Confessions of a Forty-Something F**k Up (Confessions, 1)

Product Information

I've said it before that I'm not overly fond of books that talk about the pandemic, as I want escapism, I don't want to read about something I lived through. But Alexandra has found a balance here. She's mentioned it - as anyone would if their book is set during that time - but it's not a main plot point. It helps give context to a few things, but the story would equally be as great without it.

Now a major TV series. Read the hilarious rom-com that inspired the hit new sitcom Not Dead Yet starring Gina Rogriguez ( Jane the Virgin), Hannah Simone ( New Girl) and Lauren Ash ( Superstore). As recommended on Davina McCall's Making the Cut podcast, and perfect for fans of Dolly Alderton, Ruth Jones and Marian Keyes. Confessions of a Forty-Something by Alexandra Potter will make you laugh, and it might even make you cry. Above all, it will remind you that you're not on your own – we're all in this together. Synopsis (It's a fiction book, so it helps…from Netgalley, the provider of the book for me to review.) You'd think you be allowed to relax over Christmas, but not in the world of the Thursday Murder Club.

Featured Reviews

It’s rare for any book to actually make me laugh out loud like this one did (more than once) and for a book to resonate on so many levels with me. The women whom I love and admire for their strength and grace did not get that way because shit worked out. They got that way because shit went wrong and they handled it. They handled it in a thousand different ways on a thousand different days, but they handled it. Those women are my superheroes. ELIZABETH GILBERT” Lucy Dillon I loved this book so much. It’s very funny and painfully true. Confessions of a Forty-Something is perfect comfort reading for anyone who thinks life isn’t working out as they want it to, whether they’re forty, fourteen or eighty-four. Nell records her podcast whilst struggling with her life choices. She is in a relationship, but is she really happy? Are her friends happy?

In this hilarious, un-put-downable follow-up to the bestselling Confessions of a Forty-Something F## k Up, now the basis for the major TV series called Not Dead Yet, there are laugh-out-loud lessons to be learned, truths to be told, adventures to go on and joys to discover. As Nell's story unfolds there is lots of laughter, lots of tears, life throws many curved balls when you are a childless, unmarried forty year old with a boyfriend who has a spreadsheet for everything, parents who have accepted " Alexa" as a family member, an eighty year old best friend who has more "get up and go" than you have ever had and who wears dungarees and silver plimsoles, three best friends with husbands and children who are all living the dream............or are they ? a glamorous old friend who re emerges, an old friend who can do "put downs" in the most sophisticated way, an old friend who also flirts with your boyfriend.

However, her friends of a similiar age all seem to be in a different place...marriage, kids, careers and Nell thinks of herself as a bit of a F-up. The story of Nell Stevens’ struggle through her imperfect, messy life doesn’t just make brilliant fiction, it’s turning into a cultural revolution!' - Matt Cain A funny, feisty tale about the highs and the oh-so-lows of having to start over in your forties with a smart, sassy character at its heart who you'll be cheering on from start to finish. * Mike Gayle *

It's still as funny and as honest and as relatable. Bizarrely, I found it really moving. When you get these kind of haphazard rom-coms (a genre I will be trademarking) you expect them to be fun and silly and light-hearted. You don't expect to find yourself crying at them, which I did on several occasions. But not always at the sad bits. Yes, there were sad bits and that made me teary, but the pure hope running through the book is so moving too. Now, we're 2.5 years on from that, I am now 30, and I am 1) still single, 2) still childless, and 3) have no job but still refer to myself as a writer, albeit a failed one when it comes to actually finishing anything. It was with a sense of glee that I noted Alexandra Potter was releasing a follow up to her 2021 best-selling novel, "Confessions of a Forty-Something F**k Up". I read the first book out of curiosity due to the title - I was approaching the big 40 and discovering that apparently there are life-goals that we are supposed to achieve. I must have missed those particularly lessons at school. And so, refreshingly, has our heroine Nell. This was billed as humorous and it was in parts but I expected more. What I hadn't expected was some of the sensitive topics that were covered. I did feel they were dealt with very well. Told in a diary style format by Nell (first person) be prepared to embrace what everyday life throws at you and how you deal with it . . . . . family,friends,laughter,sadness,gratitude.In this instalment, it looks like Nell has her life under control, her ship is sailing smoothly. Maybe she isn’t such a f##k up after all? Or are the wheels about to come off her wagon again? Nell is a forty-something peri-menopausal Bridget Jones type character who is enjoying her own space in her first home and has an good job. Read the hilarious rom-com that inspired the hit new sitcom Not Dead Yet starring Gina Rogriguez ( Jane the Virgin), Hannah Simone ( New Girl) and Lauren Ash ( Superstore). As recommended on Davina McCall's Making the Cut podcast, and perfect for fans of Dolly Alderton, Ruth Jones and Marian Keyes.

One thing I’ve learned through this bloody awful time is that grief isn’t linear. You can be doing all right, then it will suddenly come out of nowhere. It’s the silly little things that remind you .” In the sequel to the bestselling Confessions of a Forty-Something F##k Up, there are a lot more lessons to be learned, truths to be told, adventures to go on and joys to discover. But first, she has some more confessions... More Confessions of a Forty-Something F**k Up" by Alexandra Potter is an absolute gem that had me hooked from the very beginning. Having thoroughly enjoyed the first installment, I was eager to dive into Nell's world once again, and I can confidently say that this sequel did not disappoint. Potter's portrayal of Nell, a never-married, childless, forty-something podcaster and obituary writer, is both hilarious and relatable. Yorkshire born and raised, Alexandra lives in London with her Californian husband and their Bosnian rescue dog. When she's not writing or travelling, she's getting out into nature, trying not to look at her phone and navigating this thing called mid-life. People always talk about happy endings, but I think it should be happy beginnings. Who wants to talk about endings when ahead is a brand new year, stretching out before you. One filled with infinite possibilities and wonderful new opportunities and decisions to be made and doubts to be had and a whole lot of love to be explored.”

Summary

But then something happened that no one expected, turning the world upside down in a way no one could have ever imagined. Eighteen months on, life is finally returning to normal! But what is normal anymore? A new mystery is afoot in the third audiobook in the Thursday Murder Club series from million-copy bestselling author Richard Osman. Coming September 2022! A novel for any woman who wonders how the hell she got here, and why life isn't quite how she imagined it was going to be. And who is desperately trying to figure it all out when everyone around them is making gluten-free brownies. Undoubtedly there is part of the story that feel somewhat cliché, this being women’s fiction and all, but there is a good dose of reality bound up in the creation of a cliché which is the precise reason that they are as such. Of course, there is a happily ever after ending of sorts, but it is not the typical rom-com ending where the girl ends up with the three-carat diamond on her finger and life being perfect. Rather it is seeing that we all have ideas and expectations of what life should look like, and how we are not measuring up, but a reminder that every person feels the same way. The old saying that you don’t have to worry about what anyone else thinks of you because they are so worried about themselves to notice you are the real moral of this story. That and the power of honesty and friendship. of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars Confessions of a Forty-Something F**k Up by Alexandra Potter