Incredible. I could not put this book down. Tendler vulnerably shares insight into her brief stint in a psychiatric hospital after having a mental breakdown. She paints the picture of her mental health journey, with her signature wit, in a non-linear narrative. As the title suggests, a lot of her journey was affected by significant men in her life, and she seems to still be reckoning with this. One man, (her famous ex-husband) is not named in the book, and it is only mentioned in passing that she was married. This felt like a power-move, to take control of the media narrative surrounding this relationship. My only criticism of this is that it ignored the main source of her income (and likely other connections), and obscured how she paid for in-patient therapy, a new house, a pet with expensive health procedures, etc., on an artist's salary. I really enjoy her writing style and found her candor about her complicated relationship with her mom, the reality of working as an artist, living communally at the hospital, and deciding whether to leave her therapist, to be refreshing topics, not often covered in memoir. I hope she continues to write after this.

Thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the advanced reader copy.

The premise of this book sounded very interesting, but the execution felt sloppy and often hard to follow. In particular, the writer never seems to address the fact that she has clear issues with men (asking to not be housed with any male patients when she's dealing with her mental health issues) but doesn't bring up the fact that she's married (doesn't seem to be separated or divorced during this time), even when talking specifically about her family or what she misses about living at home. There were holes in the story that felt unnecessary--like the author was withholding for no reason.

Men Have Called Her Crazy is a beautiful, highly introspective exploration of the intersection between family, romantic relationships, and mental health. I was thoroughly impressed by Anna Marie Tendler's debut

First, it is important to note: If you are looking for a messy exposé of a highly publicized divorce, you need not look here. Tendler's memoir remains respectful to both herself and her former husband, lightly nodding to the situation while alluding to an exploration of the circumstances that likely influenced their subsequent implosion.

With that out of the way, this was a brilliant insight into one woman's journey to unpack the question: "How did I get here?" The memoir pivots between two timelines. In the first, Tendler checks herself into inpatient psychiatric care at the suggestion of her highly flawed therapist. In the second, Tendler explores her adolescence, diving into her series of inappropriate (at no fault of her own) romantic relationships with men while simultaneously dealing with her complicated relationship with her mother. Her commentary on mental health care, as well on developing a trust (and distrust) of men, was poignant and relevant. I related to her journey to understand her relationship with her parents, which although she cherished, she recognized as contributing to some of her current struggles with attachment and reactivity, and I especially appreciated her ability to combat her blanket distrust of men, which many women know all too well.

I truly think that this memoir will make you think about yourself, and allow you to give yourself some grace when we question ourselves and why we act the way we do. I cannot recommend Tendler's memoir enough,

If it’s worth anything, I did not know of Anna Marie Tendler; not by her own merits or those of John Mulaney’s. I chose the memoir strictly from its title and description. Tendler did not mention her ex-husband by name either - it is truly her story. (After reading, I Googled her. :))

Tendler writes of her self-harm, mental health struggles, the misogyny around her and its effects, her experience in a psychiatric hospital, and certain crucial moments in her life that got her there. The narrative goes back and forth in time which is effective and compelling. The entire story is so personal, honest, and raw. Although at times it is tiny and far reaching, there is an underlying thread of hope throughout.

There are many quotable quotes. A favorite is: “Life in no way has gotten easier. In so many ways it has become harder. But I’ve become sturdier.”

Upcoming (expected) publication date of August 13, 2024. Thank you very much to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the early e-book.

Thank you Simon & Schuster, Netgalley, and Anna M Tendler for the advanced copy of this book to review.

My exact rating of this book would be a 4.2/5. This book written by Anna is at the larger picture, a telling of her time in in-patient psychiatric care and how that shaped her future. It is also a story, intercepted into that in-patient care of her past experiences that have shaped her. Those largely influenced by men.

In this day I believe that we can all relate to having men shape our lives for largely worse in some way. We can also agree that men have a hard time understanding women and that fields like psychology and medicine in general were shaped with cis white men in mind.

I thought that her memoir was refreshing. At first, when choosing this book to request I did so because a psychology friend of mine said that she wanted to read it not because I knew who Anna was. After I had the book I realized who she was in the media to me. I thought that it was actually wonderful that she did not include the story of her divorce and him (if he is masked under another name maybe she did).

I related a lot to her struggles and thought that she told her story so well because it was not an easy story to share, especially when you are sharing raw bits of life that cause you so much. She also introspectively reviews her own life and diagnosis which again is not an easy feat. I am happy to see that she has grown from her in-patient care and that she incorporated techniques into it. She also touches on a lot of topics so many of us end up dealing with in life: the ideals of pregnancy, our friends having kids and leaving us behind, friendship with strangers, dating, sorrow, and loss to name a few.

If you enjoy psychology, mental health, and women's views on friendships, life, men, society then I would highly suggest this book. Thank you again to Simon & Schuster #simonbooks, #netgalley, and Anna.

I got to read an advance copy of this book, and I don’t think I’ve ever finished a digital ARC and run to pre-order a book so fast in my life. In finished it last week and haven’t shut up about it since.

This memoir focuses on Tendler’s experience in a voluntary hold at a psychiatric hospital for suicidal ideation and disordered eating (check trigger warnings, but consider that it may be worth reading, as she’s being overseen by professionals and receiving help that she also shares). As she’s undergoing treatment, she includes snippets of her relationships with men that have informed her experiences. We also get insight into her complicated relationship with her imperfect but deeply loved mother, her devotion to her dog Petunia, her ambivalence toward motherhood, and her feelings about her non linear life trajectory.

So much of what she describes felt so incredibly personal to her but also deeply applicable to many women I know, as we all work through mental health issues under patriarchal structures that don’t treat us gently. She describes scars on her arms from self harm, and many of the women I know carry (at the very least) mental scars from the self harm we inflict on ourselves as a function of how we’re taught to view ourselves and our worth. She talks about balancing her reality of growing up with a mother who wasn’t emotionally stable, and I think judging by the popularity of the book “Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents,” a lot of us can relate there as well.

For me personally, this book was incredibly validating of my own experiences and feelings, and seeing her proactively address her concerns and receive treatment was a hard earned yet hopeful outcome.

Please note that while Tendler mentions many other relationships, she entirely avoids even mentioning her ex husband by name and none of their life together enters into the book. We love a petty queen. It is also fairly woo, in the way Tendler approaches her self-care, so know that if that’s something you’re unable to appreciate second-hand.

Thank you to Netgalley and Simon & Schuster for the advance copy of this incredible book.

Thank you Simon & Schuster, Anna Marie Tendler, and NetGalley for an ARC copy of Men Have Called Her Crazy.

This was a lovely, emotional and thought provoking journey through the author's life experiences.

This book covers heavy topics such as
-a volatile childhood home life
-a series of tumultuous relationships (several while a minor)
-life long struggles with severe anxiety/depression/self harm
-complex relationship dynamics with parents as an adult
-inpatient psychiatric care and diagnosis

I found the author's writing to be beautiful and inspiring as she recounts her life stories along with her insight on them now from the perspective of her mid thirties. Anna’s self awareness and dedication to her mental health care is admirable, and will be motivational for many readers to take their own mental health seriously. I don’t think many would be able to look at themselves in their most raw form and share it with the world and for that I commend her.

The only part that felt unfinished was her marriage that was never addressed outside of the occasional “my marriage” or “my husband”. With that being said, I did not know who Anna Marie Tendler was going into this book. I now know who she is and who her mentioned husband was. While I understand the publicity surrounding the divorce and why she chose to keep it out of her memoir, I think the inclusion-even vaguely would have helped create an even more cohesive book.

Overall, I found the author’s honesty and resilience to be inspiring, especially speaking about subjects many, including myself, find relatable.

This was beautifully written and Anna’s voice throughout the book is very vivid as she talks about not only her mental health struggles as she is in an in patient facility throughout most of the memoir, but the aftermath of her time there, as well as the glimpses into relationships she’s had with men throughout her life as she’s struggles with self harm and not quite having direction in her life. I found her to be very funny, but also very honest and open with her audience as she’s revealing some of the most difficult layers of herself to us. It was important to me as someone who struggles with my own mental health, and I think it’s a story that will be touching to others too.

And amidst all of this, Petunia being honored was deeply emotional and bittersweet. I’m glad Anna is okay and I’m also glad that Petunia had the chance to eat ice cream before passing onto her next great adventure 🖤

Thank you to Simon and Schuster, and Netgalley for the ARC.

This was great! We learn about Anna's stay in a psychiatric facility and get stories of her childhood, young adulthood, and post-divorce dating life. This often made me quite sad for her and for other women who have experienced similar mental health issues, but I was impressed by her honesty.

It has been two months since I read this book and I still think about it daily. The way Anna Marie Tendler wrote this book was so beautiful and captivating, and that is not even including the actual contents of the book. While still covering many vast topics Tendler smoothly transitioned into each and tied them all together so well. The book is so beautifully written and so open, which is so relieving to read in a memoir. It was especially refreshing for her to include bits that show her in a true light rather than worrying what people would think of her, and the honesty and rawness of this book is just so beautiful and important to me.
This book begins with Tendler's hospitilization for her mental health, and ebbs and flows through her childhood and present time in her mental health treatment facility as she evaluates the dependence on and the not always great treatment she has experienced with the men in her life. It is hard to say that I related so much to the relationships with men in her teen years and while it is sad, it was so relieving to felt seen throughout this book.
My favorite part of this book definitely was going through the grief and emotions towards the end and to see how Tendler handled the situation she was dealing with. Anna Marie Tendler did such a great job of being so honest and writing this book with such open, sad tones, while still being very clear and eloquent with her writing. I would highly recommend this book!

Thank you so much to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for my review!

Men Have Called Her Crazy is a very powerful and vulnerable memoir that follows Anna Marie Tendler during her time in an inpatient psychiatric facility at the beginning of 2021. She connects the experience she has there with her past and present relationships with men.

I think this book had a very strong first half. However, as the book progressed, it increasingly felt like it was missing a large piece of narrative. Though she recounts her relationships in depth, there wasn’t a strong analysis as to the direct effect on her beyond a larger cultural critique of misogyny.

Overall, this was still a very compelling read.

AMT’s debut is a MUST READ. I have always adored her, but this book cemented that. Her writing is mature, well-developed, and so heart wrenching. You connect so strongly to her words, her story…it is transformative and truly connective. This book is one of my top favorites of the year.

⭐️: 4.5/5

Artist Anna Marie Tendler voluntarily checked herself into a psychiatric facility in early 2021 after a particularly hard year on her mental and physical health. Men Have Called Her Crazy recounts her experience while there, interspersed with stories of experiences throughout her life, many regarding men and the impact they have on the way we as women interact with the world.

F*cking men, am I right? I normally don’t gravitate toward nonfiction books, especially memoirs, because sometimes I’m just left asking “what was the point of this?” But then again, sometimes memoirs are memoirs because the author has something to share about their life that will resonate with many people, which is the case in this one. I related to Tendler on so many levels, despite having very different circumstances than her, but that’s what made this so readable and relatable. The focus on the way that men and male validation impacts the self worth of women who are attracted to men (or even just exist in their periphery sometimes) is just immeasurable in so many ways, and that’s so sad, and also infuriating at the same time. This entire righteously rage-filled book is a wonderful manifestation of “fuck the patriarchy” while also lamenting the fact that it’s impossible to escape the ramifications, no many how hard we try, and sometimes it’s really only our own reaction to the situations that we’re put in by men that we have the capacity to control. If you know who Tendler is, and you’re looking for any sort of tell-all about all that, you won’t get it here, but what you will get is a moving, emotion-filled memoir that is so much better than a celebrity gossip source.

Thank you to @netgalley and @simonandschusterfor this eARC for my honest review!!

I absolutely loved this memoir. I connected with the writing style right away, and Anna’s voice felt so strong to me throughout the book. I related to a lot of the points that she made about how men have treated her, and how her perspective on life has been influenced by that. Although, I really appreciated the message of asking yourself the question of “do I want to be dating this man?” Especially when the man in question does something problematic, because I feel like as women we’re conditioned to shrug off the red flags and internalize it as a wrongdoing on our part. In reality it shouldn’t be that way. Anyways I connected with this memoir a lot, and I’m so proud of Anna for going through all that she experienced and coming out on the other side of things. We all need a reminder that it’s good to ask for help when we need it.

If you go into this book hoping that you’ll get the scoop on author Anna Marie Tendler’s marriage to (and subsequent divorce from) comedian John Mulaney, you’ll be sorely disappointed. I’ll be honest – I picked up this book hoping that is what I’d be getting! But it is so much better than the tea spilling celebrity (or celebrity adjacent) memoir you might have gone looking for.

Artist Anna Marie Tendler tells the story of her 2021 stay in a psychiatric hospital, her relationship history that contributed to her distrust of men, and her journey through a lifetime of anxiety and depression. She also writes quite a bit about her relationship with her dog Petunia which will probably feel relatable for many single pet owners.

Tendler’s story is exceptionally well written (and digestible – I read it in less than 24 hours, despite the heavy nature of the content) and readers will really find themselves rooting for her healing and success (and wishing the same for her fellow patients at the psychiatric hospital). This is definitely one of my top reads of 2024 and I hope Tendler will write more in the future.

✨ARC Review✨

Title: Men Called Her Crazy
Author: Anna Marie Tendlee
Genre: memoir
Pages: 304
Release: August 13, 2024
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Started: 7/16/2024
Finished: 7/26/2024

💛My Thoughts💛
It’s been a very long time, since I have read a memoir. I’m so glad this was the book I picked up. Men Called Her Crazy connected with me on a deeper level because I struggle with mental illness everyday. I have to say it is not an easy thing to deal with especially as a woman. I think it takes courage to seek help , even though the fear is trying to stop you. It doesn’t make you weak for asking for help to better yourself. Mental health is a very serious thing. Everybody is going through something. It so important to be kind to yourself and others because it goes a long way. It will make someone’s day better. Men Called Her Crazy is an amazing book. I give this book a 5 out of 5. 10/10 recommend. I REALLY LOVED this book. Thank you @netgalley for letting me read and review this wonderful book. Also, I want to thank @annamtendler for sharing your story with the world. I really enjoyed reading it. Thank you again.

I give this book 5 out of 5 stars because I considered it a “page turner” and couldn’t put it down. I’ve always been interested in how the human mind works and began studying psychology in the late 80’s simply to try and do more of that. This author does a really great job of letting us get into her own mind and taking a look around it and explaining to us how she thinks, and that is very valuable information, because no human being wants to feel alone. So many people suffer from mis or undiagnosed mental illnesses, and for her to open up her life and put it on full display for anyone to read like this is very brave of her. I think everyone has dealt with or even felt depression, anxiety and extreme stress at some point in their lives and to have her share her experiences with anyone willing to read about them is amazing and deserves the 5 stars for filet’ing themselves like that in print. It made me feel like I’m not alone and that if I too needed help that there are people out there that do care, and I could get the help I needed, if I needed it. It hasn’t always been this way, but I feel that these issues are becoming more mainstream now over the past ten years and people aren’t as alone as they used to be, so this is a positive step in the right direction for mankind. The author tells her story in a fun way and her sense of humor keeps me turning the pages. I even blubbered like a baby when her pet passed away. She did a great job of describing how her pet wasn’t just a pet to her and I actually felt like I was losing someone I knew as she was describing it. I gave this book a 5 out of 5 because I couldn’t put it down and felt that the story she told was relevant and fluid. I saw no reason to take away any points from this review. Although I didn’t understand the title. I don’t see how people called her “crazy”. She never really described herself being described in that way, but the title did get my attention. That was about it. I don’t feel that title applied to her, but if she used it simply for attention then I can see that being a good marketing strategy. People love to read about crazy people. Sometimes to validate that they are normal, or to help determine if they themselves might be “crazy” as well, but I didn’t see this woman as “crazy”. I felt she was really quite “normal”, meaning, she’s the average middle class American. I definitely recommend that everyone read this book as a way to measure themselves, and they can see that they too are “normal”. We all have stress, anxiety, and depression at times. It’s how we deal with it that matters, and she seemed to be approaching it very productively.

I approached Anna Marie Tendler's memoir with a sense of curiosity, deeply drawn to her work through her evocative photography. Her images often capture a unique blend of vulnerability and strength, and I was eager to delve into the mind behind the art.

As I began reading, I found myself intrigued by the narrative voice and the intimate glimpse into Tendler's world. Her prose is undeniably compelling, offering a candid exploration of her experiences and emotions. However, as the story unfolded, I couldn't shake a lingering sense of distrust toward her narration.

There were moments throughout the memoir where it seemed like Tendler's interpretation of events might have been colored by her perceptions, possibly hearing what she wanted to hear in dialogues rather than conveying the actual truth. This raised some doubts for me about the reliability of her storytelling. It's possible that this could be an intentional stylistic choice, aimed at highlighting the subjective nature of memory and personal experience.

Despite these reservations, Tendler's memoir is a poignant read, rich with introspection and artistic expression. Her ability to convey deep emotional truths, even if they occasionally felt subjective, adds a layer of complexity that mirrors the nuanced nature of her photography.

Ultimately, while I found myself questioning the absolute veracity of certain passages, the memoir remains a fascinating journey into the mind of an artist whose work continues to captivate and inspire.

Anna Marie Tendler's memoir examines her mental health struggles, tense family dynamic, and fraught relationships with men. While there was much brouhaha in the media surrounding her divorce from comedian John Mulaney, he is never mentioned by name and only comes up in passing a couple times. Perhaps NDAs were signed and that's why it's not covered but honestly the book is better for it - what we have is a bonafide exploration of depression, loneliness, and self-identity rather than a sordid tell-all.

The book is written very well and only rarely strays into self-indulgent territory. Our author is clearly an artist (with an artist's temperament and sensitivity) so I can forgive some of the more "woo" elements of MHCHC like pet psychics, tarot, and astrology.

Overall, MHCHC is a tightly-paced, well-edited, and mostly relatable book about coming into your own, discovering yourself, and persevering through intense grief. I look forward to seeing what Tendler does next.

I finished the book wanting more about tying her stay at the mental hospital to her dating history and her relationship with her mom. It was ok but most women have stories like hers, it is relatable to all women. Some parts of the book were difficult to get through but I appreciated the honesty and felt like a lot of this book was healing for her.