Hey Mom by Louie Anderson

Title: Hey Mom

Author: Louie Anderson

Read by:  Louie Anderson

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Length: Approximately 6 hours and 1 minute

Source: Review Copy from Simon & Schuster.  Thank-you!

I heard Louie Anderson talking about his new book on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and it made me really want to read it.  I jumped at the chance to be able to review the audiobook.

I was expecting a funny memoir about Louie and his mother, but what I found instead is a touching collection of letters where Louie ponders on his family life.  He thinks about things he wishes he would have done differently or questions he could have asked while his mother was still alive.  He had a hard childhood as one of eleven children with an alcoholic and verbally abusive father.  He and his mother both found solace through food.  He channels his mothers’ persona for his latest television role.

I’ll admit that I know of Louie Anderson, but I haven’t watched most of the programs he’s been on.  One item I didn’t like about the book is that it was written while he was filming and receiving awards for his new show, Baskets.  I haven’t seen this show and while this audiobook made me want to watch it, it also felt sometimes like a giant ad for Baskets.

I really enjoyed this book and was really touched by the honest thoughts that Anderson had about his family.  It was relatable – families are complicated. I liked that Louie Anderson narrated the audiobook.  It was perfect.

Favorite Quotes:

“Sadly, no one in our family ever said, "I love you." Do you realize that? The truth is, I think we were all frightened of saying it, since the obvious reply would've been. "Well, if this is love, what is hate like?”

Overall, Hey Mom was a touching look at complicated family life filled with Louie Anderson’s trademark humor.