To Be Honest

Most importantly, a big thank you to NetGalley, Michael Leviton, and Dreamscape Media for providing me with a copy of this publication in exchange for an unbiased review.

Ever since he could remember ("since he was born" is how he'd put it) Michael Leviton has always given and expected complete and utter honesty. Not just in instances that demand it but in every little thing. His parents were mostly to thank for instilling this integral trait in him from the very beginning along with the problems it seemed to have caused during every stage of life thus far. Questioning his school teachers' directives, making his peers uncomfortable and becoming a fixture to endless torment from girls was all in a day's work for Michael from kindergarten all the way into his thirties.

Told in an impressively lighthearted manner, the author places honesty under the microscope and dissects and scrutinizes it by asking essential questions. Are white lies really necessary? Would it be best to be blunt? What happens when we sugar coat things? What happens when we don't? All these curiosities are answered in as Leviton describes in great detail his unorthodox relationship with his parents and how what they've ingrained in him his whole life seems to be at the root of his shortcomings.

A very well-written, thought provoking memoir to laugh the whole way through, 3.5 stars is what I award 'To Be Honest'. And you'll just have to trust me when I say, I'm just being honest.

I wasn’t totally sure what to expect going into this, and I really enjoyed this book! I loved the author’s ability to reflect on his experiences and relationships in a very real and authentic way (which, you know, makes sense 🙂).

I also really enjoyed how, as a reader, I was able to follow this evolution because it was written in a very relatable way. I think it could have been very off putting given how he interacted with some people, but I actually found myself feeling like his honesty made a lot of sense, and really was refreshing.

I absolutely identified as an “other person” - caring so much about what people think of me & it really gave me a lot of new ways to looks at why I care. Giving people new perspective is one of the greatest things books give us, isn’t it?

I loved the author’s narration. He was able to laugh at himself, which was always engaging & made this fun to listen to.

I would like to thank NetGalley, Dreamscape Media, and Michael Leviton for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

This was a very interesting story.. I guess I’m glad I don’t associate with people this honest lol. His relationship with Eve had me cracking up. I love how extra she was.

I wasn't familiar with the author when I came across this title but it sounded interesting. I'm so happy I listened to this one! Beyond the fact that the author had a very unique childhood, he proves to be a great storyteller.

Leviton was raised to always tell the truth. Wasn't everyone? Nope, not like this! All truth, all the time. No white lies to spare feelings. No sugarcoating. This certainly makes Leviton a unique kind of adult. People say they want the truth, but when they get it, it's often too hard to swallow. His complete honesty causes problems in job interviews and in personal relationships. In addition to very funny stories, the reader also gets to come along as Leviton grows and changes and we get to see some change in his family as well.

This one had me laughing out loud and is well worth a read or listen!

Thank you Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for the audio ARC in exchange for my honest review.

To Be Honest, by Michael Leviton, is the author's own story of being raised to only tell the truth. Because of things in their own pasts, Michael's parents, who met at fourteen, believed that honesty was the only way to go through life. They felt that there was never a reason to not tell the truth, to hold back the truth, to soften the truth. "Just tell the truth" was the family way, what made their family a "little honesty cult".  By the age of four, little Michael was all in, confronting everyone for not telling the truth, no one escaped his blunt honesty, not teachers, parents, siblings, fellow students, no one.  

Michael's family was not "normal" and they often suffered for it, but Michael's father didn't care what anyone thought and Michael followed in his footsteps. This policy leads to major roadblocks in life for Michael and his siblings, the inability to attain jobs or keep jobs, or to get first or second dates, get anywhere in life for very long. Michael eventually has to rethink his obsession with the truth, and face the damage this policy caused his family, himself, and those around him. There comes a time when he has a long list of things he won't do or discuss and that list is basically the opposite of everything he believed and did for the first twenty nine years of his life. 

Young Michael, playing chess with a dad, who'd never hold back to make things easier for him, being truthful to Santa and having a good laugh with him, telling off teachers, stepping on everyone's feelings while thinking that's the only way to be. I laughed, Michael laughs, as he narrates his story, but the story is sad, too. I enjoyed Michael's journey, where everything he believed has to be turned on its head so that he can become the person he'd like to be, needs to be, ditching it all to make his way back to a better place, to be a better person. I enjoyed his story very much and I'll be thinking about his experiences and how they relate to all of us, as we navigate communication, caring (the key is caring), and the power and destruction of honesty. 

Thank you to Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for this ARC.

a memoir that epitomizes the adage “truth is stranger than fiction.”

i didn't know what to expect when i picked up michael leviton's "to be honest;" all i knew was that it was the story of a man whose parents raised him to always tell the truth, no matter what. i was excited to hear about the foreseeable mishaps a life of unfiltered truth would lead to. what i wasn't expecting was a case study of impressively advanced character development.

over the years, leviton discovers that expressing any and all thoughts that pop into your head isn't the cut-and-dry honesty his parents made it out to be. honesty and truth can, in fact, take the form of making mental notes that shape your interactions with people instead of explicitly telling said people why they are wrong in your eyes. for example, while pre-character-growth leviton would have confronted a friend about bailing on a shared project, ultimately shaming his friend and marring any future friendship prospects, post-character-growth leviton finished the project on his own and made a mental note to avoid collaborating with that friend in the future, thus preserving the friendship and avoiding an unnecessarily drawn-out and exhausting argument about etiquette. it takes an emotionally advanced person to be able to self-assess and come to that kind of conclusion, often aided by years of therapy, and leviton manages to distill this knowledge within a few chapters of a book.

the audiobook is narrated by the author, a decision that lends the audiobook a necessary grounding in reality. while leviton is no professional audiobook narrator – he stumbles over words at times and laughs nervously at embarrassing moments – as a listener, i embraced these moments of human-ness, as i often had to remind myself the book was, in fact, memoir and not fiction.

to my delight, "to be honest" exceeded my expectations. what began as a morbid fascination about how overly-reductive thinking about truth-telling can impact relationships and one's life trajectory resulted in a moving character development arc found in only the best of stories. and, as a bonus, i finally figured out why michael leviton's name sounded familiar: i had heard an ira-glass-adapted version of his story originally on "this american life.

thank you to netgalley and dreamscape media for an audio-arc in exchange for an honest review.

A really different type of memoir, but one anyone will relate to. Leviton explores the meaning of honesty in theory and practice in a personal yet universal way.

As I had the pleasure to receive an audiobook of To Be Honest, I simultaneously read and listened to this book, which has lately been my favorite way of reading in general. But since this is a memoir, it was amazing to listen to the author as a narrator as well, which made it a really special experience for me as a reader.

To Be Honest was certainly a surprise for me. I enjoy reading memoirs, but they are usually so intimately personal that besides a few life lessons and general knowledge, it is difficult to apply them to your life. This one is different; Michael Leviton tells his story of an upbringing in a family who basically worships honesty without considering the practical implications of this philosophy outside of the home. It's a topic I, as much as anyone, often struggle with - is it worth telling the truth in a given situation, and what lies exactly can I get away with?

Since he was little, Michael would never, ever lie - not to his parents, teachers, friends or strangers, even when they would never know the truth. Although this worked some of the time, Michael tells stories of when it didn't, all in a quirky, captivating way. While the reader will come to their own conclusions, I think an important observation is that the aithor's parents, who taught him to live this way, came from a very different reality.

*Thank you to the Publisher for a free advance copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

This was an interesting one.
Overall, I actually ended up enjoying this one. The author has lived an interesting life. He doesn't always paint himself in the best light and that's actually why I ended up rating the book so high. I think it is easy, when writing a memoir, for authors to write things in a way that makes them look better. This memoir does not do that.
In fact, you may hate the subject for much of the book but I believe that is intentional. He is a product of how he was raised and he was raised by a man who valued honesty above all else. What he doesn't seem to understand, until later, is that his feelings are not superior to others. But don't worry, he does learn this eventually.
He is not the most likeable guy at the beginning. I found myself irritated pretty frequently but I think the book is better for it's honesty in this. It could have softened his edges to make him more relatable or likeable but I think then that the changes he went through wouldn't have landed the way they did.
The chapters about his relationship are particularly interesting and funny while also being kind of sad.
The narration was great. You can feel the author poking fun at himself and laughing at the former things he used to say which makes you connect with him as a listener.

*received for free from netgalley for honest review* ngl i found most of this book overly annoying, luckily the author found the difference between being honest and being rude, the way his father would rid the center line of "everyones wrong but me and even if im wrong i dont care and neither should you" was wow. lots of things i didnt care for in this book mostly the black and white, i know the truth and theres only one truth (mine), that was a constant theme until the end, but at least they all seemed to have some personal growth so theres that.

Absolutely fascinating! Michael has been raised to be explicitly, brutally honest in all matters. He presents a world, that in many ways, would be infinitely easier to navigate if other parents followed suit. Imagine everyone saying exactly what they mean. However, the struggles he faces interacting with the rest of American society, social niceties included, really start stacking up as he becomes an adult. Michael challenges what is a lie and what is the truth in this memoir that will have you pondering the same questions.

PS: For audiobook listeners, hearing Michael laugh at the absurdity of his own life experiences is absolutely heartwarming, so personal, and comical.

Thank you to NetGalley, Dreamscape Media, and Michael Leviton for the ARC!

Michael Leviton's To Be Honest is so extraordinary that I listened to the book in a single day while I went about my errands. I'm not sure how Leviton balanced humor and such cringe-worthy "surely he didn't . . ." moments to demonstrate an absolute dedication to honesty that I had never before considered . . . but it worked.

This would be a wonderful book club or class selection, and the audiobook would allow lower level readers to join in the discussion on a range of topics including not only truth-telling but relationships, external validation of one's self worth, neuro-diversity, family dynamics and communication. Leviton's memoir explores moving from one extreme on the honesty scale, and it's a tremendous jumping-off point so readers can join Leviton in exploring an individual's own comfort level along such scale.

Thanks to the author, NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for providing a copy of this audio ARC.

This audiobook was not the memoir for me, I found the narration to talk at me rather than tell a story. I found the honesty a little bit too much for me but I did like the take away that not everyone will like the same things as you do and that is okay.

Reading/listening to ‘To Be Honest’ by Michael Leviton reminded me of having a deeply satisfying and connecting conversation that is only achieved when both people are sincerely interested and completely honest with each other. Unfortunately in my experience, this kind of connection is often rare, which is what made this memoir so special to me. In ‘To Be Honest,’ Leviton recounts his strange childhood in which his parents were unapologetically honest and raised him and his siblings to be so. This doesn’t sound too strange in concept, but quickly takes a wild turn when you discover some of the things expressed under the guise of full transparency. His father’s brutal honesty in particular, can be simultaneously offputting and quite hilarious. It’s interesting to observe the influence his father’s callous honesty and unyielding emphasis on logic has on Michael, a highly intelligent and emotional child. Due to his upbringing and maybe his inherent personality, Leviton is an unflinchingly honest child, sometimes to the detriment of himself and others. He holds strong to these values and any dishonesty feels wrong to him. As it can be difficult for Leviton to sustain relationships with others, he becomes more introspective about he and others communicate. I found this fascinating to think about, how we so often hide our true feelings from others in order to make them feel comfortable. Reading about his life also made me think about my role as mother to two young children and how I communicate with them. I both listened to and read this book. Leviton narrates his memoir masterfully and completely charmed me. He lets the full range of emotions and laughter come through at different points. I look forward to seeing what he writes next!

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for providing this digital ARC.

Thank you Netgalley for this advanced audio edition of To Be Honest by Michael Leviton.

Wow, I have a lot of mixed feelings about this memoir. First of all, I appreciate Leviton's willingness to dive into what I perceived to be sensitive parts of his life. He describes his family growing up, tongue-in-cheek, as a "little honesty cult." But, after reading it, it really did seem cult-like. He was literally given truth telling exercises and conditioned to ONLY be honest, regardless of his ability to fit in or how it made others feel. Because of this Leviton experiences most of his life struggling to find his place in regular society.

I wonder about Leviton and his dad, perhaps they had similar personality traits that caused them to behave the way they did. Because it wasn't even always about total honestly, but also gaslighting and being downright mean, all in honesty's name. I say that because Leviton has two siblings that seemed to be much more interested in having friends, and also got endlessly frustrated with their family.

But over time Leviton goes into an almost "truth telling recovery" and tries tirelessly to tell lies in order to preserve feelings and fit in, basically undoing all of his years of conditioning. This is an experience that introduces a whole other set of issues for Leviton, and makes him question whether or not he's even being honest to himself.

This is a well written memoir, read by the author himself about what it was like being raised in a home where only honesty was acceptable. It raises a lot of really interesting questions like What does it mean to always speak your truth? When can brutal honesty be destructive? What is the difference between speaking facts and giving an honest opinion. Can a person only be themselves through complete honesty?

In To Be Honest, memoirist Michael Leviton offers a close look at growing up in a family that practices radical honesty. The book begins benignly enough with young Michael fully in the know about the pain to expect from an immunization, but as time goes on, the reader is plunged deeper into disturbing family dynamics, particularly the brutal honesty the author’s father models, an honesty that Michael emulates, and which seemed to me unnecessarily cruel. A cruelty perhaps born out of a lack of awareness of the impact of one’s words on others. As a reader/listener I couldn’t help wondering if Michael and his father are on the autism spectrum. Though the subject was never mentioned, it might provide some insight into a value on absolute honesty that translates into hurting others and experiencing ridicule themselves. Thankfully, there is a turn in his story as a young adult when Michael moves away from home and embarks in social experiments with others as he tries out other communication styles and comes to understand the prevalence, and often practicality, of lying and withholding comment to spare others. There are moments of humor and hilarity as well as horror for the reader as we root for Michael to finds ways to successfully navigate relationships and to find genuine happiness in a world that pays lip service to honesty but buckles under the weight of total honesty.

I received this book from #netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This memoir walks the fine line of being honest and our societies acceptance of the white lie. The author relives his childhood of his parents being “brutally” honest and never sugar coating anything for him. Growing up with living as honestly as his only true virtue developed him into an odd person with very little friends.

The memoir had quite a few places I was cringing at and plenty of others were I felt so sorry for him. As an adult he was struggling to make connections and create relationships with people that were long lasting. At times during the memoir I did lose interest but I wanted to hear where we was today and was hoping for a Cinderella story.

To Be Honest was memoir by Michael Leviton that was read by the author. Michael grew up being told to be honest with everyone no matter who it was at all costs. He was taught by his parents that everyone should want to hear the truth and never contemplated on what it might feel to be the person on the receiving end. His father was the king of honesty and held him to be the same way. As life progressed, Michael realized he didn't do well lying and could count three lies that he told by the age of twenty-nine. Each one was seared in his brain forever.

The memoir is Michael's recount on what he was thinking about during his childhood and his reflection back at what was the right thing to do and what wasn't the wisest decisions. His brutal honesty and self-evaluations are spot on and fascinating as he reminisces about his family's relationship, family camp, and his friendships or absence of them. Michael discloses his failed dating life in his teens and 20's and how he ventures to switch up his life as an experiment.

I would recommend the Audiobook to anyone that enjoys memoirs. It was definitely a different was to grow up.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for allowing me to listen to this book for an honest opinion.

This book has wit and did make me laugh many times. I listened to this through audio 🎧. That the author appears to have grown up and is ok is good news to report. His parents seem very nice, but believe in Absolute Total Honesty.

This poor child, it’s a miracle he survived school, friends, and even found himself a girlfriend. I think the parents needed to read a book titled, ‘Basic Common Sense for New Parents and it’s easy to Achieve’. His Mom could not understand that saying the milk was spoiled was fine, but it was a little more complicated when it came to Santa. Luckily, he was Jewish, so that spared some anguish, but if another child asked him about Santa he would have to give the true details. Naturally, his Mom finds an ‘Alternative Camp’ where his honesty will be appreciated. Poor Michael was actually told he should be so honest that he would hurt people’s feeling and could never utter even a White Lie for Self Preservation.

Imagine, when his girlfriend decides to surprise him with a special dinner that she works hard on. Well, she really can’t cook. He would have to tell her the food was awful. A relative gets him a special gift trying to make him happy. He doesn’t like it, yes he has to tell him the gift is awful. His Dad thinks Full Criticism is essential. Even at 5, his Dad could not be Easy on him playing chess and let him win once.

Luckily, for the author, he finally figures out that honesty is a worthy virtue, but a little diplomacy and gracious behavior will make life run a lot smoother. I wanted to cheer for him. Yes, you are doing just fine. He seems to take his upbringing in stride and use his odd upbringing to entertain us. That he doesn’t need a shrink 5X a week, his parents should be very proud.

So, listen if you enjoy some Satire and need a reminder that your family wasn’t as bad as you thought, listen to this book.

Thank you NetGalley and Media, LLC for an Advance Copy. I really appreciate it, and I mean that with the utmost honesty.

I was interested in this book because I am often extremely honest as well. "Does this dress make me look fat?" Is a dreaded question, because if it is unflattering, I will let you know. But my honest side didn't connect with the author's. His family was honest to the point of being rude and they just came off as odd. I thought I would connect with the story more, and I didn't which is usually okay, but it didn't keep my attention the whole time.

Wow, what a book. To Be Honest by Michael Leviton was like riding a roller coaster blindfolded; you never know which direction the story will take you. I loved the fact Michael read the book to make it more intimate. I especially enjoyed his snickers as he read over something he saw as humorous. It is hard to describe his honesty, hard to decide if I would enjoy his company, and harder still to stop listening to the story. To Be Honest made a mundane day much more enjoyable.

This was a pleasantly surprising memoir read by the author. I really enjoyed Michael Leviton's storytelling and appreciated his candor (lol). Seriously, how could someone be THAT honest. I was captivated (and sometimes frustrated) by his dedication to the truth and by his story's ups and downs — the teenage orgy, the family camps, the job interviews all had me loling.

I’ll be honest right at the top here. The only issue for me is Leviton’s reading voice. This is not his fault in any way; I’m an audiobook voice snob.

As for the book itself, it was gripping every feeling in my body and shaking them around. I both felt repelled by honesty and that I was kindred spirits with Leviton. Honesty is most certainly not the best policy. Never having had to relearn a social construct, I truly felt emerged in Leviton’s life, which speaks to his writing talent. I found myself wondering how many lies I had told to spare someone's feelings, how many lies I'd been told for the same reason, and where this unspoken rule came from.

While I could recommend this book on the premise alone - boy cannot tell a lie and here's why - I think people will enjoy Leviton's memoir for it's moving writing, self deprecation, and of course, honesty.

Special thanks to NetGalley, Michael Leviton and Dreamscape Media for gifting me with an early audio copy of To Be Honest. In exchange I offer my unbiased (and completely honest) review.

“Most people think lying is good parenting. My parents weren’t most people.”

I “honestly” don’t know what initially drew me to this book, (perhaps the cover) but I’m certainly glad I did. Michael Leviton was raised in a home he affectionately calls a “Little Honesty Cult”. Truth telling was paramount; no sugarcoating, no holding back, well.... NO LYING. To understand what this truly means, Michael regales us with childhood experiences and tales which were often hilarious but sometimes quite sad and some outright cringeworthy. While this book truly had me laughing out loud there is a serious poignancy to the madness too. How the power of words can affect others, the keys to diplomacy, what is compassion and when do you need to “edit” your feelings. This book is deeper than I expected and left me thinking about my own relationships with my family and friends. It’s also an interesting look at a dysfunctional father/son relationship. I would definitely recommend picking up this memoir if you’re seeking a good blend of levity and seriousness.

The audio is read by the author. He does a great job of expressing his experiences with the right amount of hilarity and humility.

This audiobook version of Leviton’s memoir was an entertaining look at the importance the author’s parents put on honesty. Growing up, being honest was so engrained in young Michael that it trumped any sort of social grace or worrying about hurting other people’s feelings. According to his father, if you couldn’t hear the truth, it was because of your own weakness. Leviton talks about how kids are natural truth tellers until around the age of two when they become conditioned to lie. As an adult, entering the world as a truth teller proved more complicated for Leviton, demonstrated by circumstances at work, friendships and in romantic relationships. This was a unique premise and an often humorous reflection on living an honest life and the trouble this can cause. Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the advanced review copy of this book.

To be honest 😂😂😂 I thought this book was so genuine and funny and relatable and it is one of the best books I've read in a very long time. Basically it's a sort of coming-of-age story from the perspective of the actual person in biography form. Someone who grew up being taught to always be brutally honest with family members As well as complete strangers and everyone in between, regardless of circumstances or situation. This perspective on life that he shared with his family had a detrimental effect that left him essentially feeling like an alien plopped down in the middle of the world He didn't understand how to communicate with. Kind of like Sheldon from The big bang theory but completely different. Lol somehow he was so relatable even though the way he thought was not relatable. I just don't have any other way to say it other than that he was just a genuinely great person who is misunderstood and probably still is but this book is a bridge to a world that's always misunderstood him and I loved it. Thank you so much #Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to review this funny, lovely book. I laughed, I cried, and I got to read it for free. (I highly recommend the audiobook by the way) It can't get better than that. Lol

First, a disclaimer: I received this audiobook in advance of publishing in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own opinions. Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with this book. Second, another disclaimer: I will be reviewing this book, but I will not be granting a star rating on Goodreads. My star rating system only works for fiction and I am uncomfortable giving a completely subjective star rating to a non-fiction book. Particularly, because most of the non-fiction books that I consume are memoirs or related to social issues in which I am not an expert.

On to the review:

This is a GREAT memoir and I really enjoyed it and really related to it. I did not relate to the author’s upbringing, but I did relate to the honesty journey. I doubt that Mr. Leviton will read this review, but I feel like laughing and telling him to imagine being a WOMAN. When rejecting a man’s advances often puts you in a dangerous situation or when societal expectations consistently force you to please other people over yourself, the honesty path has higher stakes and a steeper learning curve. AND, don’t mention this aloud… because a lot of people will deem you a crazy man-hater or simply not believe you. My heart is sincerely with the author’s mother and I wish her the best of luck.

As for the memoir itself, I found myself nodding and chuckling along with the author as I listened. While his honesty was considered rude by any social standards, I could relate to the feeling that social niceties are often a manipulation of sorts. I could relate to his quiet recognition of human behavior patterns. And I liked the author a lot. Even when he was a jerk, I liked him.

After reading this memoir though, I think that I may try to implement speaking up more often. I am introverted by nature. Introverted enough that a year of isolation has not bothered me a lot. I am not dying to go out and socialize. I don’t require physical affection or even conversation with people to the same degree that most people do. I have no real desire to go hang out with people or have long discussions about nothing or even eat out. I am happy to be alone with my thoughts, my books, my journal, and my own delicious food. In fact, getting to stay home all day every day for work has been awesome for me. I hope I never have to go back to sitting in an office and chatting in the breakroom. Because I am introverted, I have no natural inclination to say what I think or how I feel. BUT, maybe I can find a balance between keeping everything close to my chest as a protection mechanism and revealing some of what I am thinking or feeling in a productive and gentle way. Maybe I can improve my relationships by trusting in some of the people close to me more.

So, in short, this is a GREAT memoir that will entertain the reader, make the reader think, and encourage the reader to look at their own relationship with honesty. I do recommend this one.

I thorougly enjoyed reading Leviton's memoir, so the audiobook cemented that amusement; the author himself is the narrator, which made the experience all the more exciting, especially when he laughed at his own embarrassing moments.

“To Be Honest: A Memoir” is what Michael Leviton calls his “tragic love affair with honesty.” It’s hilarious, creative, inspiring and kind of genius. “TBH” is a truly entertaining read because Michael is a unicorn person—unlike any other author I’ve read.

“My parents taught us to be honest,” Michael explains. This all seems good and fine and normal until he peels back what he really means. “Most parents teach their kids to be polite, to hide their thoughts and feelings. Barely anyone really wants their kids to be honest. As soon as their kids are honest for a moment, they freak out and punish them.”

That said, Michael—and especially his father—are brutally honest. Therefore, they come across as rude, too opinionated, outspoken, condescending, negative, critical and obnoxious. Being overly candid and direct also means they’re often inappropriate because they hurt others feelings. Their straight talking also means they’re creepy and awkward. After all, do we really want to know what someone is really thinking and what’s going on in their life? Michael admits to having no shame because—what’s the big deal?—he doesn’t care if people don’t like him.

What makes this book special is that it’s so uncommon to see men being vulnerable and sharing their innermost feelings. Michael shares examples of his issues with dating, being in a long-term relationship, interviewing for jobs and interacting with strangers. He leaves it all on the table.

Michael writes about his experience because he wants there to be more truth in the world. But, damn. It’s so hard to be authentic. No one wants to really know us, our true thoughts, our insecurities. They’d prefer to only know what’s on the surface. They want niceties and polite, politically correct etiquette. Unfortunately, we don’t know how to express ourselves in an honest way. We just want to fit in. But doing so involves the telling of “white” lies, overt lies. And it involves becoming someone else—someone others want us to be.

Another thing I love about this book is the writing. Michael’s beautiful descriptions and bits of wisdom and humor sprinkled in make me envision this as a movie. I can see him exactly in my mind’s eye. And the story is fast-paced and funny. I’m along for the ride. Also, his narration totally makes the audiobook a blast. He knows he’s funny so I can tell he’s grinning while reading. I’m sure he was cracking himself up during sections and had to redo it a few times.

Special thanks to Dreamscape Media for providing me with a copy of the audiobook, via NetGalley, in exchange for my honest review.

This was an entertaining read and definitely different from any kind other kind of memoir I have ever read. Leviton's parents were brutally honest to the point where they came off as rude and kind of odd. In turn, this made Leviton come off the same way. This is a thought provoking read even though I did struggle in staying interested with it. I just found it hard to empathize with Michael. It's interesting to see how it shaped him as he grew up and his experiences along the way. This really makes you think about the fine lines between lying and telling the truth - when it is or isn't okay to lie.

Thank you to Netgalley and to the publisher for the advanced copy in the format of an audiobook. The author did a great job bringing his own story to life.

***I received an ARC from Netgalley and the Publisher in exchange for my honest review.***

***I listened to this book via Audiobook.***

Whoa. This book. This book is unlike my usual book of choice. It is interesting and unique in it's own way. The author discusses his life, chronologically, of honesty. Something I noticed, as a school-based Speech-Language Pathologist, is that honesty could really be misconstrued as a lack in social skills; which, as the author portrays in this book, kind of is. It is interesting that we, people as a whole, rely so much on lying.

Although this book did have some childhood memories that I perceived as shocking, such as interactions that he had with his parents that us "dishonest" people may find odd and there were a couple of stories that could have likely been left out, it really got me thinking; and for that, I am grateful. Overall, interesting listen!

When people say they had a unique experience growing up, it isn't usually because they were taught to be honest. In Michael Leviton was taught to never tell a lie. In fact, his entire family followed this one simple principle: that the truth should always be told in any situation. Michael's experiences growing up in what he describes as "cult-like" is culminated in the reflective memoir, To Be Honest.

Despite the story being about himself, Leviton certainly has no problem showing his faults. Leviton is blunt, judgmental, and often socially out of loop with most of the people around him. This is most apparent when Leviton is a child, but the pitfall of always being honest has a profound impact on Leviton's adulthood as well. It was interesting to watch a child call people hypocritical and stupid only to realize later as an adult that perhaps he had been too harsh after all. His story is a great reminder that while the truth is important and powerful, it always isn't asked for.

The aspect of the story I enjoyed the most was its premise. Every child is taught to be honest and truthful, but how many people truly practice this in adulthood? Many holidays (in the United States) are sugar coated with stories which have no proof to back them. Many social conversations ask for simple pleasantries instead of deep, truthful substance ("How are you?" is often used as a greeting than a true question). This memoir definitely reaffirms the concept that any principle faithfully kept is only a step from radical extremism. It also made me think deeply about how valuable truth is in a modern Westernized country, as well as how many people actually want to hear it.

The hard part of this story is certainly tied to the faults of Leviton and the slow pacing of the novel, which can make it hard to want to continue listening. While Leviton does learn quite a bit by the end of the story, there is plenty of learning the writer still requires by the end of the book. The reader does not easily forget the pretentious and jaded character we are greeted with at the end of the story, as well as the combative moments we see with him with those he has close connections to.

Overall, this book has a strangely refreshing concept for a memoir. While the story is not funny, there are great moments that border interesting and ironic. If you are a fan of strange nonfiction, I would highly recommend picking this book up at a local bookstore for your next read. Thank you to NetGalley for giving me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you for the opportunity to download this audiobook. I accessed it while testing a future update to the NetGalley Shelf app. This test was open only to an exclusive portion of NetGalley members, and this review will be hidden from visibility by the NetGalley team.

Michael Leviton was brought up by parents who believed in honesty and direct speaking at all times, a trait that most people would think of as ideal & aspirational, but as young Michael found out, the world doesn't really operate on honesty - "little white lies" or "not hurting people's feelings" are part of mainstream life.
In this book, Michael not only tells anecdotes of times when his honesty backfired (making friends, dating, even his inability to get a job - interviewers don't generally appreciate honesty!) but he also delves into honesty. He asks whether life would be better if everyone was brutally honest, or if the occasional white lie/sugar coating is really necessary to survive. Towards the end of the book, he starts living by a new set of rules, ones which seem to be almost the opposite of the ones he has lived by so far. His experiences are quite revealing!

Overall, this is a humorous and fascinating insight into truth & why people lie, as well as an interesting memoir/life story. I listened to the audiobook version, which was narrated by the author. This bring it to life in a particularly unique way. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys memoirs, or wants to explore what truth & honesty really mean and whether honesty is always the best policy!

Disclosure: I received a copy of this audiobook free via NetGalley. Whilst thanks go to the publisher for the opportunity to read it, all opinions are my own.
#DreamscapeMedia #NetGalley #AudioBook

I appreciate what this book tried to do in about three-hundred pages. Michael's relationship with telling lies was well-portrayed. This book essentially allows its readers to ask themselves what being truthful really means. It brings to light many questions, that's probably one of its most solid points. I listened to the audiobook narrated by the author. The pleasant listening experience made the book funnier than the topics it decided to tackle. It even felt lighthearted at times, all thanks to Michael's wonderful narration. Still, I kept spacing out from the story and feeling like I didn't want to keep going. After reaching the halfway mark, I just felt dissatisfied with the direction the book had taken. I expected a more engaging story than the one I had gotten. I wanted to connect on a deeper level with Michael's character and the countless struggles he encountered, but it just didn't happen for me, no matter how many more chapters I read. To me, this was just another story that had a lot of potentials but sadly decided to settle on a more stale approach. While the first half of the book was captivating and kept me hooked, the latter half was too slow-paced for my liking, and I felt myself growing tired with the whole story. I wish I could have loved this more. Nevertheless, I did enjoy it, for the most part. Therefore, I would recommend reading this if you feel intrigued after reading the premise, and if you enjoy memoirs in general, even when they do not reach their full potential.

Every now and then I stumble across a hidden, shining gem. A quirky, strange and offbeat memoir about a life that is completely remarkable in every way. Usually these books have an avid fan base but they rarely achieve commercial success and are typically not well known in bookish circles.

To Be Honest by Michael Leviton is one of those gems, and I am making it my mission to bring everyone's attention to this amazing, and highly entertaining real-life story.

Readers of any of Augusten Burroughs work, but especially Running with Scissors, will be familiar with this style of book. I like to call them dysfunctional memoirs". They tackle life stories filled with human and family dysfunction, often sprinkled liberally with mental health issues and psychological challenges.

In this case, Michael Leviton recounts his life from his earliest memories through to more recent times through the lens of his family's obsession with being truthful. It is unapologetic in its bluntness and Leviton presents the most strange occurences with a straight-forward delivery.

I listened to the audiobook kindly provided by @netgalley and narrated by the author. Honestly, I've never come across an author narrated audiobook that worked.. voice actors spend so much time and effort honing their craft, and they have so much more command of their voices. Apologies to the author, but the narration really didn't work for me. The random inflections of laughter left me confused - was he laughing at himself based on what he had learnt, or was he uncomfortable? His voice was also very monotone throughout, and I sped it up to x2 speed because the pacing felt off to me.

Once I got past the narration, the story was wonderful in a familiar car-crash kind of way. I couldn't look away. I found myself stealing time to listen, eager to hear what bizarre decisions were about to be made.

I always appreciate a flawed protagonist, and this book delivered that in droves. I think I most connected with the author as someone who has grown and learned from their experiences. Having been presented with a very extreme upbringing he was able to temper that later in life through his own hard work and drive to better understand the world and our alien cultural norms.

I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this to anyone who appreciates sharp, witty and ironic stories that are more than a little wild.