The Good Life

by Jeremy Hall, Ty Burrell (Narrator), Jennifer Garner (Narrator)

Created by Modern Family’s Ty Burrell, and starring Jennifer Garner, Ty Burrell, and Colton Dunn, The Good Life is a feel-good comedy inspired by Ty’s real-life childhood.

Desperate to escape their high-pressure life in Los Angeles, the Finch family moves to rural Oregon. But it doesn’t take long to learn that “small town” is not code for “stress-free.”

As the new owners of Applegate's one and only general store, the Finches find that the simple life’s anything but simple when your little store is the town's only grocery store, gas station, hardware store, fire station, and occasional dentist’s office.

Not to mention, fitting into a small town can be every bit as tricky as navigating the big city rat race.

With a cast of comedy all-stars including Jillian Bell, Bobby Moynihan, Dallas Goldtooth, Ego Nwodim, Amber Ruffin, and Paula Pell, The Good Life is the funny and heartfelt sitcom you didn’t know you needed.

Genres: Audiobook, Humor, Fiction, Contemporary

Audible Audio

Published July 3, 2025

Reviews

[Melike · Rating 3 out of 5]

It had funny parts, but overall ended up being too chaotic.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun story with a great cast of narrators.

My only complaint is that the audio skipped a lot during chapter 2. Hopefully they can get it fixed to make the listening experience better for future listeners.

[Angelina · Rating 5 out of 5]

All the cosy vibes! If you love Ty Burrell in Modern Family then this will give you that same funny wholesome vibe that we love from Phil Dunphy. Adding Jen Garner to the mix is the icing on the cake and delivers that ray of sunshine that only she can with the added spunk of a woman wearing many hats. I could listen to 100 more of these. It’s Schitt’sCreek meets Modern Family.

[Tropical Sorbet · Rating 2 out of 5]

It just wasn’t for me. It didn’t hold my interest, but it was a very cute.

[Michele · Rating 4 out of 5]

*** 3.5 Stars ***

This is basically a “fish out of water” story with quite a bit of humor.

[Tracey Casto · Rating 4 out of 5]

Laugh out loud funny!!

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chaotic. Loved it

[Kayleigh · Rating 2 out of 5]

What the hell was this? This was chaos on a whole new level

[Megan Hoskins]

Unfortunate, I was looking forward to this, but it skipped every 30 seconds.

[Ginny Muse · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really cute. Great full cast for this audio play (set up as podcast episodes.) The most recognizable voices for me were Jennifer Garner and Ty Burrell, but there are so many different characters and voices!
I loved how the story started. Very cute and quaint for the family to try to escape the craziness of LA by moving to a remote town in Oregon and buying a general store to run (in Applegate.) Based partly on the author’s own life, and narrated by the younger son’s imaginary friend, I thought this sounded fun and was invested from the start. But - as the story progressed and tried to incorporate more people and more crazy storylines, it kind of went off the rails a bit and was too all over the place. Still mostly cute. But too much. Even though it’s short I was ready for it to be over. Has a lot of sitcom schtick type of humor with over the top acting. It was cute and funny to start with, but got more annoying after trying to listen straight through. If you broke up the listening by chapter/episode it might be less cringey (but there are so many characters I’d be afraid I’d forget who was who if I didn’t listen to it in a day.) I did appreciate the sweet aspects of family bonding and small town community support. Nothing was very emotional, but some aspects were endearing amidst the craziness.
Overall great cast and cute story, but a bit scattered with too much going on.

[Holly · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this was a cute story. It definitely feels like a very personal love letter written to celebrate memories of a loving family and happy childhood.

I am only familiar with Ty Burrell from his role as Phil Dunphy on Modern Family. While I enjoyed his comedic approach to this story, I was a little surprised at how much it seemed like it was written by Phil Dunphy. I suppose I expected that Ty in real life wouldn’t sound identical to the character he portrayed on TV. I really thought Phil was just a character. Does that make sense?

I suspect that most of the low ratings for this book (which is currently free on Audible) comes from the audiobook quality. It skips badly. If not for that, it would have been more enjoyable to listen to. I also thought it was too short to get the audience fully invested in the characters. But, it did have potential and I think it would make a great family friendly sitcom.

[Kris · Rating 2 out of 5]

Desperate to escape their high-pressure life in Los Angeles, the Finch family moves to rural Oregon. But it doesn’t take long to learn that “small town” is not code for “stress-free.”
As the new owners of Applegate's one and only general store, the Finches find that the simple life’s anything but simple when your little store is the town's only grocery store, gas station, hardware store, fire station, and occasional dentist’s office.
Not to mention, fitting into a small town can be every bit as tricky as navigating the big city rat race.

This was definitely funny, but it was also a little weird. I listened to it all and got some laughs, but not much of a story line. It probably was just produced to entertain, which it did.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Los Angeles family (businesswoman mom, psychotherapist dad, tween/teen kids, and mom's free spirited sister) (none of whose names I can remember) move to a rural Oregon town looking for a slower-paced life after mom has a panic attack in a business meeting and takes off her blouse. They end up running the town's general store, which is not only the town's only store, but also the only restaurant, gas station, and you can also get your teeth cleaned there, though that's probably a bad idea. Narrated by a large cast starring Ty Burrell, Jennifer Garner, and Colton Dunn. Fairly cliched story --will they win over the wary townspeople? let's find out! -- but cute and enjoyable.

[Kiran · Rating 2 out of 5]

I adore Ty Burrell and Jennifer Garner, and I feel incredibly guilty writing a poor review of their Audible Original book, but... it just wasn't really for me. It's done beautifully as an old-fashioned radio show style narrative based on Ty Burrell's actual childhood in small town Oregon. It's campy and over-the-top to an extent that I could only listen in small bursts. That being said, it was good background to have on while I was cooking or doing chores since you didn't really have to focus on any details, and I did love Ty and Jennifer's voices (along with the rest of the cast, who were also wonderful).

[Karen Valenzuela · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an audiobook read as if it was a podcast told by a suprise member of the family. (You will understand by the end).
It is pretty entertaining, it felt like a family comedy series. Very cute. Just a normal american family that has to move to a small town after the mom suffers a panic attack that scares her husband. So he thinks they need to get out of the fast-paced city life and look for something more peaceful.
Everyone starts loving being near nature and being part of a close-knit community.
I loved it, it was peaceful.

[Lisa Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story of the Finch family, and their attempt to get away from the craziness of Los Angeles by moving to a small backwater town in rural Oregon and take over the general story, told from the perspective of the ten year old's imaginary friend. Crazy, zany, and over the top.

So, the story was a bit too much for me, but the amazing narrators acting it out was spectacular, for example, Jennifer Garner plays to mom. So fun!

[Amanda Hunter · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a really cute story and I loved Ty Burrell as the narrator (especially since the story is inspired by his childhood). I listened with Audible and I didn't experience any skipping or technical issues, but the whistling music throughout the story became irritating halfway through especially since it's used to end and start chapters, so you get it back to back if you're listening straight through. Again, I liked the story, but the "plot twist" was confusing and kind of took me out of it.

[Shammah · Rating 2 out of 5]

This podcast style audiobook is very over acted, and definitely could have used some editing. Chapter two skips horribly. I was generous with my star rating (2 instead of 1) because it was a mostly clean listen, which I appreciate.

[Pat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best book ever! I laughed so hard and, may I say, out loud. So, really I was literally L. O. L. Ing. All skips were fixed. Thanks, Audible! I loved the stories, characters, and feel of small town life. Please, make more!

[Macy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh… I think based on the cast and the initial start to this, I had higher hopes for this? It’s fine.. the story just didn’t hold me through to the end, although the voice acting was pretty solid throughout.

2.5 stars

[Karel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted something light and fun to read, and this is. I also moved from a big city to a tiny town in the middle of nowhere so I related to the characters. It was not laughing out loud kind of audiobook but I did had a nice time. The Ty Burrell narration is spectacular.

[Emily Burns · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ha cute little audio about a family that went to a small town to start over. Cute read

[Sarah Toback · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very cute. I was laughing a lot, and it was wholesome fun. I also had skipping problems in part of chapter 2. I thought it was a "me" issue, but I guess not, looking at the reviews.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute, fun and lighthearted. I really enjoyed the audio sitcom style. Yes, there is some light skipping in one chapter, but to fault the author/book/writing is ridiculous, imo

[Brittany · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun quick story

[Allison Shelton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ty Burrell never disappoints.

[Macey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Audible

[Brigette Bennett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Audible original- such a fun listen! Love the cast of characters especially Jennifer garner she is one of my favorites!!!

[Madeline · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed listening to this crazy family’s adventures.

[Benjamin Barch · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a hilarious story that was perfect to entertain us on a family road trip.