Let’s Talk About Hard Things by Anna Sale

This book hits my sweet spot — that liminal space between expert opinion and personal narrative. Author Anna Sale, the founder and host of the podcast Death, Sex, & Money, divides this book up into five chapters on the subjects we find hard to talk about — death, sex, money, family, and identity. The book covers how to broach these conversations, get through them thoughtfully and with compassion, and how having them can both help us connect with one another and make us feel less alone.

I learn by hearing other people’s stories and applying their lessons to my experience.Post-divorce, I realized that I struggle to communicate and express myself in an authentic way, and I’m now figuring out what to say and how to say it in intimate relationships. I also struggle to listen well — to what is really being said. This book made me feel like I’m not the only one who’s like that, and provided guidance for diving into the hard things. Divorce is one of those hard things.

“When we let tensions fester, or allow familiarity to pass for understanding, we tend to leave parts of ourselves out of our most important relationships. We miss out on the opportunity to continue to grow. We lose track of who we want to be, and we can’t share our full selves with those we love.”