Who Do You Think You Are?: A Memoir

by Alyse Myers

Book Overview

After her mother's death, Alyse Myers covets only one thing: a wooden box that sits in the back of a closet. Its contents have been kept from her for her entire life. When she was thirteen years old her mother promised she could have the box, "when I'm dead. In fact, it'll be my present to you."

Growing up in Queens in the 1960s and '70s, Alyse always yearned for more in life, while her mother settled for an unhappy marriage, an unsatisfying...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1416543066
• ISBN13: 9781416543060
• Release Date: April 2009
• Publisher: Touchstone Books
• Length: 272 Pages
• Weight: 0.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.5" x 8.3"

Customer Reviews

Read This Book!

This is a truly inspiring book. Not only is the writing flawless and captivating, but Myers tells a story that is real and original. She connects the story of her past to her current life in a manner that reminds us all how we come to be the people we are. This book will force you to examine the relationships in your life and what they mean to you, and in the process is a wonderful read. I could not put it down, and even woke up in the middle of the night just to read what was going to happen next. I am looking forward to reading it again and discovering new things about life, love, and myself. I hope to read another book by Alyse Myers in the near future.

Beautifully sad

Alyse Myers, if I recall correctly, is a marketing executive with The New York Times, and this is her first book. I recommend it highly! This memoir makes me want to aspire to write my own. Alas, I doubt I could reach the simplicity of Myers' writing coupled with the profundity of it. Maybe it's because the book relates closely to my poor, poor relationship with my mother, but that's not all of it, I think. It is simply a great read. Why can't more books use the simplicity of writing to such powerful effect as Myers does? I sure wish I could. WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE? was, like other reviewers have said, a very fast read. So fast I didn't want it to end at times. Five unequivocal stars!

Find out who you are

This totally honest memoir allows the reader to enter the life of Alyse Meyers when she was a child. It is not a pretty life. It is not a life many would want to change places with, yet it sparks a chord in us all. I read this book recently as a book club choice and it couldn't have been a better one. Not only did I find myself completely absorbed in the story and the characters, but it brought about fantastic discussion in a group. After all, we all come from a family and everyone has a story! A very worthwhile read.

A great book

I loved this book. And I wouldn't have thought of it as my kind of book. A friend who liked it gave it to me to read and I couldn't put it down. There's something about the straightforwardness of the writing that just draws you in. My relationship with my mother wasn't as bad as that of the author, but I saw so many issues of our relationship reflected here that it really moved me. And the unexpected ending was amazing.

My must-read book of the year

'Who Do You Think You Are?' is a beautifully written book. I read it in one sitting because, from the first page, I literally could not put it down. It is such a BRAVE book: it dares to look at that most sacrosanct -- and mythologized -- relationship: mother and daughter. And it tells a truth: that not all of us like our mothers. And not all mothers like their children. The book begins with the mother's funeral. The only thing the author wants is a wooden box that has been hidden in her mother's closet for as long as she can remember. She takes the box but does not open it, afraid of the secrets contained within. We then flash back to the 60s in a poorer neighborhood in Queens. Through tight, beautiful prose, we learn of the author's childhood. What is magical about this book is that it is not a chronicle of some nightmare or a retelling of yet another horrifying story of abject cruelty. Rather, 'Who Do You Think You Are?' is the story of what really goes on behind the closed doors of many peoples' lives. Relationships are not perfect. People hurt one another. People damage one another. And life goes on. Especially for the survivor. Ultimately, this is a book about what it means to love and to discover that place within yourself that lets you love in spite of the hurt you have suffered. It is also a book about forgiving and how that contributes to love. This is an amazing book and one that I recommend in the highest possible terms. It's a gem.