AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES AND USA TODAY BESTSELLER • NAMED A BEST BOOK OF THE MONTH BY
TIME MAGAZINE AMAZON AND KOBO • NAMED MOST ANTICIPATED BY LIT HUB PUREWOW AND W
MAGAZINE “ Gossip is the only cultural tradition I care about and Kelsey McKinney has
written its Bible” – Samantha Irby #1 NYT bestselling author From the host of the Normal
Gossip podcast a delightfully insightful exploration of our obsession with gossip that weaves
together journalism cultural criticism and memoir - now in paperback! As the pandemic
forced us to socialize at a distance Kelsey McKinney was mourning the juicy updates and
jaw-dropping stories she’d typically collect over drinks with friends—and from her hunger the
blockbuster Normal Gossip podcast was born. With listenership in the millions Kelsey found
herself thinking more critically about gossip as a form and wanting to better understand the
role it plays in our culture. In You Didn' t Hear This From Me McKinney explores the
murkiness of everyday storytelling. Why is gossip considered a sin and how can we better
recognize when it' s being weaponized? Why do we think we’re entitled to every detail of a
celebrity’s personal life? And how do we define “gossip ” anyway? As much as the book aims to
treat gossip as a subject worthy of rigor it also hopes to capture the heart of gossiping: how
enchanting and fun it can be to lean over and whisper something a little salacious into your
friend’s ear. With wit and honesty McKinney unmasks what we' re actually searching for
when we demand to know the truth—and how much the truth really matters in the first place.
