Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for this reader's copy. In exchange, I am providing an honest review.

Here's what I just texted my sisters about this book, "The nice thing about this book from Corrigan is it is a super easy and quick read but delivers some great nuggets." That is a simple way of saying this book is SO FANTASTIC! It is a quick and easy read. It is a super enjoyable read as Corrigan knows how to craft words and has a great sense of humor. In fact, the book is so enjoyable that you almost forget she is sharing some hard-learned lessons. Almost. But Kelly Corrigan is sharing some solid gold lessons through this memoir-style book. The 12 hardest things she is learning to say, and invites us to learn to say along with her, are: It's like this, Tell me more, I don't know, No, Yes, I was wrong, Good enough, I love you, No words at all, Onward, This is it. Interest peaked? Good, now go grab a copy of this book and dive in.

I wouldn't say that anything Corrigan shares is brand-new information or mind-blowing but us humans are a forgetful bunch, some of us are rather dense, and her method of delivery for these lessons is going to connect the dots for people - some for the first time, others it's going to remind them and face it, we all need reminders of how to be better humans. We all have a lot of plates spinning in the air and can't possibly remember all the things all the time. Enter people like Kelly Corrigan who issue reminders in ways that some of us will remember from here on out. I loved this book. I loved this book so much I will be rereading it, maybe yearly as a reminder since I am a forgetful human being.

I love every single thing Kelly Corrigan has ever written. She’s so down to earth and real, and on various occasions I've highlighted several of her books on my blog. Each one of these essays in Tell Me More offer brilliant insights and perspectives from a woman in midlife who knows she is still a work in progress. I included Tell Me More in my Nonfiction November post, 11/1/2018 (http://melissafirman.com/nonfiction-november-week-1-my-year-in-nonfiction/)

I loved this book and will re-read. Kelly is an amazing writer and is so relatable. I feel like I'm visiting with a friend. I love her stories. I laugh, I cry, I nod my head. I will read everything Kelly writes.

There was much to enjoy here, but I found I couldn't connect with it. I'd read more from this author in the future though.

Reading Kelly Corrigan's books always feels like I'm hearing from a kindred spirit. She communicates the truths of womanhood (as a wife, mother, and child) in such a humorous and heartfelt way. In her latest release, she recounts lessons she's learned about the value of certain phrases, such as, "I was wrong." Kelly shares stories that are universally helpful and completely relatable. I don't reread many books, but this is one I will certainly return to in the future.

Beautiful book! I am an avid reader of all Kelly Corrigan writes and she never disappoints. I devoured this story and have passed it along to multiple friends and family. She writes with such honesty and evokes much emotion. I’m so thankful for her writing and will always look forward to what’s next!

Interesting essays that make it a great book to read bits and pieces of at a time. As with most books of this sort, I liked some essays more than others.

This was a very enjoyable read and the purpose of the stories really shines and encourages self reflection. I really enjoyed this read and can already anticipate recommending it to readers.

Tell Me More is a beautiful and gut wrenching story that will have you laughing and crying within minutes. Kelly Corrigan is honest and vulnerable in a way that invites the reader in to experience her story as if it's their own. This book encompasses love, grief, and life in the most relatable way.

Tell Me More

by Kelly Corrigan

It's almost embarrassing how much I love Kelly Corrigan's books; but I am comforted in my fandom by the fact that my best friend feels the same way. We are both convinced that if we all lived closer, we would definitely be friends. Corrigan's writing confirms this for me — her stories of life with two teenage daughters make me feel like she has been a fly on my walls, especially given that mine are pretty much the same age and with similar tastes. Her husband, like mine, is calm in the face of daily dramas; and their research on parenting equips them with tools only a Dad can wield — Corrigan confirms that we mothers are just in too deep. I bookmarked pages for my husband that I found hilarious, but it was lost in my translation; he begged me to let him read it on his own, without my highlighting the good parts for him. He feels a certain kinship with her too, since they are both University of Richmond grads, but he tired quickly of my yelling out names of college friends she mentions, asking, "Hey, did you know...?" There is some territory here that Corrigan has explored before, but I appreciated the way she organized the essays, with 12 things that seem so simple and yet so significant. As always, Corrigan delivers a thoughtful, moving, and often hilarious account of life in the trenches.


For Goodreads:

Why I picked it — I just love essay collections, what can I say?

Reminded me of… Anna Quindlen, Erma Bombeck, Anne Lamott & Billy Collins

For my full review — click here

I always love Kelly Corrigan's work. I actually met her and she's one of the nicest people ever! VERY interesting book!

Beautiful memoir on growing older and wiser. Especially loved the chapter "Onward." Worth reading for that chapter alone.

I first fell in love with Kelly's writing way back in 2005 when her book, The Middle Place, was released. It was about her relationship with her beloved father, George "Greenie" Corrigan, from the time she was a young child until her adulthood when both were battling cancer during the same time period. Since then, I've read every book and article she's ever written. So when I got my hands on her newest collection of stories, I was excited to continue the journey with her. This book was closure for me, after learning about the passing of dear Greenie. Corrigan not only writes about working through the grief for her father (where she takes cues about how to move on from her mother) and recently deceased friend, Liz, but she also shares stories about a friend's infertility, a marriage that seems to be set shakily on auto-pilot and stepping back to allow her two daughters move into the teen years without her directing their every step. This is probably the most raw and candid book Corrigan has written and it was easy to relate to. *ARC provided by the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

Kelly Corrigan has a beautiful way of looking at the world and at life. Another beautiful book.

The subtitle of Tell Me More by Kelly Corrigan refers to "the 12 hardest things I'm learning to say." That begs the question. What things? The answer is in the chapter titles. As a memoir, this question-based structure implies that the book is more essay-like than a chronological story. The point here is to convey the ideas not necessarily tell the story. Certain moments of the book reach me, but much of it does not touch an emotional cord for me.

Read my complete review at http://www.memoriesfrombooks.com/2018/03/tell-me-more.html

Reviewed for NetGalley.

Telling It Like It Is Is Hard

Kelly Corrigan’s latest memoir, Tell Me More: Stories About the 12 Hardest Things I’m Learning to Say, has a lot to teach about about being a mother, wife, daughter, friend. Upon advice from a friend, Corrigan learns to say “tell me more” when her teenage daughter is upset which results in a cathartic conversation and, also, at her beloved father’s deathbed where she is fortunate to hear one more story. These stories unravel similarly as Corrigan, author of another excellent memoir The Middle Place, illustrates how she learns the value of saying “Yes,” “No,” “This Is It,” and “Onward” in a life filled with love and laughter (she is truly funny) and death not only of elderly parents but best friends our age.

Wendy Ward
http://wendyrward.tumblr.com/

This is the third book I’ve read by Kelly Corrigan. They’ve each gotten better. Five stars for Tell Me More, a “book about things we say to people we love (including ourselves) that make things better.”

Simple, yet complex. Strong, yet vulnerable. Wise, yet searching. Corrigan embraces life paradoxes with humor, personality, and good writing. She closes the first story with, “It’s like this…This forgetting, this slide into smallness, this irritability and shame, this disorienting grief: Minds don’t rest; they reel and wander and fixate and roll back and reconsider because it’s like this, having a mind. Hearts don’t idle; they swell and constrict and break and forgive and behold because it’s like this, having a heart. Lives don’t last; they thrill and confound and circle and overflow and disappear because it’s like this, having a life.”

It was good for me to read the second, “Tell Me More” story. Too often, I jump in with personal advice or my story. Story 3, I Don’t Know, reminded me to respect the unknown. Concerning a cancer diagnosis, Corrigan writes, “They gave it to God; we gave it to Google.” I love that she concludes the story, “Live your mystery.”

No and Yes. (Notice which comes first ; ) “No makes room for yes, and who doesn’t want more room for that?” Her Yes story is a list of all the things she’ll always say yes to, running from heated seats to second opinions, extra guac. Makes me want to make my own list.

Tender and honest. No paradoxes. Move Onward. Go read “Tell Me More: Stories about the 12 Hardest Things I’m learning to Say” by Kelly Corrigan.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publisher for granting access to an arc of this book for an honest review.

This is maybe the most moving book I can ever remember reading. Literally, I laughed and I cried. She has the most amazing ability to give insight into concepts and life experiences. She discusses 12 phrases we use in life and looks at how we use them to manage our personal relationships, our processes of connectivity in love. For the phrase "no" for example she looks at how her mother sets up personal boundaries. I plan on rereading this book and giving myself time to fully digest the meanings she discusses so eloquently.
Thank you to Net Galley for an ARC so I can give my honest opinion of the work.

For the second year in a row, I am helping out my town library with their annual Trivia Night fundraiser. I assemble a small crew of people from my book club, and we decorate VIP tables based on books that the library will have donated in their name. One of the things I love about doing this is that I learn about books I might have never otherwise heard of! One of these books for 2018 is Tell Me More. When I read the plot synopsis I thought it sounded interesting and I enjoy reading about other people's real lives. The book layout is a fresh new take on a non-fiction book. Kelly Corrigan writes about her life, but does so by fitting stories from her life into common words and phrases. This set up allows us to relate to her stories even if we haven't had the exact types of situations happen. Most of the stories relate to her father, her husband, her kids, and a good friend of hers gone before her time. Even though I have never heard of Corrigan prior to this book, I felt like I knew a piece of her by the end. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading non-fiction and memoirs.

Love the truth telling in these essays. It took me a bit to get used to the style of writing but once I did the stories flowed