This is divided into sections about sex, money, love, family, and identity; I found some sections more relevant than others. The author relies on interviews and other people's research throughout the book. This will be good for some readers, while some have already read or heard the information, as in my case. She intersperses autobiographical stories throughout, which I found less impactful than the stories about other people.

While I think this can be an important and useful book for many readers, it is not a "how to" as much as a "why" these conversations are necessary. I would recommend it for anyone who avoids conflict or can't set boundaries.

very eye-opening and at some part a little hard to read. I did struggle to get through some part of this one, but it was definitely a read that made me think about a lot of hard things.

I'm not a big listener of Death Sex and Money, although I've heard a few episodes. This book manages to mostly avoid the pitfall of so many podcast concepts turned into books, where they feel like longform journalism trying to meet a page count requirement. The money section was by far the strongest and most compelling area of the book.

I have to admit to giving up on this book after finishing half of it, only because I really slogged through the first half and life is too short to make yourself read a book you dislike when so many wonderful ones are out there.

I am not familiar with the author's podcast and perhaps I would have enjoyed this book more if I were. I knew going into it that I need to talk about the hard things (and read about them), but this didn't really offer me anything new or helpful at all. Most of the topics I would have liked to see in the sex section were missing, for instance. It was incredibly shallow IMO, and avoided most of the really important "hard things" I'd want to see discussed like when a partner has sexuality issues because of past sexual abuse, or how age influences sex function for men and women.

The death section was similarly unhelpful for me as someone who has been grieving loved ones quite a lot this year. And honestly, if we're going to talk about the hard things regarding death we really need to discuss that our own deaths will happen and we need to prepare for that as well (making arrangements, having a will, signing advanced directives, etc.).

This all felt like very generic advice that should be common sense to most people, without the real meat of the real hard conversations I would have liked to see.

Two stars for "it was okay" for me.

I read a digital ARC of this book via NetGalley.

Do you listen to podcasts? If so - you may have heard of the podcast Death, Sex and Money with Anna Sale. In the book Let’s Talk About Hard Things, Sale goes further into these topics - things that are hard to talk about but also so important. In addition to sections on these three topics, there are also sections on Family and Identity. In addition to share real people’s stories including often Sale’s own experiences, it also helps offer some phrases that can be useful in having these tough conversations in your own life.

I also really enjoyed some discussions that gave me new things to think about and some that validated things I’ve been thinking - like in the section on Sex, it was briefly touched on that rejection needs to be shown as a natural part of the dating process. Romance books and movies can put forward a harmful narrative by showing that someone can be “won back” with the right Grand Gesture (often public). As you may already know from my romance reviews - I take a lot of issue with this and prefer to see when conflict is resolved in a more meaningful way and a way that still respects if someone has said they aren’t interested.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the free ebook. I also got the audiobook from the library and really enjoyed listening.

Maybe you're like me and the mere thought of a few of these emotionally wrought conversations Sale broaches in Let’s Talk About Hard Things leaves you with heart palpitations and a frog (or three!) in your throat? Death, sex, and money (also the title of her WNYC podcast launched in 2014), family, and identity are the five broad themes addressed via personal narrative, interviews (some with names you may know, like Katie Couric), and probing, contemplative exploration of the human psyche and our relationships.

I admit to bingeing “Death, Sex, and Money” once I knew I would be reviewing this book. And the two complimented one another well, instead of robbing one to inflate the other. (You know what I am talking about. You buy a book, but it is already available in 25 blog posts from the past two years? And you feel a bit deflated after all the waiting.) The most appealing parts of Let’s Talk About Hard Things and her podcast: journalistic integrity, her intuitive nature, curiosity about the adapting ways and mores of the world around us. But most importantly? She is willing to admit when she thinks that she has erred or strayed from her sense of story or intention (4/28/21: 7 Hardest Conversations I’ve Ever Had On This Show). Sale also recognizes her privileged place socioeconomically, racially, educationally, and the impact that has on her relationships and experiences.

My initial draw to this book, aside from 20+ years of memoir, meditation, psychology, neuroscience, self-help genre(ish) books was its inclusion of death as a topic. (Oh, and the cover is pretty sweet.) As a gerontologist and grief support specialist, finding books I might utilize in class or workshops that address grief and death without eliciting sensations of profound morbidity or fleeting triteness are few and far between. Sale’s deep dive into her own “hard things” while offering a space for open discourse on the broad, challenging themes of death, sex, money, family, and identity (even if folks have sweaty palms or frogs in their throats!) embraces an ideal of increased micro-level relationship building, regardless of the tenor of the conversation.

Thanks to Anna Sale, Simon & Schuster, and Netgalley for a free review copy.

Author Anna Sale offers a book with challenging topics and urges readers to explore these topics without fear. Death, sex, relationships and identity are all fair game in a book of anecdotes taken from her own experiences and conversations with others. While I found the book interesting, it didn’t rise above the newspaper advice columns that offer such deceptively attractive advice to readers. LET’S TALK ABOUT HARD THINGS was softer than I expected. I received my copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

I've been a fairly longterm podcast listener of Anna Sale's WYNC show Death, Sex & Money, and was keen to try out this book that is so closely related it's almost a direct spin-off, despite not often being someone who'd head to the "Health, Mind & Body" section of a bookshop.

If you've listened to the show, you'll know that Sale's style of interviewing her guests is one filled with gentle compassion and curiosity, and truly about listening to them and their experiences. While conversations frequently turn to difficult subjects, the listener is never left with the impression that the guest is being pressured to talk about something they don't want to.

This book has an almost identical tone. I could hear Sale's voice in the writing; hear this being an extended series of episodes from her show. If you're a fan of the show, I am confident that you'll be a fan of the book.

It is very easily digested writing. A non-fiction book will often take me weeks, if not months or occasionally years, to read, yet I devoured this one in just two or three sittings. The writing style flows well, and is colloquial without feeling overly familiar or casual.

Separated into five chapters — Death, Sex, Money, Family, and Identity — Sale explores difficult subjects within these broad categories via interviews, quotes from other published work, and her own life. Despite being often a memoir, at times in self-help territory, it's the experiences of the people that the author speaks to that are centred throughout.

Each chapter could really be a full-length book of its own, yet are surprisingly in-depth for their relatively short size. The Death and Family chapters were the ones that felt most profound to me, with Identity at the other end of the spectrum feeling the most like it really only touched the surface. Family was, for me, the chapter that was left with the highest number of sections highlighted to revisit later.

Some content warnings, due to the nature of the book: miscarriage, police violence, terminal illness, sex, abuse. However, all of these topics were touched upon in particularly sensitive style as things that are notably hard to talk about.

I absolutely love this book. Its helping me recognize and confront a lot of false beliefs and taboos I've carried around death, sex, money, and family. I cannot suggest this book enough.

I was thrilled to see that Anna Sale finally had a book on the way, and the topic couldn't be more perfect for the host of a podcast called Death, Sex, and Money, of which I've been a longtime listener. She devotes a section of the book to each of these three topics, adding two more: family and identity. Though readers unfamiliar with Sale's work will be unaccustomed to her candid conversations about these hard topics, this format is welcoming to longtime listeners like myself and readers new to her work.

She begins with death, which was beautiful, gentle, warm, and truly helpful. But in hindsight, I found the remaining sections of the book didn't reach the high bar established by this first section. The section on money did an especially nice job of combining Sale's personal story with what she'd learned through hosting the show, but it still lacked the impact of the "death" section.

In addition to the section on death, I especially appreciated her insights into HOW to have hard conversations, and the behind-the-scenes glimpses she shared into how she prepares her podcast guests to have these conversations for public consumption.

What a fabulous read. Read it cover to cover. Already spoke it with a few friends. Really loved it. I would reread it in the future.

"When we have the courage to talk about hard things, we learn about ourselves, others and the world that we make together".

I recently finished reading "Let's Talk About Hard Things" by Anna Sale. I was unfamiliar with her podcast before beginning the book but was pulled in by the title and topics covered - the hard conversations in life - death, sex, money, family, and identity - and why we should have those conversations, despite, and because of, their difficulty.

In the first chapters, the book really felt like a warm invitation to have hard conversations, why they are important, and how to have them. And I really enjoyed the author's perspective on how to achieve this - particularly, that the end goal of difficult discussions shouldn't be absolute agreement or a reconciliation, but understanding. My favorite parts of the book included tips for how best to facilitate these difficult discussions. Anna has had many typically uncomfy conversations as part of her podcast and her real world tips and notes were very enlightening, such as how making sure to explain why you're asking a hard question of someone can change the tone of the conversation for the better.

However, those tips became fewer as the book continued on which was disappointing. "Let's Talk About Hard Things" walks a line between being very focused on current events, like COVID or Black Lives Matter, and also more generally relatable - we all die, have relatives we disagree with, etc. Frequently that mash-up just did not work for me. All of the conversations explored in the book are important, and it felt like some sections were underdeveloped for how the reader could themselves tackle the hard conversations covered, particularly when that is such an important goal.

There was so much to learn from the topics included in this book, but I do wish that there had been more conversation suggestions, stumbling blocks to avoid, etc from someone who professionally discusses these difficult topics.

LET'S TALK ABOUT HARD THINGS is a natural byproduct of Anna Sale's fantastic podcast "Death, Sex, and Money." While the podcast has a catchy name, it is ultimately focused on talking about topics that are difficult to bring up and discuss. Sale expands upon these areas in her book as well as adds two additional themes- family and identity, though all of the themes can be interconnected. Each section usually begins with an example from Anna's life, then adds interviews she has done on her podcast and expands to other examples of difficult situations and conversations people have had. The book provides more than just examples of these challenging situations. It does provide some good advice on how to have these conversations. Anna is a fantastic interviewer on her podcast, so some of this concrete advice is not surprising. Some things that stood out for me include in the first chapter on death where she puts into words things I have not really thought through. Death is inevitable, but we tend to keep the reality of death and grief at a distance. People have no idea what to say. The chapter on sex highlights examples of difficult conversations around one's changing needs and the continued emphasis on the importance of consent. Conversations around money are always challenging. She makes a vital distinction between money and wealth, and the importance around the generational timing on when one grows up. The family chapter is a thorny one as these systems are based on long-standing patterns and roles and conversations can be incredibly difficult because of the intimacy of those relationships. Some important tools I took from this book is the importance of "don't speak. listen" (sometimes sitting in silence is challenging, but you do not always need to fill it) and a reminder that these conversations are often not one-offs and morph over time. For fans of Anna's podcast, this is a must-read, and a thought provoking book.

Thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for this advance reader copy in exchange for honest review.

I've been an avid listener to Anna Sale's podcast, "Death, Sex, and Money," so requesting this ARC to review was a no-brainer for me. I spend a lot of my life at work and outside it with people who are facing difficult or weighty things-- death, relationship pain, chronic illness, homelessness, disability, and other sources of pain and frustration. I've watched how often, people's discomfort with talking about the hard thing keeps them from seeking or resting in the human connections that could give them strength and courage.

Listeners to her podcast know that Anna Sale knows how to ask the hard questions while staying present to the humanity of the people sharing their messy emotional and meaningful stories. In this book, she writes clearly and openly about why and how she can do that. Even better, she gives frank and practical advice: specific things to say when someone is dying, or ways to talk with your friends about your personal history with money.

This book is a gift to everyone who has faced the discomfort of not knowing what to say, but feeling like *something* needed saying. Sale is a gifted storyteller and a gently provocative writer. "I can talk about these things," she says, "and you can, too."

Thanks to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this book! It was such a strong well written story. It was exactly what I needed with everything going on in the world! A mind bending escape!