Let’s Talk About Hard Things
death, sex, money, and other difficult conversations
by Anna Sale
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Pub Date 2 Jul 2021 | Archive Date 30 Jun 2021
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Description
Death. Sex. Money. Tricky subjects we’re taught to avoid in polite conversation. But if they’re so unpleasant, why do so many people tune in regularly to hear Anna Sale asking perfect strangers about them? What if, rather than declaring them off-limits, we could all benefit from discussing them more?
In Let’s Talk About Hard Things, Sale — the host of cult podcast Death, Sex & Money, which tackles life’s hard questions — takes her quest for more honest communication into her own life. She considers her history of facing (and sometimes avoiding) difficult subjects, both personal and cultural; she reflects on race, wealth, inequality, love, grief, death, power — all the things that shape our daily lives, the things we should be talking about, but often struggle to. She tracks down people whose stories best illuminate the transformative power of tough conversations, and offers, with her trademark empathy and insight, different ways of approaching these tricky topics with family, friends, loved ones, and strangers alike.
Part treatise, part how-to, and part memoir, Let’s Talk About Hard Things is candid, unflinching, and entertaining in its quest to make everyone more comfortable with the uncomfortable realities of life.
Advance Praise
‘The number one driver of human happiness, across time and culture, is meaningful connection to others. The road to connection is conversations. Anna Sale is giving us the encouragement, the example, and the tools to do the one thing that can bring us closer: talk about hard things.’
Kelly Corrigan, host of Kelly Corrigan Wonders and bestselling author of Tell Me More
‘In Let’s Talk About Hard Things, Anna Sale brings us fascinating conversations that feel both intensely personal and widely universal, then shows us how to start having them in our own lives. You will laugh, cry, nod in recognition, and by the end, feel like no topic is off limits when it comes to creating meaningful connection. I want to give a copy of this book to every family member, friend, and therapy patient I see.’
Lori Gottlieb, host of Dear Therapists podcast and New York Times bestselling author of Maybe You Should Talk To Someone
‘With tremendous empathy and thoughtfulness, Anna Sale models how to have the hard conversations — about love and grief and fear and so much else. Sale is a wise guide through the most difficult human terrain, and with her help, I'm now having conversations that before this book felt impossible.’
John Green, New York Times bestselling author of Turtles All the Way Down and The Fault in Our Stars
‘Anna Sale has a real gift for cutting through the white noise that so often overwhelms our most urgent, high-stakes conversations. She's teaching us how to listen to one another again. No one can save us from life's plot twists — and no one should — but page by page, sentence by sentence, Sale is committed to seeing us through.’
Saeed Jones, author of How We Fight For Our Lives
‘Let’s Talk About Hard Things is a gift. Filled with personal stories, complex emotions, and insight into the thorniest of interpersonal relationships, it is a balm, a challenge, and a celebration of our desire to be known in this world.’
Katie Couric
‘It’s not surprising to learn that Anna Sale applies the same compassion and thoughtfulness she displays as host to her writing, but it is thrilling all the same to quickly find Let’s Talk About Hard Things as inviting and comforting as any episode of Death, Sex, & Money. It’s not easy to open up about what makes us most uncomfortable, but the stories shared throughout the book and Sale’s excellent writing around them shows how vital it is that we make the effort. And while I still occasionally squirm over the reality that there is only so much that I can control in life, I am grateful for the tools Let’s Talk About Hard Things provides in helping me deal with such an unfortunate circumstance. I was already a fan of Sale's as a podcaster and person, but happy to now be a fanboy of Anna Sale the writer, too.’
Michael Arceneaux, New York Times bestselling author of I Can’t Date Jesus and I Don’t Want To Die Poor
‘An empathetic debut … In addition to her own experiences, Sale offers no shortage of outside perspectives through interviews with former podcast guests, friends, and psychologists … Fans of Sale’s podcast will find a familiar guide in her reflective and introspective voice, and those encountering her for the first time will find this a comfort in hard times.’
Publishers Weekly
‘Kind honesty — not the type where someone is shaming you, but loving communication of who you are — is one of the hardest things to talk about. As the recovery movement has advised many: "Say what you mean, but don't say it mean." Anna Sale's book provides beautifully written hope that that we can talk about hard things and that makes hard things easier. Or at the very least, spoken. It's like overhearing people like you in a support group in the coziest of book forms. It is thus a combination of my two favourite things: the vulnerability of shares in anonymous support groups and reading.’
Maria Bamford , comedian and writer
Available Editions
EDITION | Ebook |
ISBN | 9781925693782 |
PRICE | US$37.99 (USD) |
PAGES | 304 |
Links
Featured Reviews
I know Anna Sale through her podcast and this book is an extension of it in all the best ways. As I was reading the book her voice was the one I was hearing in my head. I like the formatting of the book and the quotes used to help separate sections. This book made me think and feel all the things.
I already knew of Anna Sale through her podcast 'Death, Sex and Money', so I was aware she was an intelligent and articulate communicator. But, I didn't know how well this would adapt to written form. Well, I'm pleased to say that it worked really well and Anna Sale has created a well written, informative and, in the best possible sense, a challenging read - how and why to have difficult conversations.
Although I would say the book is clearly inspired by the podcast, it isn't a rehash of podcast episodes. The podcast is occasionally referred to, but the book is so much more than that. The book covered five topics - death, sex, money, family and identity. In Anna Sale's usual style, she gently explores hard things through reflections on her own life and through other people's stories, as well as other research. She makes a compelling case for why having those hard conversations can make life easier to navigate, whether individually or with others by our side.
I thought this was a really good book that gave me much to reflect on. Recommended.