Nobody Will Tell You This But Me

Nobody Will Tell You This But Me: A True (as Told to Me) Story by Bess Kalb
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

When we were in college, my then-roommate, Maria, came over to my grandparents' house for dinner. On our way home, she said, "I didn't know you were so much like your grandma." I was taken aback initially. How many times do you compare yourself to a person 45 years older than you are? But as we drove, Maria explained the similarities she noticed and in the weeks that followed I realized how much of who I am can be directly tied to my beloved Grandma Joan. She is evident in my love of books, my love of hosting, and my desire to have everyone I love best live on the same street. She's quick to laugh, unfailingly supportive, critical of those who hurt her family, and my dad's number one fan. She instilled in me my love of the Oscars, Diet Coke (cheese, chocolate and bread are her close seconds), Italy, Trivial Pursuit, decorating, the perfectly smelling candle, and a dozen other things. I haven't been able to hug her since this COVID madness began, and it breaks my heart a little each time that I see her from the frustrating six feet away.

Enter Bess Kalb's "Nobody Will Tell You This But Me" - a book about her grandmother, told in the voice of her grandmother but written by Bess. I loved it. It's strange and a little hard to follow initially, but once I fell into it, the cadence of Bess' storytelling about beloved bubbe is everything. It's heartfelt, inspiring, hilarious, and sad. The great women that shape our lives all deserve this kind of notice. I was left wanting to write down every little detail about the people I love most from the sound of my family laughing around my grandma's table eating pumpkin stew in the fall to the sight of the little fake snow flakes around her Christmas village when I was a little girl. My first real memory is being in my grandparents' house, and it seems pretty fitting to me that it and so many other memories came to mind as I read about Bobby's life through her granddaughter's eyes. Read it. It's the kind of book that restores your faith in humanity, and I think we all need a bit more that right now.

Happy reading and happy appreciating the people who know you best and love you most--