oh wow that was depressing but also so funny and heartwarming- the duality of women and their complex female friendships

loved this!!! this was like holding up a mirror to my life and just having to be content with that, and guess what... I was. lol

A Bit Much explores the daily life of an unemployed twenty-something named Alice. Alice navigates new-adulthood while her life is seemingly falling apart. Her best friend, Mia, is in the hospital being treated for a serious illness and Alice struggles to find a balance between being there for Mia and her social life.
This novel was exactly what I needed as a twenty-two year old just trying to figure out life. As Alice struggles to maintain her childhood friendships and build new relationships, I find myself relating to her introverted personality and her thought process. Jackson’s writing really transports you into the mind of Alice. Every thought and feeling that Alice is going through is transcribed beautifully and truly connects you to the characters. Every story that Alice shares of her childhood with Mia is like a snapshot into how their relationship became what it is today.
While reading, I felt that this novel conveyed similar vibes to Margaret Atwood’s The Edible Woman. Alice’s mention of food and struggling to eat felt like a connection to Atwood’s Marian. Marian and Alice both have everything slipping out from underneath them, struggling to find a sense of control in their lives.
Overall, this novel was witty, heartbreaking, cathartic, relatable, and an amazing read. This was such a great debut novel and I cannot wait to see what Jackson does next!

Alice is learning how to exist in a world where her closest friend is sick. A story that felt visceral to me to read, Alice is trying to navigate the rest of her life - dealing with mental health, finding work, relationships, the ways her friendships have wavered and changed. But at the center of it is her best friend, and trying to focus on anything else seems a little futile in such a quickly shifting present.

I found this difficult to read, but well written. I think Alice's story is one many may feel brings a form of catharsis, some of this book is Alice literally just trying to get through a day out of her bed. I don't think I have a star rating, it sat with me the way a weird dinner does. Grief is a little like the repetitive feeling of an upset stomach, sitting still curled up on the bed unable to move just yet.

Content warnings for hospitals, Alice often visits her friend who is receiving treatments, depression, mention of assault

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada for an e-copy of this book!

A Bit Much by Sarah Jackson

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* Thank you to @netgalley and @penguinrandomhousecanada for providing a digital copy of A Bit Much in exchange of a honest review.

This book wasn't an easy read since it is handling a lot of difficult subject like sickness and body acceptation (please look the triggers warning before reading it if you think you might need them). I enjoyed the friendship between Mia and Alice and how their relationship evolved with the sickness.
It was a slow everyday-type story that I liked.