Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Unavailable
    Growing Up Ugly: A Story of Finding Beauty Within
    Unavailable
    Growing Up Ugly: A Story of Finding Beauty Within
    Unavailable
    Growing Up Ugly: A Story of Finding Beauty Within
    Audiobook2 hours

    Growing Up Ugly: A Story of Finding Beauty Within

    Written by Donetta Garman

    Narrated by Melissa Madole

    4/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    I fantasized about people loving me and standing in line to be my friend. I waited to become a swan. Growing Up Ugly is a moving memoir about coming of age and realizing the beauty in this life we are all searching for is within our grasp. Join author Donetta Garman as she drifts in and out of consciousness after suffering a stroke and recalls some of the events in her unusual but loving childhood. After a traumatic birth, Donetta was left homely, clumsy, and awkward. Growing up, she learned to cope with being ugly by laughing at herself and trying to help hold the family together. While her family climate was dysfunctional, the cohesiveness of it was undeniable, and Garmans story is infused with the intense love and resilience of a peculiar but fiercely devoted family. With the help of her family, children, husband, friends, and God, Donetta finds that beauty really is only skin deep and there is a swan just waiting to escape in all of us.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherTate Publishing Audio
    Release dateJun 1, 2008
    ISBN9781606041932
    Unavailable
    Growing Up Ugly: A Story of Finding Beauty Within

    Related to Growing Up Ugly

    Related audiobooks

    Personal Memoirs For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Life-changing Reads

      Aug 5, 2022

      READ THESE By RYAN STRAMROOD Tracey McDonald Publishers After a painful divorce, Ryan Stramrood decided he needed a challenge and so he joined a swimming squad. From swimming lengths in a school pool, the Cape Town businessman progressed to a 7,5km

      3 min read

    • Article

      Reading Corner

      Oct 9, 2023

      Family sagas tend to be filled with tensions and secrets. This one is about a group of people who, on the face of it, are leading lovely lives in a beautiful place. Not far beneath the surface though lies darkness and trouble. And a whole lot more is

      2 min read

    • Article

      Our Fave Fun Fiction!

      Mar 1, 2024

      Every relationship has one beginning. This one has two endings. Andy loves Jen. Jen loved Andy. And he can't work out why she stopped. Now he is without a home, waiting for his stand-up career to take off, and wondering why everyone else around him s

      1 min read

    • Article

      SUMMER Reading

      Jun 27, 2019

      SUMMER Reading
      4 min read

    • Article

      The Story Maker

      Aug 11, 2022

      The Story Maker
      4 min read

    • Article

      How To Write About Friendship

      Aug 3, 2023

      How To Write About Friendship
      3 min read

    • Article

      Four New Friendship Novels and the Ties That May Not Bind

      Apr 3, 2019

      We grow into our friendships as we grow into our books—the ideals crack, what is lost can be more powerful than what is gained, and what is gained is never absolute. The post Four New Friendship Novels and the Ties That May Not Bind appeared first on

      5 min read

    • Article

      Like Blood, Bile Is Also Thicker Than Water

      Jan 23, 2021

      AVNI Doshi’s debut novel has cut a slow but inexorable path around the world, dazzling readers in country after country. Girl in White Cotton was first published in 2019 in India, the birthplace of Doshi’s parents. Last year, the novel – retitled Bur

      2 min read

    • Article

      Things To Check Out

      Apr 6, 2020

      In this sequel to the reboot of the 1990s adventure film, new cast members Danny DeVito and Danny Glover find  themselves whisked into the game, with hilarious results. OUT WEDNESDAY What better way to escape our homes during this self-isolation

      1 min read

    • Article

      Self Contained

      Feb 15, 2022

      Humans, we’re told, are meant to pair up: Adam and Eve, Elton John and David Furnish, the Kardashians and a revolving cast of partners. But what if you don’t? The mating dance, being part of a couple and reproducing are at the heart of this honest, f

      1 min read

    • Article

      On Set With... Liza Koshy

      Nov 14, 2021

      On Set With... Liza Koshy
      1 min read

    • Article

      Rescue Mission

      Apr 27, 2023

      Rescue Mission
      4 min read

    • Article

      WORDS Of Note!

      Dec 22, 2019

      WORDS Of Note!
      3 min read

    • Article

      In Search of Lost Words: Novels on Dementia

      Aug 3, 2017

      Grief is not something to be avoided. The post In Search of Lost Words: Novels on Dementia appeared first on The Millions.

      6 min read

    • Article

      Hell Hath No FURY...

      Jun 21, 2020

      Hell Hath No FURY...
      3 min read

    • Article

      On The Shelf

      May 12, 2021

      On The Shelf
      2 min read

    • Article

      Eight Poems

      Sep 1, 2021

      The rain is splashy.The baby is fat as apat of butter.Mother is sleeping.No one is crying.Because it was timeto live with strangersbaby was born.Hearing the rainjumping in puddleshe feels another eventis due in time.Not knowing what,not guessing what

      2 min read

    • Article

      Killer Roles

      Mar 30, 2023

      Killer Roles
      3 min read

    • Article

      Required Reading

      Aug 17, 2017

      GABRIELLA M. GEISINGER is a New Yorker now living in London. Her freelance writing focuses on arts & culture, feminism, and human rights. DEALING WITH A PARENT who develops dementia or Alzheimer’s is nothing new to the universe, and, yet, one of the

      6 min read

    • Article

      Book Club

      Apr 28, 2021

      Book Club
      1 min read

    • Article

      Why Everyone Is Talking About JENNETTE McCURDY

      Mar 5, 2023

      Our Books Editor Wade Sellers gives us his fave picks for the week! On the cusp of Jennette's Australian tour, Woman's Day unpacks why the former child star's memoir has struck such a chord with the world… Fame is brutal, and fame seems to be excepti

      2 min read

    • Article

      Freedom in Telling the Truth: The Millions Interviews Adrienne Brodeur

      Nov 27, 2019

      I used to play the story for laughs. But when I started a family of my own and as my children grew, I realized I had to reexamine the way I was brought up. The post Freedom in Telling the Truth: The Millions Interviews Adrienne Brodeur appeared first

      8 min read

    • Article

      Miranda Tapsell

      Nov 2, 2023

      Miranda Tapsell
      8 min read

    • Article

      Creature Comfort

      Jun 9, 2020

      Sick of sopping wet towels? Use a synthetic car chamois leather to get the worst off your wet dogs. It works well for us humans too! Mare’s Tail is a plant that is not only poisonous to horses, but once it gets established, is so hard to get rid of

      2 min read

    • Article

      In Memory Of DINA

      Nov 22, 2020

      In Memory Of DINA
      3 min read

    Reviews for Growing Up Ugly

    4/5

    4 ratings1 review

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 5/5
      Growing Up Ugly is a memoir of the life of the author. And what an amazing life she’s had thus far! Each chapter tells of her recollections of growing up while recovering in a hospital from a stroke at a young age. As she fades in and out of consciousness, memories spring to mind as she sleeps. Very detailed memories. Fond and not so fond memories.Though to some her childhood would be construed as stemming from a very dysfunctional family, the family itself had a bonding between them that only love could hold. Through tragedy, mental illness, alcoholism, poverty and health issues, this family stayed together and protected each other in a way one can only admire.Ms. Garman felt awkward, ugly and had a very low self-esteem during her childhood, experiencing many things in life at a very young age that we would hope today, no child would have to go through. And yet, it’s those very same experiences which God led her through to get her past it and to the point in life she is at now. Some would have never survived. Others would have aged with bitterness and regret. Many who experience similar experiences never emerge, but drown. But as we all know, God has a plan for all of us, if we will only open the door for Him to enter into our hearts.Still struggling with issues, she met and married a man who had been down some of the roads she had been down and together they grew. Now he is the pastor of a small church and together, they enjoy a much different life full of the joy and the beauty God created. She learned that beauty is not an outward appearance others can see, but something which can only come from inside. Beauty is within our souls, not our physical bodies.I felt many mixed emotions as I read her story and feel blessed to have had the opportunity to do so. Ms. Garman has a unique talent for telling a story and her memoir is a story you will not want to miss. A truly exceptional book! Garman is an exceptional writer with a unique talent and I look forward to reading more of her work.