Nobody Will Tell You This But Me

I have not been as profoundly moved by a book in years. Bess Kalb’s fictional factual tribute to the relationship she had with her grandmother - the way her history was passed to her by blood, along with bright memories and Jewish guilt and fierce, fierce love - could have been my own story. When I stop crying, I’m calling my mother immediately and making her read it. If you have a mother or grandmother, or ARE a mother or a grandmother, this is required reading * Jodi Picoult, NYT bestselling author of SMALL GREAT THINGS *
One of the most charming personal narratives I’ve ever read. Kalb has all the exacting craftsmanship of Joan Didion, the wit of David Sedaris, and a heart that is so brimming with affection that you feel as though Bobby is your own grandmother. This book is up there with Steel Magnolias in terms of ‘things my mum and I ugly cry at together’. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll want to convert to Judaism * Caroline O’Donoghue, author of Promising Young Women *
I am so charmed by this book and wish my grandmother were still alive so I could call her * Aminatou Sow, co-host, Call Your Girlfriend podcast *
Kalb, a writer for ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live’, channels the voice of her beloved grandmother, Bobby, in this affecting project, which she calls an oral history of four generations of women in her family. The book brims with anecdotes, advice from Bobby, texts and even transcribed voice mail messages * New York Times *
I cried twice … Reading, I delighted in Bobby’s joy. * New York Times *
A charming memoir to enjoy for a quick beach read, or lately, when quarantined at home * NY Journal of Books Review *
A sparkling memoir … This tribute shows the fierce love they shared along with happy memories, as the author paints a picture of this larger-than-life glamorous figure. It’s full of truths, devotion and hard-won experience. * Daily Mail *
Full of bittersweet cheek and wisecracking wisdom, it’s an ideal tonic for anyone missing elderly relatives. – Hepzibah Anderson * Observer *
Nobody Will Tell You This But Me by Bess Kalb. It’s a unique book, told through the lens of Bess’s grandmother, Bobby, who passed away, as a way of keeping her alive. Inside the book are old photos, texts and voicemail transcripts. Their close relationship made me pine after my own grandparents, who are no longer here – Emma Gannon * Red *
I loved this book by Bess Kalb more than I can say. Well, maybe I can say: I first bought it as an e-book and adored it so much, I got it as an audiobook. Then I listened to it (twice) and loved it, if possible, even more. So then I ordered it in hardback (and got a few as presents while I was about it) and am excitedly impatient to read it again. – on Instagram * Nigella Lawson *
Best Books of 2020 In this moving book, part imagined memoir of her grandmother, part family history, Kalb explores the bond between grandmother and granddaughter, unbreakable even in death. * New York Post *

Bess Kalb is an Emmy-nominated writer for Jimmy Kimmel Live. Her writing for the show earned her a Writer’s Guild Award in 2016. She has also written for the Oscars and for the Emmys. A regular contributor to the New Yorker’s Daily Shouts, her work has also been published in New Republic, Grantland, Salon.com, Wired, Nation and elsewhere.

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