Publisher Description

-For readers who loved . . . Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant? The first of the world's 72 million Baby Boomers reached 70 this year, the threshold of old age. This book is perfect for Boomers, whose characteristic m.o. is to tackle each new phase of life head-on, embracing reality, with laughter.

Author Biography

Elizabeth Marcus grew up in Manhattan, the only child of a dentist and a Macy's dress buyer, the Zeus and Hera of Apartment 2B. After escaping to Boston, she ran a small architectural office for 20 years, when she wasn't traveling to far-flung places with her psychiatrist husband and rambunctious children. Eventually, she decided to concentrate on writing, which allows her to pursue the many, quirky questions that fascinate her: Why are butterflies called 'butterflies'? Why can't she recall the taste of wines? Why are first-love memories so potent? Her essays have appeared in The New York Times and Boston Globe, on online sites like Cognoscenti, and in essay anthologies like Travelers' Tales. "Don't Say A Word!": A Daughter's Two Cents, in 90,571 Words is her first book. She posts essays related to the book at ; she posts essays about everything else at She lives in Boston.

Review

"What an achievement! Don't Say a Word! is evocative, smart, ANDfunny, with fresh insights about families on virtually every page.Marcus's drive to comprehend her past will inspire readers who feltsilenced in childhood or whose talents and achievements wentunappreciated. With this book, she breaks her silence, revealinghard-won realizations and a remarkable ability to laugh through thetears."
—Barbara Schildkraut, MD, author of Unmasking Psychological Symptoms and Masquerading Symptoms

"How well do we know our parents? Elizabeth Marcus confronts thisquestion in her vibrant memoir, which follows the final decade of herparents' lives as they seem to age into inversions of their formercontrolled and controlling selves. Reflecting on their absurd newfriendships and terrible real estate deals, which she describes inhilarious detail, Marcus arrives at a dramatically new view of herdifficult parents and their relationship with her. Funny, compassionate,and beautifully written, Don't Say a Word is a moving account of a daughter finding her own story."
—Gail Pool, author of Lost Among the Baining: Adventure, Marriage, and Other Fieldwork

"Marcus is a gifted storyteller, and her memoir is a page-turner. It iswritten in a way that evokes every emotion imaginable in the scenesrecorded. Hers is a beautifully written tale that is likely true of manychildren observing their parents advance in age. Marcus' writing isfresh, comical, revealing, poignant. It hits you in the heart from allconceivable angles."
—Story Circle Network

Long Description

Edna and Leo, a perpetually warring, tyrannical pair in their 80s, begin wintering In Mexico, where they abandon their usual prudence to embrace adventure and a bevy of sketchy new friends. Soon, Edna adopts a pair of shyster builders whom she trusts over her own architect-daughter Elizabeth, and a farcical house results. Blithely indifferent to the calamities that result, the pair refuse all help from their too-compliant only child.Later, following her mother's sudden death, Elizabeth's wise, principled father attempts to fill his late wife's shoes with a string of loopy, live-in housekeepers--with privileges, he hopes. Before it is over the Mexican escapade will bring down the kind of disasters commonly found in pulp fiction. Why can't Elizabeth stop any of this from happening? No matter the madness, she cannot confront her parents any more than she ever could. In the end, the surprising way in which they come undone reveals just what they spent their lives trying to hide, thereby setting her free.Though unique in its loony details, Don't Say A Word! will resonate with beleaguered adult-children everywhere who will recognize the special misery of watching, helpless, as stubborn, diminished parents careen precariously toward the end of life.

Review Text

"What an achievement! Don't Say a Word! is evocative, smart, AND funny, with fresh insights about families on virtually every page. Marcus's drive to comprehend her past will inspire readers who felt silenced in childhood or whose talents and achievements went unappreciated. With this book, she breaks her silence, revealing hard-won realizations and a remarkable ability to laugh through the tears." --Barbara Schildkraut, MD, author of Unmasking Psychological Symptoms and Masquerading Symptoms "How well do we know our parents? Elizabeth Marcus confronts this question in her vibrant memoir, which follows the final decade of her parents' lives as they seem to age into inversions of their former controlled and controlling selves. Reflecting on their absurd new friendships and terrible real estate deals, which she describes in hilarious detail, Marcus arrives at a dramatically new view of her difficult parents and their relationship with her. Funny, compassionate, and beautifully written, Don't Say a Word is a moving account of a daughter finding her own story." --Gail Pool, author of Lost Among the Baining: Adventure, Marriage, and Other Fieldwork "Marcus is a gifted storyteller, and her memoir is a page-turner. It is written in a way that evokes every emotion imaginable in the scenes recorded. Hers is a beautifully written tale that is likely true of many children observing their parents advance in age. Marcus' writing is fresh, comical, revealing, poignant. It hits you in the heart from all conceivable angles." -- Story Circle Network

Review Quote

"What an achievement! Don't Say a Word! is evocative, smart, ANDfunny, with fresh insights about families on virtually every page.Marcus's drive to comprehend her past will inspire readers who feltsilenced in childhood or whose talents and achievements wentunappreciated. With this book, she breaks her silence, revealinghard-won realizations and a remarkable ability to laugh through thetears." --Barbara Schildkraut, MD, author of Unmasking Psychological Symptoms and Masquerading Symptoms "How well do we know our parents? Elizabeth Marcus confronts thisquestion in her vibrant memoir, which follows the final decade of herparents' lives as they seem to age into inversions of their formercontrolled and controlling selves. Reflecting on their absurd newfriendships and terrible real estate deals, which she describes inhilarious detail, Marcus arrives at a dramatically new view of herdifficult parents and their relationship with her. Funny, compassionate,and beautifully written, Don't Say a Word is a moving account of a daughter finding her own story." --Gail Pool, author of Lost Among the Baining: Adventure, Marriage, and Other Fieldwork "Marcus is a gifted storyteller, and her memoir is a page-turner. It iswritten in a way that evokes every emotion imaginable in the scenesrecorded. Hers is a beautifully written tale that is likely true of manychildren observing their parents advance in age. Marcus' writing isfresh, comical, revealing, poignant. It hits you in the heart from allconceivable angles." -- Story Circle Network

Description for Sales People

--For readers who loved . . . Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant? Roz Chast's hilarious and profound graphic memoir about her parents' final years and David Sedaris' laugh-out-loud, poignant essays about his dysfunctional family. --A fascinating personal story that sounds like madcap fiction--with a cast of colorful, bizarre characters, a surreal Mexican kidnapping, and the highjacking of a FedEx truck--but is all absolutely true. In trying to puzzle out the increasingly odd behavior of her previously sensible but tyrannical parents as they grow old in Mexico, the author comes to see that she'd never understood them at all. --A unique take on a timely issue: Over 44 million Americans are currently struggling with the mounting needs of their elderly parents, and, while how-to books abound, there are few complete comic narratives that plumb the emotional challenges involved, as we navigate the line between anguish and laughter, rage and love. --A huge target audience: The first of the world's 72 million Baby Boomers reached 70 this year, the threshold of old age. This book is perfect for Boomers, whose characteristic m.o. is to tackle each new phase of life head-on, embracing reality, with laughter.

Details