difficult to reclaim. It was just too much from either end.” I was raised a Protestant in New Orleans, where the population is overwhelmingly Catholic. So much so, that fish was always served for school lunch on Fridays, even in public schools. I had many friends who went to Catholic schools and I was fascinated by their tales of catechism classes, different types of sins, the need for confession, different feast & holy days, the endless list of saints they knew so much about, & nuns that smacked their students’ hands with a ruler for all sorts of real or imagined transgressions.The main character’s adult perspective helped me to understand more about the religion that alternately fascinated and horrified me as a child. If this quote speaks to you, I think you would enjoy reading this book: “Heaven and hell just didn’t make any sense to me. It was true enough that my faith had wobbled for years and then gone into hiding”.

Amy

June 15, 2022

Full of Grace by Dorothea Benton Frank started out pretty slow for me, so much so that I wished it weren't a book club selection and I could stop reading (actually, listening). The narrators voice also kind of drove me nuts. But, I did continue and I'm glad I did because once I realized the voices totally fit the characters I was able to enjoy the story as it picked up speed and my interest. It is the story of Grace Graziella who hails from an Italian Catholic family. Her father, Big Al, is so set in his ways that he won't allow Grace's live-in boyfriend, Michael, to step foot in the family home. Michael is Irish, agnostic, and works in stem-cell research. This is a huge problem for Grace because her parents live a decent drive away and she visits them a lot, just not with Michael. Grace always feels torn and it really makes her life always in a bit of an upheaval. Something pretty major happens and it becomes time for the family to either accept Michael or lose out on a lot of Grace. The story has a lot of funny parts, some serious times, but through it all Grace is Grace, loving and loyal to those she loves.

ReBecca

November 11, 2017

Loved this book for so many reason, however not like others would expect or do!!! I think the biggest for me was knowing exactly how Grace felt when it comes to being in love with someone and not being married. This fear and unknown you go through when there is something medically wrong and you can’t even be told what’s going on bc your not married. Or having your family not want them around bc of something he can’t control, like his ethnicity! It really hit Home for me bc I was like Grace, I didn’t want to get married and it took a lot of convincing to get me to say yes. In the end one of the biggest decision makers was that I would be considered his spouse in the eyes of government, law, work, etc. instead of just a girlfriend. I also had a love / hate with the religion in this book. At times I felt it was a little too much, but I share a lot of the same feelings Grace and Michael did before Mexico! Though science can never explain miracles? It was nice seeing them meet those of the church who weren’t so “do this or your a sinner” kinda attitude! Overall, great book, easy read, definitely recommend!!!

Emily

October 23, 2019

Grace Russo comes from a big, Italian family that has moved from Connecticut to South Carolina. Grace is not married and is living with her boyfriend, Dr. Michael Higgins. In addition to the fact that they are living together without being married, Michael is Irish! When the Russo family gathers for holidays, Michael is not welcome to join them. Then Michael becomes seriously ill. Grace and Michael’s outlook on religion and marriage begins to shift.

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