Tell Me More

Tell Me More by Kelly Corrigan
Nonfiction
2018 Random House
Finished on September 14, 2018
Rating: 5/5 (Excellent!)

Publisher's Blurb:

In "I Don't Know," Corrigan wrestles to make peace with uncertainty, whether it's over expected invitations that never come or a friend's agonizing infertility. In "No," she admires her mother's ability to set boundaries, her liberating willingness to be unpopular. In "Tell Me More," she learns something important about listening from a facialist named Tish. And in "I Was Wrong," she comes clean about her disastrous role in a family fight--and explains why saying sorry may not be enough. With refreshing candor, a deep well of empathy, and her signature desire to understand "the thing behind the thing," Corrigan swings in this insightful book between meditations on life with a preoccupied husband and two mercurial teenage daughters to profound observations on love and loss.

In channeling the characteristically streetwise, ever-relatable voice that has defined Corrigan's work, Tell Me More is a meaningful, touching take on the power of the right words at the right moment to change everything.

What a treasure! I have and will continue to read anything Kelly Corrigan publishes. I love her honest (and at times, often brutal) examination of life, death, love and family. I wish I knew her personally, as her anecdotes and feelings are so relatable. I can imagine sitting across from her, enjoying a cup of coffee and conversation, both of us laughing and crying over life's joys and heartaches. Having watched so many of her videos, I was able to hear her voice, imagining it breaking with emotion, as I read each page. Once in a blue moon, I read a book that touches me so deeply that I am inspired to write a fan letter. This is one of those books and I couldn't have loved it more. I'm very happy that I bought it in hardcover. It's a keeper.

Just a couple of favorite passages. (I could have easily marked the entire book.):

Every conversation fell into the same pattern. Cancer was The Enemy, treatment was A Journey, and I was A Hero whose responsibility was to weather the shipwrecks and beat back the sea monsters, returning from the odyssey changed and better. It was uncanny how many people said one or more of these three things: You’re so brave. Was it in your family? and What a wake-up call.

and

I love you.The first time the words pass between two people: electrifying.Ten thousand times later: cause for marvel.The last time: the dream you revisit over and over and over again.

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