Funny. Heartwarming. NOT A MEMOIR.
It was such a great story.
I enjoyed this way more than I thought I would.

A huge thank you to NetGalley, Alexandra Potter and Macmillan for providing me with a copy of this publication, which allows me to provide you with an unbiased review.

Writing a good book review, professional book reviews have reliably told me, should never ever contain anything personal from the reviewer – anything personal has nothing to do with a good review. That the word “I” should never be found in a good review. That the review is about the merits of the book and absolutely nothing to do with the ideas or emotions of the person reviewing the book. Well, this forty-something f##k up is saying Sod It to that idea and is stating plain and simply that this book is beyond awesome. That I want to be the kind of f##K up that then main character, Nell (Penelope) Stevens is; that if I was half the f##k up, she turns out to be, I would consider myself very, very successful.

Society is all about looking the part and then parading it in well-filtered Instagram posts, and witty Twitter commentaries, perfect Christmas cards and Facebook posts about portraying the perfect life.
It's feeling happy and content, because life is a success and all sorted out and you’re exactly where you
always imagined you’d be, complete with an Instagram account filled with #Imsoblessed and
#livingmybestlife. It is not, I repeat, not, #wheredidIgowrong and #whatthefuckamIdoingwithmylife?
This book has such a witty way of expressing the loss, the confusion, the desperation to be successful according to a set of standards that we have had nothing whatsoever to do with creating. It’s a reminder that sometimes where we find ourselves is exactly right, as it is, and that nothing is ultimately beyond redemption if you know how to view yourself and your own personal journey.

This piece of women’s fiction is truly undersold in being labelled in such a misaligned genre. Its wonderful, funny, powerful, clever and insightful and I fear that people will overlook it because of the label attached to it and brush it off as something unimportant. Nell Stevens is a great protagonist for the reader to get behind and cheer for. Her life is an utter shambles at the start of the novel which appropriately begins in January of a new year alone, with a failed business, broken engagement and a return to the UK from living the American dream behind her, with her apparent inability to even see five things to be grateful for in her newly created gratitude journal. But as the months go by, things don’t magically fall into place ending in a happily ever after that would be so predictable, but you see her take responsibility for her life, her choices, find a new career path, new and old friendships developed and a willingness to sit with her single status in the midst of society’s coupledom concept and find life to be good, just as it is by the end of the year.

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.

A worthy use of your time to read this book.

This is an absolutely incredible read that's full of life; great phrases; and inspiration!

Even though I'm not quite forty, I completely related to this book - and really appreciated the honest exploration of how female relationships change; how family dynamics are ever-changing; the realities of finding yourself; and what it really means to completely start over.

What I also really loved about this book is how Alexandra Potter gently weaves in the subject of depression/anxiety into the story. It's referred to as "The Fear" in the book - and the way it's addressed and described is accurate; simple; and oddly inspiring.

While the ending verges on the cliché, I loved everything else so much that I'm still giving "Confessions of a Forty-Something" a strong five star rating. Thank you so much to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me the chance to be inspired by this book!