Michael Leviton has done something very impressive here: he wrote a memoir that was both funny but void of any sense of ego.

This is almost an impossible feat since we follow his entire upbringing, and the lack of the ego after talking about how he realizes how everyone is lying around us and how he thinks the world would be a better place if we could all just be honest is almost an impossible thing to do.

After introducing us to his childhood growing up with parents who almost treated him as an adult but forgot to really nurture him, Leviton grows up to be a bit of a sarcastic curmudgeon. I found his entire narrative to be so enjoyable to listen to as an audiobook, and it felt like I was watching a Woody Allen film right before my eyes. Highly recommend to anyone who likes a more sarcastic tone, and values the art of being honest.

In the spirit of this book - an honest review: This book was good but not great in my opinion. It was enjoyable to read but nothing really felt exceptional about it - from the stories to the writing it was just good.

Unfortunately, I just couldn't get into this book. I am not sure if it was the narrator or the story itself, but I was not a book that. I found myself excited to listen to.

I really enjoyed this book when the author was a child and it seemed like he was following his father's advice. His father comes off as insensitive at first, but as the narrative progresses, the father comes off as neurodivergent. As the writer grows older you realize that he might be neurodivergent as well. The stories become painful. He truly does not understand why people might find his behavior offensive; why people feel uncomfortable around him, and why people are made even more uncomfortable when he asks for honest feedback about what he did wrong.

I really liked To Be Honest, to be honest. As someone who has been around people who are deeply honest and those who are not (and haven't we all), and who has thought a lot about what it means to be in a family, this book really resonated with me. I think this kind of discussion around family dichotomies is often under-discussed, and I really appreciated getting to spend time with this memoir.

To be honest I struggled with this audio book. I loved the sound of it but didn't finish it, just didn't grip me

To be honest... I loved it!

Michael Leviton is, quite possibly, one of the most honest guys in the world. Born and raised in a family that he has dubbed a "little honesty cult," Leviton had only told three lies by the age of 29. This autobiography discusses the life and relationships of an overly honest individual growing up in the United States.

cw: emotional abuse

A huge thanks to Michael Leviton, Dreamscape Media and Netgalley for an ALC in exchange for my honest review.

How many times in a day do you lie? I like to think of myself as a pretty honest person, but I know there are a few white lies I've told today. My most recent? Checking a box saying that "I have read the terms and conditions." 😂 This audiobook was like a breath of fresh air. It was an honest story, told by an honest man, about the benefits and drawbacks of being truthful AT ALL TIMES. It is cringy, it is hilarious, it is relatable, it is ridiculous.

This audiobook was read by the author himself, which gave it an amazing flow and narration. I loved hearing his chuckles while he reminisced on his story. The pace of the story and speech was great - I was always engaged and intrigued.

Overall, I'd definitely recommend this read to any non-fiction reader - especially in its audiobook form!

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To Be Honest by Michael Leviton is a memoir focusing on the author’s upbringing in a family which believes that “honesty is the best policy”, but takes it to an extreme. Mr. Leviton is not only an author, but an accomplished ukulele playe

We all like to think we love honesty, but we quickly come to find out we don’t like it as much as we think, especially in our personal lives. Many times we tell white lies to either save face, give encouragement (“that’s a nice drawing”), or just to be nice. The first one has a tendency to boomerang and make things worse, ( ‘Oh, what a tangled web we weave,/ When first we practice to deceive!’ – Sir Walter Scott), the last two are usually told to children but not always.

I, unfortunately, am also a “too honest” individual and cannot understand why many times people lie without a good reason, just because they can (looking at you Real Estate industry), giving up future dollars for immediate pennies. Unlike the author’s parents, I do understand the nuances of society and that sometimes being less than truthful might be an advantage.
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In the memoir To Be Honest by Michael Leviton, the author tells of his upbringing in which his parents always thought that honesty is the only way to go through life, without any nuances involved. The young Mr. Leviton couldn’t understand why his blunt honesty is not appreciated by his fellow elementary school students, or the teachers for that matter.

Throughout his life, the author realizes that this policy of total truthfulness (emphasis on “total”) has actually been a disservice by creating self-inflicted roadblocks, making life more difficult and less pleasurable.

The author himself narrates this audio-book, he not only has the guts to write about this unique upbringing, but also to poke fun at himself. While reading, at times, he seems to crack up at his own jokes / unfortunate events which I found very charming.please visit: https://www.ManOfLaBook.com

This book is original and an interesting concept. Some parts are down right mesmerizing. Thank you Net Galley for the advance copy in exchange for my honest review

Michael Leviton's memoir is very fascinating, he takes us through the journey of growing up and being raised by parents who only see "blunt honesty" as the way to be in life, and as an adult, he learns later in life that there is room to be like the rest of us. It seems that blunt honesty tends to leave out empathy, compassion, and the ability to have much softer relationships with people. I believe that Michael was able to find that eventually in his life.
Certainly an interesting read.
Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the opportunity to review this book in exchange for a copy of the book. #DreamscapeMedia #NetGalley

On the face of it, this is a book about honesty. But really it's about how we all have a different version of what honesty means. Even the most "honest" characters in this book are far from being totally transparent. I was sure I'd feel irritated by the end of this. But even as our narrator describes the most grating behavior, I could only feel sorry for him and for what his parents put him through. The book's greatest strength is in the author's self-awareness. From the jump, he tells you, without a hint of self-pity, that you're going to dislike him. But he does such a great job at pointing out his flaws and mistakes that it's difficult to feel exasperated by the end. Memoirs often seem like they'll be filled with self-awareness and introspection but too often they are full of navel-gazing. To be Honest is a raw telling of a life upended by so-called honesty and at no point does the author try to cover up his tracks or try to make himself sound better. In the audio version, which is narrated by the author, you can actively hear the annoyance in the narrator's voice. He's none too pleased with himself and his ability to open up about his flaws in perception is what makes this book work.

Wow, this book was really interesting! Michael is brought up in a family that believe you should only say the truth and never lie. This has obviously repercussions on Michael's characters and how he is perceived (usually like rude and a bit odd).
The best thing about this audiobook is Michael himself reading it. The smile in his voice when he tells about the tragicomic experiences in his life is a super plus!
Not my usually kind of read, but really recommended!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This memoir is a mostly enjoyable take on whether you can ever too much of a good case thing, in this case honesty. While the author's story is overall rather predictable given the description, there are still some unsuspected interactions that the author's nothing but the truth mentality in his earlier years brings. These situations will provide an interesting counterfactual for most. His turn at towards the end of the memoir definitely presents its own interesting moments.

AHH this was a DNF for me. I got about 20% in but it just wasn't doing it for me. The same happened with the eBook version. I did find the audiobook better because it was nice hearing it read by the author. But the story just didn't interest me at all. I didn't feel invested.

Worth it, to be honest!
Thanks NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for providing this ALC! I love audiobooks narrated by the author. This memoir is witty and charming. Raised in a "little honesty cult" Leviton's parents taught him to be honest all the time. His parents come off as nice but very odd. His dad wouldn't "go easy" when he taught 5 year old Michael chess. Thankfully, his mom told him not to spill the beans about Santa to the other kids in his kindergarten class. My oldest son made that mistake with some friends from next door. (Oops!)
His experiences were so similar to my own I was left wondering if he was on the spectrum. I'm glad he figured out diplomacy and empathy makes life a lot smoother. This one had me laughing out loud. I could hear the author grinning as he told some of these hilarious misadventures.

When people say they had a unique experience growing up, it isn't usually because they were taught to be honest. In Michael Leviton was taught to never tell a lie. In fact, his entire family followed this one simple principle: that the truth should always be told in any situation. Michael's experiences growing up in what he describes as "cult-like" is culminated in the reflective memoir, To Be Honest.

Despite the story being about himself, Leviton certainly has no problem showing his faults. Leviton is blunt, judgmental, and often socially out of loop with most of the people around him. This is most apparent when Leviton is a child, but the pitfall of always being honest has a profound impact on Leviton's adulthood as well. It was interesting to watch a child call people hypocritical and stupid only to realize later as an adult that perhaps he had been too harsh after all. His story is a great reminder that while the truth is important and powerful, it always isn't asked for.

The aspect of the story I enjoyed the most was its premise. Every child is taught to be honest and truthful, but how many people truly practice this in adulthood? Many holidays (in the United States) are sugar coated with stories which have no proof to back them. Many social conversations ask for simple pleasantries instead of deep, truthful substance ("How are you?" is often used as a greeting than a true question). This memoir definitely reaffirms the concept that any principle faithfully kept is only a step from radical extremism. It also made me think deeply about how valuable truth is in a modern Westernized country, as well as how many people actually want to hear it.

The hard part of this story is certainly tied to the faults of Leviton and the slow pacing of the novel, which can make it hard to want to continue listening. While Leviton does learn quite a bit by the end of the story, there is plenty of learning the writer still requires by the end of the book. The reader does not easily forget the pretentious and jaded character we are greeted with at the end of the story, as well as the combative moments we see with him with those he has close connections to.

Overall, this book has a strangely refreshing concept for a memoir. While the story is not funny, there are great moments that border interesting and ironic. If you are a fan of strange nonfiction, I would highly recommend picking this book up at a local bookstore for your next read. Thank you to NetGalley for giving me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you for the opportunity to download this audiobook. I accessed it while testing a future update to the NetGalley Shelf app. This test was open only to an exclusive portion of NetGalley members, and this review will be hidden from visibility by the NetGalley team.

Michael Leviton was brought up by parents who believed in honesty and direct speaking at all times, a trait that most people would think of as ideal & aspirational, but as young Michael found out, the world doesn't really operate on honesty - "little white lies" or "not hurting people's feelings" are part of mainstream life.
In this book, Michael not only tells anecdotes of times when his honesty backfired (making friends, dating, even his inability to get a job - interviewers don't generally appreciate honesty!) but he also delves into honesty. He asks whether life would be better if everyone was brutally honest, or if the occasional white lie/sugar coating is really necessary to survive. Towards the end of the book, he starts living by a new set of rules, ones which seem to be almost the opposite of the ones he has lived by so far. His experiences are quite revealing!

Overall, this is a humorous and fascinating insight into truth & why people lie, as well as an interesting memoir/life story. I listened to the audiobook version, which was narrated by the author. This bring it to life in a particularly unique way. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys memoirs, or wants to explore what truth & honesty really mean and whether honesty is always the best policy!

Disclosure: I received a copy of this audiobook free via NetGalley. Whilst thanks go to the publisher for the opportunity to read it, all opinions are my own.
#DreamscapeMedia #NetGalley #AudioBook

Every now and then I stumble across a hidden, shining gem. A quirky, strange and offbeat memoir about a life that is completely remarkable in every way. Usually these books have an avid fan base but they rarely achieve commercial success and are typically not well known in bookish circles.

To Be Honest by Michael Leviton is one of those gems, and I am making it my mission to bring everyone's attention to this amazing, and highly entertaining real-life story.

Readers of any of Augusten Burroughs work, but especially Running with Scissors, will be familiar with this style of book. I like to call them dysfunctional memoirs". They tackle life stories filled with human and family dysfunction, often sprinkled liberally with mental health issues and psychological challenges.

In this case, Michael Leviton recounts his life from his earliest memories through to more recent times through the lens of his family's obsession with being truthful. It is unapologetic in its bluntness and Leviton presents the most strange occurences with a straight-forward delivery.

I listened to the audiobook kindly provided by @netgalley and narrated by the author. Honestly, I've never come across an author narrated audiobook that worked.. voice actors spend so much time and effort honing their craft, and they have so much more command of their voices. Apologies to the author, but the narration really didn't work for me. The random inflections of laughter left me confused - was he laughing at himself based on what he had learnt, or was he uncomfortable? His voice was also very monotone throughout, and I sped it up to x2 speed because the pacing felt off to me.

Once I got past the narration, the story was wonderful in a familiar car-crash kind of way. I couldn't look away. I found myself stealing time to listen, eager to hear what bizarre decisions were about to be made.

I always appreciate a flawed protagonist, and this book delivered that in droves. I think I most connected with the author as someone who has grown and learned from their experiences. Having been presented with a very extreme upbringing he was able to temper that later in life through his own hard work and drive to better understand the world and our alien cultural norms.

I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this to anyone who appreciates sharp, witty and ironic stories that are more than a little wild.

“To Be Honest: A Memoir” is what Michael Leviton calls his “tragic love affair with honesty.” It’s hilarious, creative, inspiring and kind of genius. “TBH” is a truly entertaining read because Michael is a unicorn person—unlike any other author I’ve read.

“My parents taught us to be honest,” Michael explains. This all seems good and fine and normal until he peels back what he really means. “Most parents teach their kids to be polite, to hide their thoughts and feelings. Barely anyone really wants their kids to be honest. As soon as their kids are honest for a moment, they freak out and punish them.”

That said, Michael—and especially his father—are brutally honest. Therefore, they come across as rude, too opinionated, outspoken, condescending, negative, critical and obnoxious. Being overly candid and direct also means they’re often inappropriate because they hurt others feelings. Their straight talking also means they’re creepy and awkward. After all, do we really want to know what someone is really thinking and what’s going on in their life? Michael admits to having no shame because—what’s the big deal?—he doesn’t care if people don’t like him.

What makes this book special is that it’s so uncommon to see men being vulnerable and sharing their innermost feelings. Michael shares examples of his issues with dating, being in a long-term relationship, interviewing for jobs and interacting with strangers. He leaves it all on the table.

Michael writes about his experience because he wants there to be more truth in the world. But, damn. It’s so hard to be authentic. No one wants to really know us, our true thoughts, our insecurities. They’d prefer to only know what’s on the surface. They want niceties and polite, politically correct etiquette. Unfortunately, we don’t know how to express ourselves in an honest way. We just want to fit in. But doing so involves the telling of “white” lies, overt lies. And it involves becoming someone else—someone others want us to be.

Another thing I love about this book is the writing. Michael’s beautiful descriptions and bits of wisdom and humor sprinkled in make me envision this as a movie. I can see him exactly in my mind’s eye. And the story is fast-paced and funny. I’m along for the ride. Also, his narration totally makes the audiobook a blast. He knows he’s funny so I can tell he’s grinning while reading. I’m sure he was cracking himself up during sections and had to redo it a few times.

Special thanks to Dreamscape Media for providing me with a copy of the audiobook, via NetGalley, in exchange for my honest review.