You Don't Have to Say You Love Me Summary
Sherman Alexie

You Don't Have to Say You Love Me Overview

Sherman Alexie’s You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me: A Memoir offers an honest account of the author’s personal struggle to come to terms with his complicated and traumatic relationship with his recently deceased mother. Written in a combination of prose and poetry, Alexie reflects on his unique childhood growing up on a poverty stricken Indian reservation as the son of alcoholic parents and frequent subject of both physical and verbal abuse. The raw and emotional dysfunction of his past is contrasted by Alexie’s dark, ironic wit resulting in a candid and sincere response to dealing with grief, loss, and man’s search for resolution.