Is there an audiobook?
Unabridged, six hours and thirteen minutes, narrated by Dale A. Cuilla, on Audible. All thirty chapters, nothing condensed, the prompts read aloud as written.
The listing, in facts
Everything you would check before spending a credit.
| Detail | This audiobook |
|---|---|
| Runtime | 6 hours 13 minutes |
| Abridged? | No. The complete text of all thirty chapters. |
| Narrator | Dale A. Cuilla |
| Author | Sage Lyons — check this, because another book shares the title and has its own audiobook |
| Where | Audible |
| Average chapter | About twelve and a half minutes |
| At 1.25× | Roughly five hours |
| At 1.5× | Roughly four hours ten |
How the six hours are spent
Where the time actually goes, so you can plan a listen rather than guess at it.
- 0:00 – 1:30
Chapters 1–7 · what is happening and why
The mechanism section: the intensity itself, the favorite person dynamic, dysregulation, shame, and the sabotage cycle. Ninety minutes, and the part most people describe as the uncomfortable one. Recognition arrives fast here.
- 1:30 – 2:35
Chapters 8–12 · the first real skills
Mindfulness, body awareness, opposite action, distress tolerance, naming emotions. Roughly an hour. This is where a notebook starts to matter — several of these are practices rather than ideas.
- 2:35 – 3:25
Chapters 13–15 · how you treat yourself
Validation, defusion, self-compassion. Under an hour, and the section listeners most often replay. Chapter 13 in particular tends to get a second pass.
- 3:25 – 4:30
Chapters 16–19 · acting in the world
Interpersonal effectiveness, problem-solving, building a life worth living, sustainable routines. About an hour, and the most practical stretch of the book.
- 4:30 – 5:20
Chapters 20–24 · support and history
Therapy and medication, sustaining recovery, boundaries, the body-mind connection, trauma. Fifty minutes.
- 5:20 – 6:13
Chapters 25–30 · the long run
The year-long integration plan, advanced relationship skills, grief, resilience, meaning, and the closing roadmap. Just under an hour, and worth listening to properly rather than as a wind-down.
Before you spend a credit
The questions that come up about this specific listing.
How do I make sure it's the right one?
The author line must read Sage Lyons and the subtitle A Recovery Guide for Borderline Personality Disorder. A different book by different authors shares the main title and has its own audiobook edition, so the collision is live on Audible too.
Can I do the exercises while listening?
Not while walking, no. The workable pattern is to listen through a chapter, then come back to the prompt with a notebook when you are somewhere you can write. The narration reads the prompts in full, so nothing is missing — only the pause is.
Is it worth listening at 1.5×?
For the explanatory chapters, often yes. For chapters 13 to 15, most listeners slow back down. Speed is a tool for the parts you are absorbing, not the parts you are recognising yourself in.
Should I listen straight through?
You can — it is one working day. Whether you should is a different question. Chapters 1 to 7 are cumulative in their effect, and people who stop after the first hour and sit with it usually get more out of the rest.
Is there a sample?
Audible listings carry one. It is worth using: narrator fit is genuinely personal, and six hours with a voice that grates is six hours you will not finish.
What if I'd rather read it?
The same text is in paperback, hardcover and ebook. Nothing is exclusive to the audio edition.