*Most Anticipated Reads of 2019 Selection by Publishers Weekly, BuzzFeed, The Rumpus, Lit Hub, and The Week*
Fifteen brilliant writers explore how what we don’t talk about with our mothers affects us, for better or for worse.
In the bestselling tradition of The Bitch in the House, What My Mother and I Don’t Talk About is an anthology about the powerful and sometimes painful things that we can’t discuss with the person who is supposed to know us and love us the most.
In the early 2000s, as an undergraduate, Michele Filgate started writing an essay about being abused by her stepfather. It took many years for her to realize what she was actually trying to write about: the fracture this caused in her relationship with her mother. When her essay, “What My Mother and I Don’t Talk About,” was published by Longreads in October of 2017, it went on to become one of the most popular Longreads exclusives of the year, and was shared on social media by Anne Lamott, Rebecca Solnit, Lidia Yuknavitch, and many other writers, some of whom had their own individual codes of silence to be broken.
The outpouring of responses gave Filgate an idea, and the resulting anthology offers an intimate, therapeutic, and universally resonant look at our relationships with our mothers. As Filgate poignantly writes, “Our mothers are our first homes, and that’s why we’re always trying to return to them.”
Contributors:
Cathi Hanauer
Melissa Febos
Alexander Chee
Dylan Landis
Bernice L. McFadden
Julianna Baggott
Lynn Steger Strong
Kiese Laymon
Carmen Maria Machado
André Aciman
Sari Botton
Nayomi Munaweera
Brandon Taylor
Leslie Jamison
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“You will devour these beautifully written—and very important—tales of honesty, pain, and resilience.”
— Elizabeth Gilbert, #1 New York Times bestselling author
Michele Filgate’s work has appeared in the Boston Globe, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Tin House, and many other publications. She is an MFA student at New York University, where she is the recipient of the Stein Fellowship. Filgate is a contributing editor at Literary Hub and teaches at the Sackett Street Writers’ Workshop and Catapult.
Suehyla El-Attar Young is an actress and writer based in Atlanta, Georgia. She dabbled in radio for a bit, working with several well-known stations as a morning news personality and DJ. Eventually, she returned to acting, on stage and in film. She has nurtured both crafts of acting and writing, working with local companies such as Theatre du Reve, Synchronicity Theatre, the Alliance Theatre Company, and Horizon Theatre Company as dramaturge, actress, and playwright on several projects.
Cynthia Farrell, an Earphones Award–winning narrator, is a singer and voice actor best known for her roll as Catalina in the video games Grand Theft Auto III and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. She has also performed off Broadway and has released a number of records.
Karissa Vacker is a multiple AudioFile Earphones Award–winning audiobook narrator and actress. After graduating with a BFA in acting from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas, she performed in regional theaters across the country before moving to Los Angeles. She has guest starred in network television shows and films and continues to work on screen and stage. Her audiobook credits include romance, young adult fiction, and mystery thrillers.
Janina Edwards, an Earphones Award–winning narrator, is a native of Chicago and a graduate of New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts acting program. Her 2016 performance of Voice of Freedom was a finalist for the Audie Award.
Cynthia Farrell, an Earphones Award–winning narrator, is a singer and voice actor best known for her roll as Catalina in the video games Grand Theft Auto III and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. She has also performed off Broadway and has released a number of records.
Soneela Nankani is an award-winning narrator with over three hundred titles in many different genres including Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance, Sci-Fi, and Nonfiction. She has garnered sixteen Earphones Awards, nominations for Audie and SOVAS awards, and was recently awarded AudioFile magazine’s Golden Voice Lifetime Achievement Honor. Her audiobooks have been featured in Best Audiobooks lists by AudioFile magazine and the Washington Post, among others. In her spare time, she loves to read (yes, really), learn languages, try new recipes, and travel. She lives in the DC area with her husband and two mischievous daughters.
Allyson Ryan is an Earphones Award–winning voice actress who can be heard in commercials, promos, animation, and audiobooks. She has extensive experience on stage and television. In New York, she acted in and directed more than thirty plays. Her television credits include roles on Eleventh Hour, Law & Order, and One Life to Live. She has also appeared as “Mom” in several television commercials. Advertising Age nominated her for a Bobby Award in the best actress category for her work as the Duracell mom.
Piper Goodeve began narrating in 2011 and has since given voice to over a hundred titles. As a stage actress, Piper has appeared off Broadway as well as at theaters across the country, such as the McCarter, the Weston Playhouse, and Syracuse Stage. Happily splitting her time between Brooklyn and Vermont, Piper holds a BA from New York University and received her MFA in acting from Brown University/Trinity Rep.
Candace Thaxton is an actress and audiobook narrator. She has starred in several films and television shows, including Ghost Town and Law & Order.
Tavia Gilbert is an acclaimed narrator of more than four hundred full-cast and multivoice audiobooks for virtually every publisher in the industry. Named the 2018 Voice of Choice by Booklist magazine, she is also winner of the prestigious Audie Award for best narration. She has earned numerous Earphones Awards, a Voice Arts Award, and a Listen-Up Award. Audible.com has named her a Genre-Defining Narrator: Master of Memoir. In addition to voice acting, she is an accomplished producer, singer, and theater actor. She is also a producer, singer, photographer, and a writer, as well as the cofounder of a feminist publishing company, Animal Mineral.