Anna Sale

I downloaded this book for free from Libro.fm some time ago. While picking my next audiobook to listen to while cooking, I didn't feel like focusing on fiction or any serious story. I actually felt like listening to a podcast, but was lazy to search and try anything new... so my choice fell on this book by Anna Sale. I didn't know she has a podcast "Death, Sex & Money" - I might have accidently found a new podcast for me! Anna Sale has a very pleasant voice and I really enjoyed listening to show more her narrating her book.

I struggle with difficult conversations like everybody else. Anna Sale doesn't give us a magic formula. Instead she shares her own experience and that of other people she interviewed specially for this book. There are a lot of interesting stories inside around death, sex, money, family and identity and how people have communicated about them, what has worked and what hasn't for them and what these issues actually mean to us. I like self-help books where there are more questions than there are answers and this is one of those. show less

I liked the stories, but the connective tissue just didn't speak to me. I prefer the radio show

The author of a famous podcast I don't listen to writes a book about having hard conversations, which is full of anecdotes.

I read this book very quickly, because it didn't have that much new to say. You should listen well, make space for hard conversations, and be willing for it to be challenging. Yep, generic and shallow. I was expecting more on the advice front and less on the "Death, Sex, Money, Family, and Identity straightforward obvious anecdote and advice" front.

FROM LIBRO.FM: In Let’s Talk About Hard Things, Sale uses the best of what she’s learned from her podcast to reveal that when we dare to talk about hard things, we learn about ourselves, others, and the world that we make together. Diving into five of the most fraught conversation topics—death, sex, money, family, and identity—she moves between memoir, fascinating snapshots of a variety of Americans opening up about their lives, and expert opinions to show why having tough show more conversations is important and how to do them in a thoughtful and generous way. She uncovers that listening may be the most important part of a tough conversation, that the end goal should be understanding without the pressure of reconciliation, and that there are some things that words can’t fix (and why that’s actually okay). show less