A well written and entertaining book. Good plot and believable characters. I recommend this book. I received an arc from the publisher and this is my unbiased review.

I loved this book by Beth Moran! Although it deals with the serious subject of panic and anxiety disorders, including agoraphobia, there is so much humour brought out through the main character, Amy. This uplifting and ultimately life-affirming story serves to remind us that help can come from the most unlikely people, and that maybe that first step is the most important.

This was a great read. I enjoyed the perspective of a former winner turned loser turned someone doing her best to turn her life around. Great characters.

This book is one of those books that you don't really know where the story will take you, what the characters will do or why are they behaving that way, it will keep you intrigued, wanting to know more and more about the story.

It is also a book that will bring so much to you, a book full of compassion, hope, empathy, friendship, and love, it is a story of second changes about giving yourself that time out to recover what you lost during dose hard times we all have in our daily lives.

Amy lost so much in her life, she is feeling tired to have all these issues controlling her freedom and happiness, she feels paralyzed and even angry with herself that she is not able to be near her son in the most important moments in his life.. she really wants to change this situation and finally take charge of her feelings and illnesses that are causing her to be that lonely and secluded. but it is not an easy task, she will have to rely on other people and break many of her rules to be able to finally move on even if in the process her heart and soul will hurt but shine at the same time.

This was a very beautiful story about second chances and friendship, I really enjoy the great support Amy had, the great friendships she built and the loveling relationship she had with her son Joey. he was everything to her, he was the real reason for her to finally take many steps that before were so paralyzing but now looks the only way to show him all her support.

Great secondary characters, they really brought so much to the story, more depth and even more happiness to Amy's life, I laugh so much with their shenanigans and cry so much with their problems, and stories that made us more aware how we often assume beside asking and helping others.

What I really love about How Not To Be A Loser, it is the message, the love, the friendship between The Larks, no matter how many different stories and backgrounds they have or the past stories they had been carrying around at the end the empathy and sensibility of these women win every single time.

My only observation about the book is that I had a hard time identifying the dialogs because I was looking for double " and I only saw a single ' .. it took me time to figure the flowing of the book but other than that it was great, amazing and super recommended!!

I'm looking forward to getting a Signed Paperback!!

Directed and managed since childhood, Amy Piper hasn’t left her house for over two years, hasn’t spoken to her family in over thirteen years, and her only actual contact with the outside world (aside from her work-at-home job) is her son Joey and her former coach CeCe. Extreme agoraphobia combined with panic attacks have crippled her and left her unable to see her son swim, although she has watched his meets on video and tries to manage his life as best she can with help. Until a recognition that she needs to change, and starts on a self-guided plan – her “How Not to be a Loser” plan, taking small steps and engaging the former competitor that she buried some thirteen years ago when her life went pear shaped and she was the focus of tabloids and gossip columns after chucking in her spot in the Olympics and her promise as “the nation’s best chance”. With an unexpected pregnancy, desertion by the father, her own family disowning her and struggling to find her way with CeCe being both parent and support – her world has shrunk significantly and drastically. But she’s not happy with it – and feels that CeCe’s training methods were big contributors to her current issues.

A desperate need for medicine for her son, and having cut CeCe out of her life – Amy is faced with her greatest fear – outdoors – and is helped by Nathan who finds her, an utter mess not steps from the Chemist. Nearing closing time, and being off kilter, Nathan offers his help and a suggestion that she come meet The Larks, a group of people working on their fitness that he believes will be good for her. And here is where the story takes off: from Amy’s falling on a solo run before daybreak, to being found and rescued by the Larks: their commando-raid style friendship – pushing, inviting themselves in, demanding her time and attention, it’s not long before Amy is, if not ‘comfortable’ outdoors, at least able to attend early morning runs.

Here’s where Moran’s skills in storytelling and creating a compelling character in Amy, with a solid backstory, a son that she’d do almost anything for, and her own history as a teenaged swimming phenom that we see the roots of her anxiety, and just how easily it was for it to become the monster that isolated her from everything. It takes nearly a year, and the progress is often two steps forward and five back, but the glimmers of the “old Amy” and her competitive nature, along with her developing relationship with Nathan, her son’s success at swimming, and a community pool complex being named after her ‘swimmer self” the support of friends, plenty of determination and a sudden realization of all she has to offer, and all that others have overcome and still get up and out in the morning will have you cheering her on, celebrating the small victories, worrying at the setbacks and wanting to have your own crew of Larks to be there for support and friendship. A favorite read that I couldn’t put down – this story takes you into the thoughts (or some of them) that are common to us all, overwhelming to those with crippling anxiety, and gives tiny little coping mechanisms for dealing with it all.

I received an eArc copy of the title from the publisher via NetGalley for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.

Review first appeared at <a href=” https://wp.me/p3OmRo-aE8/” > <a> I am, Indeed </a>

This book took me a little while to get into, but once I did I really enjoyed it. Moran does an excellent job of writing about a character with agoraphobia, anxiety and depression. I really liked Amy once I got to know her. Her son, Joey, was lovely, and Nathan was wonderful. The way Moran describes how Amy feels whilst holding Nathan's hand is so touching. Moran writes Amy's back story cleverly, putting a little bit here and there. I loved the supporting characters - a great group of women. If I have one small criticism, it's that a little bit more time could have spent on the ending. What Amy does when she gets to the pool is huge for her, yet very little time is spent on it.

Thanks to Netgalley and Boldwood Books for the ARC in exchange of an honest review.
Entertaining read dealing with mental health issues with a comedic twist. I loved how Amy could still pike fun at herself while dealing with all her problems.

Following is the German review of the book that will be published on sites like amazon.de.

Schöne Geschichte auch wenn nicht alles perfekt für mich funktioniert hat

"How not to be a loser" nimmt einen mit auf eine spannende Reise, auf der die Hauptperson ein Stück weit wieder ins Leben zurückfindet, neue Freundschaften schließt, endlich die Kraft entwickelt regelmäßig das Haus zu verlassen und generell nach Dingen zu greifen, die ihr gut tun.

Interessant war für mich beim Lesen, das bestimmte Aspekte der Geschichte sehr gut für mich funktioniert haben, z.B. alles rund um das Thema Freundschaft und neue Freundschaften aufbauen. Andere Aspekte, wie die eher romantischen Anteil der Geschichte, fand ich nicht per se schlecht, sie haben mich aber nicht so tief berühren können, wie erhofft.

Blicke ich auf meine Leseerfahrung mit dem Buch zurück, so denke ich an eine aufbauende Geschichte, die unterhaltsam ist und gleichzeitig Kraft spendet. Dafür bekommt das Buch 3,75 Sterne, die ich gerade noch so auf vier aufrunde.

The novel opens with the protagonist giving a tongue-in-cheek description of what her life has become, capped by an amusing incident where she can't cast aspersions on her son's fear of spiders when she can't even look outside an open door. The author does an excellent job of giving hints of what has happened in the past - information that trickles out in bits as the story goes on. She does the same with what is to come, and it's not quite certain until the end just how things will turn out.
Thoroughly enjoyable read with many light moments, while drawing the reader into the world of someone with agoraphobia.

4 stars
Unique story about a single mom named Amy who suffers from anxiety and depression, amongst other things. She is trying to deal with her mental illness, not only for herself, but for her son.

It was a uplifting story.

This is a lovely read guaranteed to touch the heartstrings. Beth Moran is a great author and this is another book that I’ve found utterly impossible to put down. Initially attracted by the beautiful cover, the story hasn’t disappointed either. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A great read, the story of Amy, who is trying to get her life back together. A former swimming champion, now she is too afraid to leave the house, which makes it a struggle raising her son. She has been relying on her friend and ex-coach Cee-Cee, but now she need to get out there for herself. When she meets Nathan he wants to help her, and soon she is falling for him, but as her coach he is off limits, or is he?
An enjoyable read which deals with some difficult issues.

Really enjoyed reading this book. The story of Amelia, who once was a really good Olympic swimmer, who lost all that and went to being a nobody. She met Sean whilst she was training and things didn’t go to plan, she fell pregnant. She’s raised her son with the help of her friend and coach. Now as her son is going down the same path as her she wants to be there for him and not have him rely on her friend.
She makes a plan to overcome her mental health issue, has to go out when her so falls ill, but finds it’s not easy after staying indoors all these years. She joins a running club and slowly starts enjoying life again, with the help of her friends at the club and their coach. They together help to raise funds for one of the ladies sons, to assist him going to the local health centre which is opening and Amelia is asked to do the inauguration. She had to let her friends know who she really is and why she’s kept it a secret. (Read to know more)
Really good book and I also liked that it dealt with mental health issues.
Highly recommend it.

This was a really good read, a story that pulled you into Amy’s life and had you rooting for her from the beginning. As someone who suffers from Anxiety and depression, coming to terms that it’s an illness and not a failure on your part is a really tough place to get to, and I feel Moran captured it beautifully. Highly recommend this book to anyone who is facing any mental health issue....reading about Amy’s journey gives me hope

This book was addicting. You wanted to continue reading even long after it was over. The characters felt so real and relatable, and the story was so original.