This would not typically have been a genre choice for me, but the description snagged my attention. Kudos to the author for realizing early on that this experience was a story in the making, and keeping notes as her work progressed. .I'm sure Natalee had many slow, quiet days in her younger days working as a certified fitter, but naturally, the unusual and crazy fittings were the ones featured in the book. It did transport me back to some of my own experiences in the fitting room. Local stores advertised bra fitting experts, but in my reality, they were completely clueless and just trying to get through the day.
Natalee undergoes her personal transformation of grief and growth in this story, many times relating to her clients and their own stories. The writing is quite good and the book moves at a good pace.
One thing for sure, I'll never regret not working in that field, but it would have been nice to have a Natalee waiting in the dressing room!

Thank you to Amberjack Publishing and Netgalley for providing me with an advanced copy of this book. Memoir has always been a favorite genre of mine and this one did not disappoint! I enjoyed Woods' point of view and original 'storyline'. This was an easy, quick read but full of enlightening stories that proved to be thought-provoking (and sometimes quite profound!) In my opinion, the best part of this book were the various customers she encountered in her work. Well-written and engaging!

Funny, heartwarming and giving tons of support to the everyday person whether in search of the perfect lingerie or a way to heal the heart. 5/5 stars for the most supportive book I've read in awhile and will come back to again and again.

Thank you NetGalley and AmberJack Publishing for sending me this copy!

Natalee Woods writes about her experiences as a professional bra fitter and how they relate to her personal life outside her work. I loved her stories! They made me laugh and cry as I related to the body image issues and expectations voiced by Natalee and countless other women. I appreciated the honesty and found her writing wonderful! The book held my attention and I didn't want to put it down. As someone who has worked in retail, I found myself recalling my own work experiences and relating to the frustrations of being a retail worker. I highly recommend this to anyone who has worked retail or struggles with their image in the dressing room.

I requested this book based on the description and expecting a read similar to Jeffrey Zaslow's The Magic Room. This was not the case. Although there are some interesting encounters, customers, and insights into the author's life, the narrative was a bit disjointed and skimmed the surface rather than delving a bit more deeply into any one aspect.

Nice story. Gives the reader a peak behind the goings on of a salesperson who works at a major department store and the lessons learned of life & love.

Buy copies for all your girlfriends. Such a fun, witty read. Laugh out loud!!

Many thanks to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for my ARC. All opinions are my own.

I rated this book closer to 3.5 or 3.75 stars rather than 4. I enjoyed it a lot! I actually worked at a bra store (albeit not a fancy department store lingerie department) for four years, and surprisingly liked it a lot, despite how terrible retail can be. Because of my work experience, I was really excited to read Full Support. And man oh man, did it remind me of those four years! I have so many similar stories under my belt that it was really enjoyable (as well as sometimes anxiety-inducing, in the cases of the not-so-sweet moments) and nostalgic for me to read. I did think sometimes that the writing was a little too flowery, in a way that detracted from the rest of the story. I also felt like there were a few loose ends that never got tied up, like with Chase, or even with Farah. But overall I enjoyed Full Support, and would probably buy a copy for my old manager at my old job!

This book is a memoir about a young woman that spent years working in the bra fitting section of a department store. It wasn't a job she chose, but she grew into the role and learned to love it. This is a really interesting read and has some good observations about people and body image. It's a fairly quick read but its something different and definitely worth it!

I have happily worked in beauty reatil for 13 years and during that time I have come across a lot of the customers featured in here. I enjoyed this, I would say that it was more of fiction story with antedotes of retail lift in it, rather than expose of the retail floor. It did throw me off that it was based in the US as I am UK but it wasn't a deal breaker after a few chapters. Perfect communter book.

As many others have, I thought this would be a series of stories about people and situations that simply can't be made up from the perspective of a bra fitter. The intimacy and conflicting feelings women have about their breasts and how to best clothe them sets this above the usual retail misery stories.

The author does a great job of describing both the personalities and circumstances in her adventures. Her candor about her feelings is consistent and adds a nice element of reflection about the women, men, kids she encounters in her work. Her effort to find insight, patience and compassion for so many is a wonderful quality. I do love her cynicism, and while she may call kids dirtballs, its is really the parents she needs to aim for in those comments.

Parts of the book can be poignant, and there are people who will make you angry, overall, a nice read.

A unique look at life and women. It was a great book. Definitely an intriguing read and an interesting perspective of life.

The synopsis of this one drew me right in - the memoir of a bra-fitter? It sounded fascinating.

But Full Support didn't quite rise to the level of "fascinating" for me. It's not all about the bras/underwear - she also writes about being a 20-something who lost her mom to cancer, who was worried about her dad, and who was generally just trying to figure life out. I didn't mind this - it felt like giving the reader a window into her life, beyond her job. I liked the varied cast of characters, and getting to learn a bit about a job that doesn't often get explored in books, TV, movies, etc.

I think my favorite parts were Gladys appearances. What a treat. However, I might only feel that way because it seemed Natalee was kindest to Gladys. I didn't feel a whole lot of empathy or sensitivity toward many of the other customers. I get it - retail is exhausting, and customers are often really rude. But these women were so vulnerable in that dressing room... I couldn't help but feel that a little more kindness toward them, and a little less judgment, was needed. Maybe Natalee only ever actually acted with the utmost professionalism and kindness, but that's not how scenes in this book read to me.

As such, I was uncomfortable by some of the inner dialogue. Full Support generally wasn't an uplifting or entertaining read for me. After 2 weeks of picking it up and putting it back down repeatedly, I stopped reading this book for good at 55%. If I finish it before pub. day I'll come back and edit this review, but right now, I just don't have any desire to continue reading Full Support.

A charming light read that many women will enjoy. Gives you insight on a job that you likely never thought of before. Well-written, with anecdotes that will have you weeping and chuckling.

I usually really enjoy behind the scenes books about jobs, but this was far less about how the lingerie department at a Nordstrom's expy works than some disjointed memoir about someone who isn't all that interesting.

This book follows, loosely, the life of a bra-fitter in various up-market department stores in the States. It touches on her own life, the loss of her mother to cancer and her relationship with her father, interspersed with anecdotes about the women she meets when they come to be fitted for bras. All life is covered - the ugly, the glamorous, the sick and the beaten down.

The result is a thought-provoking and fascinating read, which made me reflect on my own life and feminity. I didn't give it a 5* because it fell just short of my expectations, and I felt the biographical side was rather rushed, although it was necessary to add in those details in order for the reader to understand her reactions to some of her clients.

Thank you to NetGalley and Amberjack Publishing for allowing me access to the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

FULL SUPPORT is a memoir written by a former bra fitter (what I assume is) Nordstrom, filled with reflections on womanhood, societal beauty standards, and the lingerie industry. Natalee Woods spent many, many years of her young life sizing women for bras, becoming so proficient at doing so that she could eyeball a woman’s bra size on sight. She met lots of characters in this job who all play a role in this book - a stripper, a psychic, a woman who just underwent a double mastectomy, a demanding pageant mom, a raucous bridal party, a transgender woman getting fit for a bra for the first time, and even a man buying gifts for his wife and mistress.

Woods learns lessons from each of these characters, typically observing that the bra fitting room is where you see women at their most vulnerable, their most self-hating, their weakest. We try to fit ourselves into these crazy contraptions designed to push and pull us into figures that are somehow desirable, and never feel beautiful in these tiny rooms. No one enjoys the experience of being fitted for and trying on bras, chasing some unattainable ideal and wrestling with the fact that we will never meet this. Although this premise for a book sounds promising, I ultimately felt that it wasn’t a successful concept for a book, and would have been a better fit for a short story or essay. The interactions she has with these women are sometimes comical, sometimes sad, but all ultimately yield the same theme that I stated above. You actually end up learning more about what it’s like to work at Nordstrom than anything else.

Some of Woods’s observations felt a little hackneyed and stale - probably because they resulted from an interaction that only lasted a few hours at most. Here are a few examples: (note: quotes are from an ARC and may change upon publication)
“I couldn’t comprehend the idea of abandoning someone, let alone your own child, because of their sexual orientation or preferred gender. The ignorance and bigotry enraged me, like nothing I had ever experienced inside of the dressing room before. And though we only shared a couple hours together, Claire taught me about the true meaning of empathy while shin gin a light on all the things I had directly in front of me.”

or this one:
“Ashley didn’t need bras; she needed Love. Love. Reassuring love. Comforting love.”

I couldn’t help but roll my eyes at the many passages like this. Overall, this is an interesting, quick, and timely read, but nothing super super special to me.

This memoir didn’t work for me. The narrative voice was off putting and it just wasn’t what I was hoping for here.

Full Support – a book review

Natalee Woods’ autobiographical work tells of her journey through her experiences meeting women as part of her job as a bra-fitter, and using the knowledge she gains from these encounters in her life as she deals with self-worth and the issues of loss.

Who would enjoy this book?
Readers who want female bonding and emotional support.
Full Support is clearly aimed at women, joining in the drive to grant empowerment as they struggle with modern social concerns regarding image and the sense of worth. The array of characters Natalee interacts with, from the recurrent presence of wise elderly Gladys, to the fleeting visit by young Mormon Emily, allow the reader a chance to identify with any of them. Also, the constant reminder of how all women share experiences, despite diversity, resonates with current trends.
It’s an uplifting (pun intended, as is much of the book) read to those looking for bonding female time, and light social mirrors. It is also emotional whenever dealing with family and loss, thus adequate for readers looking for reassurance.

Who should give this a pass?
Readers looking for easy, fun read, or a solid agenda-content blend.
The book seems intent on justifying itself. It reads mostly as a hostile and agonizing time for the narrator, despite the claims to uplifting learning from the customers she encounters. However, the “women’s power” thread runs bare throughout most of the volume, leaving behind a sense of amateurish self-help. As a consequence, the very deeply felt passages on dealing with her parents’ illness and deaths lose staying power. On the other hand, quite a few of the stories seem to be left hanging, with the reader unclear as to why they were inserted at all (Chase, Ruby’s stalker, or the bolting transgender, for example).
What could have been a fun read on the gossipy experiences in the changing room becomes an exercise in searching-for-meaning. The beautiful, worthy, agenda in personal female growth seems an add-on to the tale, lost in the bitter attempts at humoristic sarcasm.

Personal conclusion
As a woman, I can clearly identify with many of the moments and characters presented in Full Support. I can particularly identify with the loss of a dear parent to horrible illness. Moreover, I enjoy female empowerment subtext, often actively looking for it. Sadly, while all these elements were present here, Ms Woods’ work left me wanting. Borrowing for the jargon of the book, I was expecting solid tissue, but found push-ups and fillers instead.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing this book in exchange for an honest review.
I wasn't sure what to expect with this book but it was a fun, easy read. There were quite a few humorous moments and even some thought provoking moments. Overall, this was a good read.