That's Not How It Happened
Audio only

That's Not How It Happened

By Craig ThomasNarrated by Marli Watson, Cobie Smulders, Josh Radnor, Kevin Iannucci
Length10h 8m

About this audiobook

“Funny and poignant... Craig Thomas is a big-hearted, empathetic writer who knows his characters inside and out." —Tom Perrotta, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of Mrs. Fletcher and The Leftovers “Funny, real and moving all at once...[A] wonderful, heartfelt debut.” –Lin-Manuel Miranda, Tony-Award Winning creator of Broadway’s Hamilton From the Emmy-nominated co-creator and Executive Producer of How I Met Your Mother, this smart, funny, bighearted novel for fans of Kevin Wilson and Monica Heisey, follows a family turned upside down after Hollywood decides to make a movie version of their lives. With Audiobook narration by Cobie Smulders and Josh Radnor Paige didn’t set out to be a stay-at-home mom, but when her husband’s screenwriting career took off right before they had a son with Down syndrome, the decision was made for her. Now, with their children nearly grown and unsure what's next, Paige writes a memoir about the challenges of raising a child with a disability. When a major actress-turned-producer shows up at her door eager to make her “inspiring” story into a movie, she’s shocked, excited, and a little terrified. This movie just might be the comeback opportunity her husband, Rob, desperately needs. His career has fizzled in recent years. But the movie is going to need a screenwriter, and who better to adapt his wife's memoir than him?... Meanwhile, their son, Emmett, doesn’t understand why people think his Down syndrome is the most important thing in his life (that's definitely his girlfriend, Amy)—but he hopes his newfound fame might somehow get him closer to meeting his idol, Eddie Vedder. Their daughter, Darcy, couldn't care less about the whole thing because she’s hardly even in their mom's book. The “normal” child who nobody ever worries about is feeling more forgotten than ever as her love life implodes and college decisions loom. As their lives are chewed up and spit out by the Hollywood machine, triggering old resentments and launching new betrayals, will any of them even recognize the "inspiring" family in this film? Or will this "feel-good" movie be the end of them?

Audiobook details

Rating★★★★ 4.1 (4.7K)
Includes Goodreads, LibraryThing
GenreGeneral Fiction
Length10 hrs 8 mins
Narrated byMarli Watson, Cobie Smulders, Josh Radnor, Kevin Iannucci
FormatAudiobook
Publish dateNov 4, 2025
LanguageEnglish
Whistler
WhistlerAnn Patchett10h 45m4.6 (4.6K)$29 · $0.00
Demon Copperhead
Demon CopperheadBarbara Kingsolver21h 3m4.5 (949.4K)$46 · $0.00
To Kill a Mockingbird
To Kill a MockingbirdHarper Lee12h 18m4.5 (7.4M)$29 · $0.00
Remarkably Bright Creatures
Remarkably Bright CreaturesShelby Van Pelt11h 17m4.4 (1.7M)$29 · $0.00
Something Like Love
Something Like LoveBeverly Jenkins10h 21m4.6 (2.7K)$29 · $0.00
Black History Collection
Black History CollectionFrederick Douglass, Harriet Ann Jacobs, Booker T. Washington, W.E.B. Du Bois27h 9m4.6 (2.6K)$18 · $0.00
The Old Man and the Sea (Annotated)
The Old Man and the Sea (Annotated)Ernest Hemingway4h 27m4.6 (1.4K)$2 · $0.00
White Hot
White HotIlona Andrews13h 18m4.5 (136.9K)$5 · $0.00
The Ghost by the Billabong (The Matilda Saga, #5)
The Ghost by the Billabong (The Matilda Saga, #5)Jackie French14h 58m4.6 (773)$33 · $0.00
Cast in Blood
Cast in BloodMichelle Sagara16h 35m4.6 (607)$33 · $0.00
The Captain Blood Trilogy (Annotated)
The Captain Blood Trilogy (Annotated)Rafael Sabatini29h 20m4.6 (1K)$3 · $0.00
Ship of the Line (Annotated)
Ship of the Line (Annotated)Cecil Louis Troughton Smith11h 13m4.6 (1K)$2 · $0.00
The George Orwell Collection
The George Orwell CollectionGeorge Orwell24h 46m4.5 (14.4K)$12 · $0.00
Time Regained
Time RegainedMarcel Proust15h 38m4.5 (9.2K)$2 · $0.00
Driving Force
Driving ForceElle James4h 58m4.6 (407)$20 · $0.00
When God Calls the Heart
When God Calls the HeartBrian Bird, Michelle Cox3h 24m4.6 (439)$10 · $0.00
Five Little Indians
Five Little IndiansMichelle Good10h 34m4.5 (64.5K)$29 · $0.00
Lolth's Warrior
Lolth's WarriorR. A. Salvatore13h 20m4.6 (2.4K)$33 · $0.00
The Things We Cannot Say
The Things We Cannot SayKelly Rimmer13h 48m4.5 (359.1K)$33 · $0.00
The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois
The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du BoisHonoree Fanonne Jeffers29h 49m4.5 (58K)$8 · $0.00

You may also like

Shopgirls
ShopgirlsJessica Anya Blau9h 18m3.8 (2.9K)$29 · $0.00
Confessions of an Alleged Good Girl
Confessions of an Alleged Good GirlJoya Goffney10h 51m4.2 (10.1K)$29 · $0.00
Summer Stage
Summer StageMeg Mitchell Moore10h 22m3.8 (5.7K)$29 · $0.00
Fireworks
FireworksKatie Cotugno8h3.6 (3.8K)$26 · $0.00
A Step Toward Falling
A Step Toward FallingCammie McGovern10h 36m3.7 (4.5K)$29 · $0.00
The Poet X
The Poet XElizabeth Acevedo3h 31m4.4 (205.6K)$18 · $0.00
Lulu and Milagro's Search for Clarity
Lulu and Milagro's Search for ClarityAngela Velez9h 8m4.0 (996)$29 · $0.00
Far from the Tree
Far from the TreeRobin Benway8h 55m4.4 (125K)$29 · $0.00
Charming as a Verb
Charming as a VerbBen Philippe8h 6m4.0 (10.6K)$26 · $0.00
I Suck at Girls
I Suck at GirlsJustin Halpern4h 8m4.0 (23.1K)$20 · $0.00
Geek Girl: Picture Perfect
Geek Girl: Picture PerfectHolly Smale8h4.3 (11.5K)$26 · $0.00
West End Girls
West End GirlsJenny Colgan8h 34m3.5 (7.3K)$26 · $0.00
The Girl of the Woods
The Girl of the WoodsGrace Livingston Hill8h 2m4.2 (605)$1.20 · $0.00
Summer and the City
Summer and the CityCandace Bushnell10h 28m3.8 (18.2K)$29 · $0.00
A Dollar Short
A Dollar ShortKarin Gillespie8h 20m4.2 (1.5K)$17
Girls in the Moon
Girls in the MoonJanet McNally9h 10m3.8 (3.1K)$29 · $0.00
The Secret of Snow
The Secret of SnowViola Shipman11h 25m4.0 (15.6K)$29 · $0.00
Ordinary Girls
Ordinary GirlsBlair Thornburgh8h 21m3.8 (1.3K)$26 · $0.00
Jo's Boys
Jo's BoysLouisa May Alcott10h 39m4.0 (47.4K)$2.30 · $0.00
The Epic Adventures of Lydia Bennet
The Epic Adventures of Lydia BennetKate Rorick, Rachel Kiley9h 17m4.1 (2.1K)$20