Let's Talk About Hard Things
death, sex, money, and other difficult conversations
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- $14.99
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- $14.99
Publisher 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 Go There, 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, Go There is candid, unflinching, and entertaining in its quest to make everyone more comfortable with the uncomfortable realities of life.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Sale, host of the podcast Death, Sex & Money, dives deep into "hard conversations" in her empathetic debut. Sale writes that talking openly about death, sex, money, family, and identity is crucial to understanding "how our experiences fit into broader patterns that we can learn from and take solace in," and she walks readers through the importance of discussing each topic. In "Death," she writes that acknowledging its inevitability can help the grieving and the dying "find companions in that pain." "Sex" covers an uncomfortable postpartum experience Sale had at an OB-GYN office and offers that "sex is one of the most potent ways we communicate with one another." In "Money," she encourages readers to discuss both the emotional and practical aspects of wealth, even when it seems more polite to stay quiet. In addition to her own experiences, Sale offers no shortage of outside perspectives through interviews with former podcast guests, friends, and psychologists (Brad Kontz, for example, breaks down personality types based on one's relationship with money). 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.