You Don't Have to Say You Love Me
“Sherman Alexie narrates his powerful memoir with acute emotion and vulnerability. His story of his grief after the death of his mother is rooted in the brutal experiences of Native Americans in the United States…Alexie’s narration is extremely personal. He will make you cry, yes, and then make you laugh hard enough to wake your sleeping children…Winner of the AudioFile Earphones Award.”
AudioFile
New York Times Bestseller
Bustle Pick of Most Anticipated Books for 2017
Entertainment Weekly “Must Read” Pick for Summer 2017
Amazon Best Book of the Month for June 2017
A Libro.fm Audio bestseller
Winner of an AudioFile Earphones Award
Winner of the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction
A Washington Post Notable Book for 2017
A Los Angeles Times Best Book of 2017
A BuzzFeed Books Pick
An Audible.com Best of the Year for 2017 in Memoirs
An AudioFile Best Audiobook of the Year for 2017
A Literary Hub Pick of 2017's Notable Books
A Boston Globe Best Books of the Year selection
A Buzzfeed Best Books of the Year in Nonfiction for 2017
A BookPage Best Book of 2017
A Shelf Awareness Best Book of 2017
A 2017 Kirkus Reviews Best Books of the Year
A 2017 Library Journal Best Audiobook selection
An RUSA Notable Book for Outstanding Audiobook Narration
A 2018 Audie Award Finalist for Best Short Stories/Collections Narration
Winner of a 2018 Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association Award
Family relationships are never simple. But Sherman Alexie's bond with his mother Lillian was more complex than most. She plunged her family into chaos with a drinking habit, but shed her addiction when it was on the brink of costing her everything. She survived a violent past, but created an elaborate facade to hide the truth. She selflessly cared for strangers, but was often incapable of showering her children with the affection that they so desperately craved. She wanted a better life for her son, but it was only by leaving her behind that he could hope to achieve it. It's these contradictions that made Lillian Alexie a beautiful, mercurial, abusive, intelligent, complicated, and very human woman.
When she passed away, the incongruities that defined his mother shook Sherman and his remembrance of her. Grappling with the haunting ghosts of the past in the wake of loss, he responded the only way he knew how: he wrote. The result is a stunning memoir filled with raw, angry, funny, profane, tender memories of a childhood few can imagine, much less survive. An unflinching and unforgettable remembrance, You Don't Have to Say You Love Me is a powerful, deeply felt account of a complicated relationship.
Praise