Food & Culture
The Most Heartbreaking Quotes From Sherman Alexie’s New Memoir
The Seattle author gets heavy with exquisite prose.
By Stephen Strom August 4, 2017
This article originally appeared in the August 2017 issue of Seattle Magazine.
Like much of his work, beloved Seattle author and custard pie thrower Sherman Alexie’s new memoir, You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me (Little Brown Books, $28) is at once utterly compelling and profoundly heartbreaking.
Through essays, poems and family photographs, the National Book Award winner explores his childhood and a complex relationship with his mother. With ever exquisite prose, here are some of the book’s most touching turns of phrase.
“She opens the fish and finds a city of Indians living among the thin bones.” (p. 143)
“You know what makes me and my stories Indian? All the goddamn funerals.” (p. 260)
“Look for me. I’ll be in the endless boat, illuminated by my mother’s ghost.” (p. 285)
“So we must forgive all those who trespass against us? F**k that s**t. I’m not some charitable trust.” (p. 343)
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