Audiobook Review: Find Another Dream by Maysoon Zayid

One of the luxuries I enjoy each month is my Audible subscription. For my child’s nightly listening pleasure, I use my monthly credit to download the next Harry Potter audiobook for her consumption, so that soon she will have the entire HP library at her command. “Alexa, play Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.” She sounds so bossy; unfortunately, Alexa doesn’t make her say “please.”

While I’m on the Audible website, I’ll take a look at the handful of Originals offered that month. Each month Audible provides subscribers the option to download two titles from a small selection of Audible Originals for free in addition to their monthly credit towards any title of their choosing. I’m not one to pass up “free,” especially if I’m paying for it! So, regardless of whether I listen to them or not, I download my two free Originals, gosh darn it! This month’s Original choices included Find Another Dream by Maysoon Zayid. Now, I’m usually more of a podcast listener, but sometimes I get a little burnt out and want to listen to my Spotify playlists instead. But here lately even those didn’t sound good so with an anhedonistic air I eyed the Audible Originals in my listening queue and decided to give Find Another Dream a listen during my long work commute.

Short of it is that I rather enjoyed this audiobook. Nothing was quite laugh out-loud funny (it’s not too often I find anything that does that for me), but I did smile in amusement several times. It was what I needed—a refreshing break from serious, cerebral podcasts, yet something that was still authentic, heartfelt, and had a take-home message. I can’t quite get behind complete fluff. This was entertaining and…. I hesitate to use the word “inspirational.” You’ll know why when you’ve listened to the book, ha.

Some audiobooks make a huge mistake in having the author double as the narrator, but this book was not one of those. Maysoon Zayid is the perfect narrator of her own tale—I can’t imagine anyone else narrating this book. She brought energy and fun into my earbuds, and for that I’m very appreciative.

There is some anti-Trump material that I know would turn-off some, but it isn’t present throughout the entire book. It’s not as though the book is a thinly-veiled 2020 Democratic campaign ad, if that’s not your thing. There’s much more to it. This is a story of challenges and joys, set backs and strokes of luck, loss and gain—a human story, everyone’s story in a way.

I appreciate the fact that whereas Maysoon is not afraid to be amazing and own her fabulousness, with the same honesty she can also relay her regrets and be upfront about the things she’s not so proud of. I like it when people can talk about their mistakes, with neither rationalization nor over-identification with said errors. It shows they’ve lived and learned—they’re human!

Since I have always cared way too much what other people think of me, Maysoon’s story was a fantastic model of how it looks to be fearless and let the haters’ hate roll right off your shoulders. Her encouragement to continually work to achieve one’s dreams, even if those dreams and aspirations change, hit home. She says it’s okay to be your own champion, and I say that’s an audiobook worth listening to.