What do you think?
Rate this book
LISTEN TO ME: A Mother’s Journey through Trauma, Love, and the Son She Couldn’t Save.
234 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 28, 2026
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
August 12, 2026
Powerful, Raw, and Heartbreaking
Listen to Me by Mindy Ann Averett is one of those books that stays with you long after you finish it. It is raw, heartbreaking, and at times deeply disturbing—not because it tries to shock you, but because of the cruelty, failures, and helplessness it exposes.
Throughout the book, I found myself questioning everyone. Who was telling the truth? Who was listening? Who should have done more? It forces you to confront what can happen when a child struggling with mental illness is also caught in abuse, divorce, and a court system that is supposed to protect him, yet too often fails to truly hear him.
What affected me most was Isaac. As his story unfolded, I began to understand how a child could become so overwhelmed, hurt, and hopeless that he eventually took his own life. That realization was devastating.
But this is also the story of a mother who fought fiercely to protect her son through unimaginable trials. You feel her determination, her fear, and ultimately her grief. After losing Isaac, she is left doing what I imagine so many grieving parents do—going back over every decision, every warning sign, every moment, wondering what she could have done differently. Even after everything she did to fight for him, she still questions herself.
This book does not give you easy people to blame or simple answers. That may be what makes it so powerful. It made me angry, uncomfortable, heartbroken, and at times unsure of what to believe. By the end, though, I felt like I understood Isaac in a way I hadn’t expected to.
Listen to Me is a painful reminder that children need adults—and systems—that are willing to truly listen to them, especially when their lives are complicated, their behavior is difficult, or their voices are inconvenient.
This is not an easy book to read, but I believe it is an important one. Isaac’s story deserves to be heard.
Listen to Me by Mindy Ann Averett is one of those books that stays with you long after you finish it. It is raw, heartbreaking, and at times deeply disturbing—not because it tries to shock you, but because of the cruelty, failures, and helplessness it exposes.
Throughout the book, I found myself questioning everyone. Who was telling the truth? Who was listening? Who should have done more? It forces you to confront what can happen when a child struggling with mental illness is also caught in abuse, divorce, and a court system that is supposed to protect him, yet too often fails to truly hear him.
What affected me most was Isaac. As his story unfolded, I began to understand how a child could become so overwhelmed, hurt, and hopeless that he eventually took his own life. That realization was devastating.
But this is also the story of a mother who fought fiercely to protect her son through unimaginable trials. You feel her determination, her fear, and ultimately her grief. After losing Isaac, she is left doing what I imagine so many grieving parents do—going back over every decision, every warning sign, every moment, wondering what she could have done differently. Even after everything she did to fight for him, she still questions herself.
This book does not give you easy people to blame or simple answers. That may be what makes it so powerful. It made me angry, uncomfortable, heartbroken, and at times unsure of what to believe. By the end, though, I felt like I understood Isaac in a way I hadn’t expected to.
Listen to Me is a painful reminder that children need adults—and systems—that are willing to truly listen to them, especially when their lives are complicated, their behavior is difficult, or their voices are inconvenient.
This is not an easy book to read, but I believe it is an important one. Isaac’s story deserves to be heard.
August 4, 2026
tragic but somehow healing
This book walks through the mental illness and environmental aspects of a teen who takes their own life. The focus is the mother who loves him and tries everything she can to save him. A very messy divorce, the neglect and abuse, The truths and lies. Are we doing enough? Does the psychiatrist, treatment facilities, IEPs, tough discipline or lax discipline make a difference? What can we do and how should we feel? Anyone who has lost someone to suicide can relate to the questions the living ask themselves.
This book walks through the mental illness and environmental aspects of a teen who takes their own life. The focus is the mother who loves him and tries everything she can to save him. A very messy divorce, the neglect and abuse, The truths and lies. Are we doing enough? Does the psychiatrist, treatment facilities, IEPs, tough discipline or lax discipline make a difference? What can we do and how should we feel? Anyone who has lost someone to suicide can relate to the questions the living ask themselves.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews