You Don't Have to Say You Love Me Audiobook By Sherman Alexie cover art

You Don't Have to Say You Love Me

A Memoir

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You Don't Have to Say You Love Me

By: Sherman Alexie
Narrated by: Sherman Alexie
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One of the most anticipated books of 2017 - Entertainment Weekly and Bustle

A searing, deeply moving memoir about family, love, and loss from a critically acclaimed, best-selling National Book Award winner.

When his mother passed away at the age of 78, Sherman Alexie responded the only way he knew how: He wrote. The result is this stunning memoir. Featuring 78 poems and 78 essays, Alexie shares raw, angry, funny, profane, tender memories of a childhood few can imagine - growing up dirt poor on an Indian reservation, one of four children raised by alcoholic parents. Throughout, a portrait emerges of his mother as a beautiful, mercurial, abusive, intelligent, complicated woman. You Don't Have to Say You Love Me is a powerful account of a complicated relationship, an unflinching and unforgettable remembrance.

©2017 Sherman Alexie (P)2017 Hachette Audio Art & Literature Authors Cultural & Regional Funny

Critic reviews

"Sherman Alexie narrates his powerful memoir with acute emotion and vulnerability.... Alexie's narration is extremely personal. He will make you cry, yes, and then make you laugh hard enough to wake your sleeping children; be warned." ( AudioFile)
Raw Emotional Honesty • Powerful Storytelling • Beautiful Poetic Writing • Insightful Cultural Perspective • Poetic Reading
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Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Absolutely! It made me revisit my own difficulties with my hyper-religious mother with whom I never had a close relationship while she lived.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Lillian was certainly a favorite character because living on the Navajo reservation for 8 months one year I saw how phenomenal the women were and how they held up their families and culture.

Have you listened to any of Sherman Alexie’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No, his inflection when he spoke "Indian" was wonderful to hear.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Lillian, a real Super Woman.

Any additional comments?

Mr. Alexie, Thank you for this book. It's stirred up a host of issues for me. It was difficult to hear because of my own guilt about how I often showed my own mother such little respect for her choices. I'm slowly understanding why she did what she did now that she's long gone.

Riveting

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I loved it. Sherman Alexie wears his heart on his sleeve, reading this book. His generosity and vulnerability are mind blowing. I will miss this book.

This book is a teacher

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This memoir was life-changing. The stories are insightful, and the poetry is amazing. This is a MUST listen.

A Wake Up Call For a Privileged White Man

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I think about this book pretty frequently despite having finished it months ago. Very powerful.

Beautiful performance - powerful story

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I loved that Sherman read his book. I loved the honesty. Reliving past pain is so hard. Sometimes I felt as if certain subjects were repeated too often but it might be my own aversion to the subject repeated.

Great book and storytelling

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Sherman Alexie did a outstanding job with the writing of this book!! EVERY native will relate at sometime in their lives about what he has wrote in this book! A must!!!

If you are native,this will bring you back home!!!

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Would you listen to You Don't Have to Say You Love Me again? Why?

I loved this book. I listened to it on my way to the Solar Eclipse, stopping on the way to see my childhood home. We were lower middle class residents of our town and it was amazing to see our run down home while listening to Sherman Alexie talk about his childhood. He helped me manage all that and then took me into Oregon to see the eclipse. After the eclipse I had a bumper to bumper nine hour drive to get to SeaTac which is normally a three hour drive. Sherman's reading of his memoir kept me alive and awake as I traveled that whole way. I realize it's a first world problem to complain about such a trip, and this may not be specifically a review of the contents, but his reading style was so riveting and that story so compelling that he and it will forever be linked in my mind with the eclipse. I'm sure there's a metaphor in there he could create a story around. I will be forever grateful for that.

Who was your favorite character and why?

I think the town of Reardan is a collective character of towns all over the country right now, My town of 5000 has the same feel to it and it was comforting somehow to feel connected to another outsider of a small town.

Thanks, Sherman!!

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loved it! he kept calling his mother a liar I think he needs to hurry up with the next book.. lol

Good read

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Loved it! Thanks Jr! Thankfully, it didn't remind me of my family! :) Looking forward to your contracted book! ;)

You don't have to say you love me

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I was so caught up in Mr Alexie's story and emotions at the end of chapter 160 - a swelling up of what had been said and felt already. And as the audio moved on to chapter 161... I was brought down hard and coldly by the same voice starting acknowledgements and thanks - the credits!

There was no break! There was no pause! There was no warning!

Be prepared! Stop the audio yourself at the end of chapter 161 and take a moment.

Beware! The last "chapter" is credits

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