Show, Don't Tell: A Writer, Her Teacher, and the Power of Sharing Our Stories

From the #1 New York Times bestselling writer and author of How to Love an American Man comes a memoir that inspires us to remember the special teachers in our lives and reflect on the change we create when we share our stories.

Mrs. Korthaus has always been ahead of her time—an educator who inspired her students to dream bigger, think deeper, and live boldly. For decades, she led an English classroom with caring and conviction, but it’s not until she’s retired, and then fighting cancer, that she begins to share her story: long ago marching with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., building a corporate career, and overcoming heartbreak before “accidentally” becoming a teacher and forever shaping the lives of countless young adults—including bestselling author Kristine Gasbarre.

In Show, Don’t Tell, Kristine reflects on her thirty-year friendship with this extraordinary teacher who shaped her life so significantly. She shares the profound lessons Mrs. Korthaus taught her and other students on self-discovery, resilience, strength, and showing up fully for life. It shines a spotlight on the power of sharing our lives and our stories with each other as it moves between tragedy, awe, and the heartwarming relationship forged over decades between two women from different generations. Above all, it delivers a moving reminder about the elders who’ve believed in us—and a call to thank them for the lives they influenced us to lead.

Kristine Gasbarre is a #1 New York Times bestselling writer and the author of How to Love an American Man: A True Story, as well as the lead editor for The Healthy at Reader's Digest (print & digital). Selling nearly a million copies combined, her books have been published in multiple languages and featured in PEOPLE, The New York Times, Rolling Stone, Glamour, NPR, HBO, the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN), and other international media outlets. She lives with her family in the San Francisco Bay Area, with a home in the Pennsylvania Wilds, and is a passionate volunteer for healthcare equity, voter rights, and animal rescue organizations.