"Lyrical, funny and passionate....she's a serious writer."
"Here in these pages, Parker is a woman blessed with social intelligence and great sensitivity to detail, who treasures genuine emotion over empty posturing and lives according to instinct and intuition."
The New York Times Book Review
"Intimate and polished."
"By turns fiercely intelligent and downright goofy, Parker is above all relentlessly self-critical, and often self-deprecating. Among the many things we learn she cannot do are juggle, manage money, and say no. What she can do is write. Many actors produce books, but few of these leave a reader wanting more;Parker is a formidably talented exception."
"Parker's first book is unconventional, spirited, refreshingly honest, and painfully funny....Each letter proves Parker as a writer capable of inspiring depth and self-reflection. With Dear Mr. You , this accomplished actress can confidently add "slash writer" to her bio — and her fans should consider that addendum just as confidently."
Mary-Louise Parker’s Dear Mr. You is straight-up fantastic; a gripping and deeply humane and often hilarious book. It catches glimpses of life at all sorts of unexpected moments, electrifying them with its sharp-eyed astonishment at how absurd and joyous things can get. There’s nothing cheaply-earned about its wonder; nothing sugarcoated in its gratitude.It’s all grit, all messy particulars—full of surprise and full-throated in its song.”
To have an artist accomplished in one genre triumph in another—seemingly out of the blue—is an extraordinary event. Mary-Louise Parker’s Dear Mr. You is a pants-pissingly funny, gut-wrenching meditation on her loving and tormented encounters with the masculine. From grandfather to father to son to the wacky, pre-Burning Man hippie with a loincloth who haunts her at a co-op job to the lover who deserves the coda ‘Sleep tight, little monster.’ Whether honoring the ash-covered firefighter she sees on 9/11 or shouting as a crazy person at her malignantly lost cabdriver, Parker merges memoir with poetry in this haunting, sui generis work. I drank it down in one gulp, then started back at page one again. A magnificent, necessary surprise.
"The book is written in a smart, beguiling voice that is inextricably entwined with qualities that Ms. Parker radiates as an actress. There’s as much flintiness as reckless charm. Flirtation and mischief are big parts of her arsenal. So is the honest soul-searching that gives this slight-looking book much more heft than might be expected....Its tone is brave and warmly conspiratorial, neither of which has ever hurt an already well-known, professionally adorable person when it comes to attracting readers. That Ms. Parker’s book is so seriously good seems like overkill."
The New York Times Janet Maslin
"Quite stunning...At times poetic, at times deeply funny, these missives strike the right balance between sentiment and fact, storytelling and musing."
A bold, powerful, and decidedly non-Hollywood exercise… Each letter paints a fuller picture of its author. . . . [Parker's] poet’s prose is lyrical, funny, sad, strange, and very often beautiful . . . Yes, she’s a writer, too.
"In an industry that produces replicas, there is no one else quite like Mary-Louise Parker...Funny, heartbreaking, and profound."
"I am a memoir connoisseur. I teach the form. I read dozens upon dozens of 'true' stories every year, and only two or three stand out. Dear Mr. You stands out."
" Smart, funny, sad, entertaining, never boring. It is that rare thing in books written by bold-faced names: a very pleasant surprise. Put it another way: If no one knew who you were, this would still be a book worth reading."
" That rarest of things: A celebrity actor’s memoir that briefly elevates the form with a literary approach and some real style."
"Mary-Louise Parker is a smart, smart woman who GETS LIFE. In Dear Mr. You , Parker puts together all the letters she’s written to the men in her life. Her grandfather, a priest, boyfriends. It’s all there. It’s dynamite."
"Dear Ms. You...What could have been merely a trope or a trick becomes more than that by virtue of your sheer perspicacity, your willingness to wear your vulnerability on your sleeve, and some excellent, stylish writing. You can add to your resume, alongside outstanding actress, accomplished author."
"The author's wit and passion shine through."
"Poetic and often hilarious."
"Dear Mr. You boasts both innovative style and profound substance. . . . Parker’s writing is full of poetry, too, with lines as startling as breaking glass. . . . Flashing backward and forward in time, and into and out of all these lives, Dear Mr. You is really about finding the beauty, the humor — and the sorrows — in our lives and the lives of others, and being glad and grateful for all of it. So here is my letter: Dear Ms. Parker, Thank you for this dazzling collection."
"Bruisingly honest."
"Parker dives into complex topics that aren’t always easy to put to paper with humor and rich, full writing. She draws the readers in and will have them hooked until the final page. Dear Mr. You is a thrilling and brilliant début by an accomplished actor."
"This book will shake your soul out. Funny, surprising, angry, intimate, political, saucy, profound, and very very tender indeed, this is a book that will pass from mother to daughter to father to son and back to mother again. A wonderful literary achievement."
"Parker's prose is infused with a perfect balance of sarcasm, humor and poetic language. Her letters shine with candid, self-aware depth—unabashed in revealing the truth of her own nature and experiences."
"Unveils intimate details about her childhood and her relationships with a refreshing sincerity."
"The farthest thing imaginable from a celebrity memoir...a portrait of a human life apart from the cycles of fame: private, flawed, strange, funny, polished and reflective."
"Parker stakes her claim as 'best literary writer' among contemporary celebrities with this fiction-memoir hybrid. The title refers to the book’s epistolary approach: it features a series of real and fiction letters sent to the men in her life. It’s often funny as hell."
"Leave it to Mary-Louise Parker to remind us why we care about celebrity memoirs in the first place."
"Yes, that Mary-Louise Parker (Weeds , Proof ). Her debut memoir is couched as a series of letters—funny, heartbreaking, steamy, wise—to men who have touched her life: friends, family, lovers and total strangers....Parker doesn't name names or connect dots. What she does is provide a series of strobe-lit glimpses into an extraordinary life."
"Parker writes with a poetic urgency and flighty grace that you’ve seen before in the characters she’s played. And the result is remarkably compelling."
"Deeply funny and entirely original."
"Poetic and often hilarious."
"Unveils intimate details about her childhood and her relationships with a refreshing sincerity."
"Leave it to Mary-Louise Parker to remind us why we care about celebrity memoirs in the first place."
"I am a memoir connoisseur. I teach the form. I read dozens upon dozens of 'true' stories every year, and only two or three stand out. Dear Mr. You stands out."
"Dear Mr. You boasts both innovative style and profound substance. . . . Parker’s writing is full of poetry, too, with lines as startling as breaking glass. . . . Flashing backward and forward in time, and into and out of all these lives, Dear Mr. You is really about finding the beauty, the humor — and the sorrows — in our lives and the lives of others, and being glad and grateful for all of it. So here is my letter: Dear Ms. Parker, Thank you for this dazzling collection."
A bold, powerful, and decidedly non-Hollywood exercise… Each letter paints a fuller picture of its author. . . . [Parker's] poet’s prose is lyrical, funny, sad, strange, and very often beautiful . . . Yes, she’s a writer, too.
"Yes, that Mary-Louise Parker (Weeds , Proof ). Her debut memoir is couched as a series of letters—funny, heartbreaking, steamy, wise—to men who have touched her life: friends, family, lovers and total strangers....Parker doesn't name names or connect dots. What she does is provide a series of strobe-lit glimpses into an extraordinary life."
"A colorful anthology of funny, lonely and poignant moments from one woman's life. Her biographical approach is extremely innovative. Parker takes a hard look at the men in her life in order to analyze their impact on the woman she is today. And that woman is complex, compassionate, loving and talented."
"[Parker's] acting talent is undeniable—and so, it would appear, is her talent as a writer."
Mary-Louise Parker narrates her own collection of essays in epistolary form. It’s a memoir of letters written to often unnamed men—boyfriends, family members—who were significant in and influenced her life. Her gently expressive performance matches her often dry wit and gives her confessions an air of authenticity and intimacy. More crafted than the typical celebrity memoir, Parker’s book moves back and forth in time, highlighting moments both funny and serious, as when she contrasts silly college sexual escapades with a humbling lesson in taking constructive criticism from a professor who didn’t like her. Parker’s blend of mischief, tenacity, intelligence, and sensitivity shines through her performance. Her many fans will enjoy. A.F. 2017 Audies Finalist © AudioFile 2017, Portland, Maine
