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Freeing Teresa

Freeing Teresa

A True Story about My Sister and Me — by Franke James

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Watch the Freeing Teresa Book Trailer: You’re Not Afraid

September 24, 2024 by Freeing Teresa

The Freeing Teresa book trailer, “You’re not Afraid,” uses actors’ voices from the full-cast audiobook and mixes them with video footage from the day in 2013 when we rescued Teresa.


Voices from the Audiobook

Lead actor Jackie Blackmore (who plays Franke) said, “Reading Franke James’ story and listening to the actual audio recordings of the family discussions was a haunting and transformative experience. I was deeply maddened by the discrimination Teresa faced, but then inspired by Franke’s determination to defend her sister. The scariest thing is that this is a well-documented, true story. Franke was like an embedded journalist, recording everything as it happened.”

The dialogue in the book trailer is taken from Chapter 16, “They Can’t Send Her Back.” Franke (voiced by Jackie Blackmore) is on the phone with her older sister Siobhan (voiced by Paula Hoffmann). Franke is trying to convince her sister that the family should consider other housing alternatives for Teresa. Their conversation is bookended by excerpts from Teresa’s own poem, “Those Monsters.” Lauren Potter, who plays Teresa Heartchild, reads the poem. We also added a music soundtrack, “Call of Fate” by Alex Besss, highlighting the dramatic conflict between the sisters.

Video from the Actual Events

For the memoir’s trailer, we used the video footage from the actual day we helped Teresa get free. That was ten years ago! And as we were using an iPad, the videos are not crisp. They are low-resolution and jittery. It is a cinema verité record of what actually happened.

In the book trailer, we contrasted this historic footage with video clips of a female actor, talking on the phone. Shown only as a silhouette, her figure is a visual cue for Siobhan. The subtitles, which overlay the scene, are the actual text from the book.

Freeing Teresa Audiobook

Listen on Audible, Spotify and More

Head over to audible.com, where you can listen to the first five minutes of the book.

Get the Freeing Teresa audiobook on:

  • Audible.com
    • Audible.ca | Audible.co.uk
  • Spotify
  • Apple Books
  • Kobo
  • Libro.FM
  • Google Play
  • Audiobooks.com
  • Public Libraries

Freeing Teresa is a true story about disability, sisters, and standing up for the right to be yourself. It’s brought to life by a full cast of thirteen actors. Jackie Blackmore stars as Franke James and the lead narrator. Lauren Potter, who starred in the TV series Glee, plays Teresa Heartchild.

If you prefer print, the paperback and ebooks are available on Amazon, Bookstore.org, and most online bookstores.

Filed Under: Audiobook, News, Videos Tagged With: #audiobook

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Freeing Teresa | Copyright © 2025 · Franke James