Autobiography

Nobody Will Tell You This But Me: A True (as Told to Me) Story

Nobody Will Tell You This But Me: A True (as Told to Me) Story

  • Downloads：7939
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-05-07 23:30:56
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Bess Kalb
  • ISBN：0525563822
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary

NATIONAL BESTSELLER

ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR:
VOGUE - FORBES - BOOKPAGE - NEW YORK POST - WIRED

"I have not been as profoundly moved by a book in years。" --Jodi Picoult

Even after she left home for Hollywood， Emmy-nominated TV writer Bess Kalb saved every voicemail her grandmother Bobby Bell ever left her。 Bobby was a force--irrepressible， glamorous， unapologetically opinionated。 Bobby doted on Bess; Bess adored Bobby。 Then， at ninety， Bobby died。 But in this debut memoir， Bobby is speaking to Bess once more， in a voice as passionate as it ever was in life。

Recounting both family lore and family secrets， Bobby brings us four generations of indomitable women and the men who loved them。 There's Bobby's mother， who traveled solo from Belarus to America in the 1880s to escape the pogroms， and Bess's mother， a 1970s rebel who always fought against convention。 But it was Bobby and Bess who always had the most powerful bond: Bobby her granddaughter's fiercest supporter， giving Bess unequivocal love， even if sometimes of the toughest kind。 Nobody Will Tell You This But Me marks the creation of a totally new， virtuosic form of memoir: a reconstruction of a beloved grandmother's words and wisdom to tell her family's story with equal parts poignancy and hilarity。

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Reviews

Mary ，

Great quick read。 Her grandmother definitely reminded me of my grandma and I cried through pretty much the whole book。 You've been warned。 Great quick read。 Her grandmother definitely reminded me of my grandma and I cried through pretty much the whole book。 You've been warned。 。。。more

Katie ，

I loved the clever premise of this book。 The book is written from the point of view of the author’s spunky， opinionated grandmother。 She shares stories with her granddaughter from her life growing up， what it was like parenting her daughter （the author’s mother） and highlights the special relationship the two of them had （the grandmother and author）。 It was funny， poignant and thought provoking。 （And as a side note， I was amazed and curious as to how the author was able to stay composed while na I loved the clever premise of this book。 The book is written from the point of view of the author’s spunky， opinionated grandmother。 She shares stories with her granddaughter from her life growing up， what it was like parenting her daughter （the author’s mother） and highlights the special relationship the two of them had （the grandmother and author）。 It was funny， poignant and thought provoking。 （And as a side note， I was amazed and curious as to how the author was able to stay composed while narrating the last section of this book for the audiobook。） It took a minute to adjust to the way it was narrated and there were definitely moments throughout when I had to untangle who was talking， but otherwise really enjoyed this one。 。。。more

Mary Ann ，

What a wonderful， charming， endearing read！ Couldn’t stop reading！ Just wish I had had a grandmother like Bess’s。

Charlotte Hayes ，

Phenomenal book。 It almost bought me to tears。

Elaine ，

Very touching story。 It helps if you're Jewish or have any New York connection。A lovely quick read that made be both laugh and cry。 What more can you ask for in a book。 Very touching story。 It helps if you're Jewish or have any New York connection。A lovely quick read that made be both laugh and cry。 What more can you ask for in a book。 。。。more

Ann Brogan ，

There’s nothing not to like and lots to love about this tribute to Bess Kalb’s indomitable， sassy and delightful grandmother， Bobby Bell。 Highly recommended。

Stephanie ，

This made me think about my own grandma's life and passing， also at age 90！ This was a sweet， fast read。 I read it in print but probably would be great on audio。 This made me think about my own grandma's life and passing， also at age 90！ This was a sweet， fast read。 I read it in print but probably would be great on audio。 。。。more

Felisha Michelle ，

I like this book it was very entertaining especially how she channelled her grandmother。 I just randomly found this in the library last week and I'm glad that I picked it up。 I definitely wish I knew more about her great-grandmother and her plight to the United States。 I like this book it was very entertaining especially how she channelled her grandmother。 I just randomly found this in the library last week and I'm glad that I picked it up。 I definitely wish I knew more about her great-grandmother and her plight to the United States。 。。。more

Betsy Bernard ，

Light， funny memoir。 A bit confusing at first because the author writes as if she is her grandmother who has passed。 Got better and more moving as it went on。

Bonnie ，

I was going to give this 4 stars but then I added a star for the wonderful photos。 The format was different and interesting， great characters， the author is a very fortunate woman to have a family like that。 I loved gramma and I loved her mother and her brothers， wow。

Adrienne ，

This was a big miss for me。 I had trouble with the narrative structure （told from the dead grandmother's point of view， so pronouns like "yours" and "mine" got confusing） and it wasn't as funny as I expected for a memoir from a comedy writer。 But the biggest problem by far for me was that I found the author's grandmother really unlikeable， particularly in terms of how she treated her daughter （the author's mother） - as described， it's basically emotional abuse - and in terms of her focus on a wo This was a big miss for me。 I had trouble with the narrative structure （told from the dead grandmother's point of view， so pronouns like "yours" and "mine" got confusing） and it wasn't as funny as I expected for a memoir from a comedy writer。 But the biggest problem by far for me was that I found the author's grandmother really unlikeable， particularly in terms of how she treated her daughter （the author's mother） - as described， it's basically emotional abuse - and in terms of her focus on a woman's weight and appearance， such as when she admonished the author not to add more dressing on her salad。 I simply don't find these kind of anecdotes charming even if they come from a cute little old lady with an adorable Yiddish accent。 I will admit that I may have had such a strong reaction in part because she really reminded me of my own Jewish grandmother， who was a really nasty woman and whose mean-spirited comments were not always made with love， but I felt like the subtext of the book was "the more they put you down， the more they love you" and that just seems like kind of an effed up message to send to girls and young women。 My other grandmother and mom were/are both wonderful mothers and grandmothers who never felt the need to belittle their offspring， and I had a hard time seeing the grandmother in this story as anything other than cruel。 。。。more

Sarah Dulson ，

This book amazed me in its ability to bind me to the characters in such a short amount of time。 I laughed， I cried， and I thought a lot about how I hope to write such a sweet tribute to my loved ones when their time comes。

Jenn ，

I hope my grand kids love me as much as she loves hers。 I don’t feel like I gained much insight from their relationship or any gems of wisdom so I didn’t think it deserved more than 3 stars。

Melissa Cripps ，

I listened to the audio book， read by the author。 I didn’t know anything about it when I started， so it took me a bit to realize that it was a memoir。 I enjoyed the unique approach of sharing memories and weaving together a history from phone calls， emails， and conversations。 Funny， feisty， and endearing。 Some language。

Laëtitia ，

I loved this book so much。。。

Amy ，

Love between a grandmother and granddaughter clearly displayed in this book。

Elly Griffin ，

Loved this ‘matrilineal love story’。

MariLee ，

Memoir about the author's grandmother told in her voice。 The anecdotes are random and in no particular order; some are the grandmother's conversations with her adult granddaughter， others are the grandmother relating stories about her past。 It was a little confusing at times about who the grandmother was speaking。 This was fine， but I got bored with it and put it aside for other books。 Memoir about the author's grandmother told in her voice。 The anecdotes are random and in no particular order; some are the grandmother's conversations with her adult granddaughter， others are the grandmother relating stories about her past。 It was a little confusing at times about who the grandmother was speaking。 This was fine， but I got bored with it and put it aside for other books。 。。。more

Kate Gorman ，

A real love letter to beloved grandmothers and their adult granddaughters。（（I cried hysterically on the beach and tried to hide it。））

Leah Rachel von Essen ，

Nobody Will Tell You This But Me: A True （as Told to Me） Story is a simply fantastic book by Bess Kalb in which she uses the voicemails， the stories， the phone calls， of her bubbly， stubborn Jewish grandmother， Bobby， to reconstruct Bobby's story in her own voice。 Bobby tells us her story， the story of her own mother， the story of her difficulty in being a mother。This creative memoir-of-sorts is touching， funny， and relatable （particularly for anyone with a Jewish grandmother）。 It is a story abo Nobody Will Tell You This But Me: A True （as Told to Me） Story is a simply fantastic book by Bess Kalb in which she uses the voicemails， the stories， the phone calls， of her bubbly， stubborn Jewish grandmother， Bobby， to reconstruct Bobby's story in her own voice。 Bobby tells us her story， the story of her own mother， the story of her difficulty in being a mother。This creative memoir-of-sorts is touching， funny， and relatable （particularly for anyone with a Jewish grandmother）。 It is a story about Bess's grieving as much as it is a story about one remarkable woman， as much as it is a story about the line of women who make us who we are。 It's a passionate， witty story that is a quick read。 I loved the way it dealt with the complicated trials of motherhood， of oral story-telling and the question of which version of a given story is true， and whether it matters as much as what Bobby wants to get across。 Bobby is critical， anxious， bold， and stubborn， a character in her own right。 Kalb has crafted a brilliant genre in this memoir as-told-to， and I enjoyed every moment of her story。I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review。 。。。more

Sarah ，

7。25/10

Karen ，

Great read。

Sophie Throsby ，

So so so so very lovely。 I am very moved by this book。

Rachel ，

made me cry。 and miss my adorbs jewish grandma

Margot ，

Somewhat difficult to get into because it is a bit choppy and hard to wrap your head around the grandmother being the narrator BUT it is so worth the read。 So beautiful and touching。 I wish I knew my grandparents as an adult， such a blessing to those that do。

Julie ，

good story but difficult to follow as the character voices were very similar

Megan ，

If your grandparent was your Person， do not read this book past the halfway point in public。

Madeline Allen ，

I was skeptical of the concept of this book and the way it pushes the boundaries of nonfiction， but I was completely enthralled with it almost immediately。 This is a beautiful ode to the author’s grandmother and their relationship Funny， heartfelt， and at times gut-wrenching。 This one will stick with me。

Judi Porcelli ，

Laughing one minute， sobbing the next， all the while missing my grandmother desperately。 Beautiful book。

Lacey Moore ，

Perhaps the perfect book

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Nobody Will Tell You This But Me: A True (as Told to Me) Story

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Nobody Will Tell You This But Me: A True (as Told to Me) Story&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Nobody Will Tell You This But Me: A True (as Told to Me) Story&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0