Author: Sara Faith Alterman
Genre: Memoir
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Publication Date: July 28, 2020
Book Description: Samantha Irby meets Bettyville in this darkly funny and poignant memoir about love, loss, Alzheimer’s, and reviving her father’s pornographic writing career, from writer and Mortified live producer Sara Faith Alterman.
Twelve-year-old Sara enjoyed an G-rated existence in suburban New England, filled with over-the-top birthday cakes, Revolutionary War reenactments, and nerdy word games invented by her prudish father, Ira. But Sara’s world changed for the icky when she discovered that Ira had been shielding her from the truth: that he was a campy sex writer who’d sold millions of books in multiple languages, including the wildly popular Games You Can Play with Your Pussy. Which was, to the naïve Sara’s horror, not a book about cats. For decades the books remained an unspoken family secret, until Ira developed early onset Alzheimer’s disease . . . and announced he’d be reviving his writing career. With Sara’s help.
In this cringeworthy, hilarious, and moving memoir, Sara shares the profound experience of discovering new facets of her father; once as a child, and again as an adult. Let’s Never Talk About This Again is a must-read confessional from a woman who spent years trying to find humor in the perverse and optimism in the darkness, and succeeded.
Rating: 4 1/2 Stars
Review: This is such a gem in world of memoirs. You will laugh a lot, but be prepared to have your tissues handy, because YOU WILL shed some tears.
Sara grew up in a conservative household in Massachusetts. She was not allowed to watch PG-13 movies until she was 13, there was no cursing. Her parents loved her very much, but her father had a bit of a temper at times. When Sara was little, she discovers books her father wrote that are in the pornographic genre. As she gets older and reads them, she discovers that they really mess with her mind when she starts dating.
When we get to Sara as an adult, she no longer lives is Massachusetts, but in California. She is dating and eventually marries her husband. We also start to learn something is just not right with her father. Through an email to her and her brother, she comes to find out her father has Alzheimer’s Disease. This sets up the second half of the book which becomes a much more emotional story.
Alterman writes a poignant memoir about her and her parents. I knew nothing about her, when I started reading this, but at the end I almost felt like I made a friend. She has a wonderful sense of humor, and is not afraid to be honest with her audience. I definitely would love to read more from her in the future.
Thank you NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for an Advanced Reader’s Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Obsessed Bookaholic 