You Don't Have to Say You Love Me

A Memoir

By: Sherman Alexie

Narrated by: Sherman Alexie

Length: 12 hrs and 9 mins

Publisher's summary

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

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)

Beautifully written

Honestly, this book was a hard one to get through. Though often funny and always interesting, it is very sad. The extraordinary beauty of Alexie's writing pushed me to complete the book, and I'm very glad I did. Alexie honors the women in his life and it is important contribution to the canon of literature, cultural anthropology, and memoir.

Authors reading their own autobiographies

...is the best! This book was my first introduction into audio books and oh my god it was so good, so heartfelt, so personal. You can hear the different emotions the author feels as he reads his work. This is a beautiful piece of literature that may be made even more beautiful and poignant by the very fact that its medium is in audio format.

Great book read by the author

Interesting book with very raw emotions. Enjoyed hearing it read by the author with the accents he uses and hearing him get emotional during certain parts. I highly recommend this book.

bookgirl

quirky and sad and funny and hurtful and angry and hopeful and touching and thought provoking. the author read it as no one else could.

Too many repeats words and sentences

So many times I wanted to stop listening to this audio, it was just too many repeats words and way to many repeats sentences but at the end I am glad I finished it

real giggling

Sherman Alexei puts words in a way that always makes me giggle , deeply felt descriptions of life from his experience makes it easier to be here

A Must Listen!

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

Yes, because such a powerful narrative can not be fully absorbed in one pass.

What did you like best about this story?

Sherman Alexi reads this memoir and I can not imagine getting the same benefit without his voice.

What about Sherman Alexie’s performance did you like?

Timing. Native inflections. Voice. Sherman Alexi.

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

Raw and Real - life on the rez in modern day America.

Any additional comments?

Reading this book can not be nearly as powerful as listening to the author's voice put the emphasis where he wants it - and where we need to hear it.

Excellent

What a spectacular book. Sherman Alexie is a phenomenal writer and his narration makes he book even more fantastic. His joy, humor, pain, and grief are all so powerful in this memoir. Highly recommend

Thank you

For the honest and vulnerable male voice. For your authenticity and kindness.
I have enjoyed the story and the way you choose to share yourself with us, your readers from all cultures and invisible bias. Thank you for all this.
Dr. Leah Hanes

Riveting

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.