The Most Heartbreaking Quotes From Sherman Alexie’s New Memoir
The Seattle author gets heavy with exquisite prose.
By Stephen Strom August 4, 2017
This article originally appeared in the August 2017 issue of Seattle magazine.
Like much of his work, beloved Seattle author and custard pie thrower Sherman Alexie’s new memoir, You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me (Little Brown Books, $28) is at once utterly compelling and profoundly heartbreaking.
Through essays, poems and family photographs, the National Book Award winner explores his childhood and a complex relationship with his mother. With ever exquisite prose, here are some of the book’s most touching turns of phrase.
“She opens the fish and finds a city of Indians living among the thin bones.” (p. 143)
“You know what makes me and my stories Indian? All the goddamn funerals.” (p. 260)
“Look for me. I’ll be in the endless boat, illuminated by my mother’s ghost.” (p. 285)
“So we must forgive all those who trespass against us? F**k that s**t. I’m not some charitable trust.” (p. 343)
Follow Us
Studio Sessions: Jo Cosme
The Seattle-based multimedia artist and 2026 Neddy Award winner challenges the postcard version of Puerto Rico and centers the persistence of its people.
Jo Cosme knows how seductive a postcard can be. The Seattle-based Boricua (Puerto Rican) multimedia artist works across photography, installation, video, sound, and interactive elements to examine and pull apart how Puerto Rico is seen, sold, and misunderstood from the outside. Trained in photojournalism, with a BFA in photography from Puerto Rico School of Fine…
Seattle’s Drag Brunch Has History
The city’s Sunday shows started long before the mimosas got bottomless.
There was a time not too long ago, when drag performances—now a mainstay of Seattle’s queer scene—were kept under wraps. And when brunches, complete with singing and dancing queens dressed in dazzling drag as you sipped mimosas, weren’t a Sunday staple. During the 1940s and ‘50s, an era largely shaped by restrictive laws and bias…
Studio Sessions: Sangram Majumdar
Working at the confluence of history, culture, and various painting traditions, UW associate professor Sangram Majumdar is one of this year’s Neddy Artist Award winners.
Discover the art of UW professor Sangram Majumdar, a 2026 Neddy Artist Award winner. Learn about his inspiration and upcoming Seattle exhibition at Cornish.
Rearview Mirror: A Georgian Dinner, Sidewalk Sips, and One-of-a-Kind Clothing
Things I did, saw, ate, learned, or read in the past week (or so).
A new life for old clothes To celebrate one year in its current studio, the FXRY—a clothing repair service available via in-person appointments, home pickup, or mail-in drop off—is dropping its first collection. A small batch of reworked pieces, Second Mark will feature 13 vintage barn jackets, cropped, chain-stitched, and renewed into a completely unique, one-of-one…