What Does It Feel Like
5⭐️

I am a true shopaholic, if you all couldn’t tell. Yet somehow I’ve never read Shopaholic or any other Sophie Kinsella book before. But when her own story came out in the press I was saddened for her and happy for others that she shared her story. Cancer is a beast and touches so many around us. So when she fictionalized her own journey, I knew I wanted to read this. In less than 150 pages I laughed and cried multiple times. I couldn’t ask for more from this author who was brave enough to tell her story the best way she could. If you are familiar with her work or not, it’s worth letting her tell you this story. I am so thankful for this ARC.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group- Random House for this advanced reader copy. My opinions expressed in this review are my own.
I recently heard about Sophie Kinsella’s brain cancer diagnosis and I was heartbroken. She has been one of my favorite authors. That being said, I started this autobiographical book hesitantly, with so many feelings; sadness, and dread but as I read on I was in awe of her ability to write about a subject that is so difficult; with her raw emotions on the page for all of us to read. She displays bravery and positivity and with typical comedic style she shares what this diagnosis has been like for her and her family. It made me cry and it made me see that she and her family are amazing people who are inspiring and optimistic. This is a short read but one well worth reading.

This book made me cry so much. It was so raw and heartbreaking. But strangely enough it also made me laugh a little too. Her husband’s patience was so touching. This was a beautiful love story. This will be in my top 10 for the year. It’s a really quick and powerful read. I read it in one sitting. And for Sophie - thank you for being brave by telling us parts of your story 🩷 I will definitely be purchasing the physical book and more of her books!

This novella was beautiful and heart breaking and full of so much tenderness. My mom had a stroke years ago so I understand how fragile the brain is and could feel all the empathy in this book from her husband and the doctors. What a sweet recovery story, and how Brave Kinsella is for sharing her heart with us.

I received an advance review copy for free from the publisher via Netgalley and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

as I write this my nose is stuffy and my eyes are dry because I just wept reading Kinsella’s latest novella, “What does it feel like?”

It is a fictionalized account of Kinsella’s own diagnosis with an incurable brain cancer. Eve is a writer, with a beloved husband and five children and a career she knows she’s lucky to have.

Then it all changes. Much like her novels Kinsella uses her honest and quirky voice to share her story. In the acknowledgments she mentions being a private person and this being a way to share this part of herself with her readers.

The conversations in this book are real, however fictionalized it is, as her husband, children and Eve go through her first year of treatment after brain surgery. Conversations that pierce your heart and then bring raucous laughter— something we all learned in “Steel Magnolias” is necessary.

”Laughter through tears is my favorite emotion.”

It’s not a book of answers or a happy ending wrapped in a bow. But it’s a novella that give a snapshot of a life in flux, a woman struggling to come to terms with a new turn in her life.

There’s a lesson for everyone in that.

Thank you random house and PRH audio for review copies!
Though a short read, this is a novella to go back to time and again to think about the depth of love, the strength, and the experience of this kind of brain cancer. Kinsella's writing here is deeply personal even if somewhat fictionalized and captures raw emotions and fears, thoughts, events related to her brain surgery. A testament to her strength but also a remarkable commentary on her marriage and her strong husband.

The first “adult” book I ever read was Confessions of a Shopaholic when I was in middle school. And I was hooked, consuming every Kinsella book I could get my hands on. Her books are fun, raw, and emotional all at once, and I’ve always seen a bit of myself in every main character. Recently, I got my mom hooked on the Shopaholic series as well, which has been a new level of fun, raging against Alicia Bitch Long Legs and moaning about Janice and Becky’s mom’s hijinks.
When I learned about Kinsella’s diagnosis, I was heartbroken. I’d just read an advanced copy of The Burnout, and had loved every second of it. Realizing it might be Kinsella's novel had brought me to tears. I hadn’t realized until that moment just how influential her many books had been to me, and how much of Becky Bloomwood especially that I’d taken to heart.
When I got this novella, I put off reading it for 2 months. When I finally picked it up, I was still telling myself it was a work of fiction. Then Eve described how she started writing her first book, and I started sobbing. I never stopped sobbing, honestly, but every scene with her family had me crying harder.
This book was incredibly upbeat for being so heart-breaking, with Kinsella’s trademark wit on every page. It read like a love letter to her family, cherishing their moments together instead of focusing on the hardships of her recovery after surgery and during treatment.
This is not a book I’d recommend you just pick up and read on a whim. But if you are looking for a short, thoughtful, and autobiographical account of someone’s journey with a brain tumor, this is a must-read. Just have a box of tissues nearby!
Thanks to Netgalley and The Dial Press for the free advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!

This was a fictional short story of Sophie's own life since a life-chnaging event.
I could feel it was extremely vulnerable and personal and she did an amazing job of telling her story!

As I've said before, I'll read even a grocery list by Sophie Kinsella and now the bar is even higher. I hope she never stops writing.

Thank you Netgalley and publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Wonderful and thought-provoking

This is not the typical Sophie Kinsella novel! However, you must read it!!! Semi-autobiographical, it deals with a bestselling author with a serious illness and how it changes her life and relationships. It is at once lighthearted and tearjerking, overall it is brilliant. Do not miss this book!

Thank you to the publisher who lent me an e-arc via Netgalley. This review is optional and my own opinion.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for this ARC! This short story was truly heartbreaking. I'm kinda struggling to even review this because it's hard to put it into words. The story is based on Kinsella's own battle with glioblastoma and I was left with such a profound sense of appreciation for her finding such a beautiful way to share her story through Eve and her family.

This book largely centers on the topic of cancer and the very real, devastating effects it has on both the patient and their loved ones — this isn't a sugarcoated story, there were some parts that were genuinely difficult to get through, but the raw honesty and vulnerability Kinsella had to put those details into this story really makes the reader admire her bravery — but it was very, very hard to get through.

Beautiful and personal. This felt so raw and sudden which I’d imagine is how it feels when it becomes your own story with a sudden diagnosis with a poor prognosis. I’ve always enjoyed this authors books for a strong plot and strong female lead. I’m so glad I got to read this one as well. I’ll always remember this one.

I’m not sure how to review this book other than to promise you that you will love it? I promise? Is that enough?

I don’t know. I love Sophie Kinsella books so when I saw that she had her new book coming out October 2024, and that it was based on her own experience with cancer, I was super intrigued. This doesn’t seem like her norm?, I thought to myself.

I highly, highly do not recommend reading this waiting for your eye doctor appointment. He will ask why you are sobbing. It will be embarrassing.

If you have ever experienced or known someone to go through cancer and treatment, this book will tear you straight in half. In the best way? I mean it.

Sophie is so straightforward but in a way that is funny and this book is choppy in that it’s reality and it’s just….

….really, really good.

Grief, anxiety, sadness, brought to you and still leaving you smiling. Well done Sophie. This raw, powerful, inspiring story will stay with me for a long, long time.

✨“Cancer is a buzzkill, what with the pills and the chemo and the dying.”
“Yes,” says Nick thoughtfully. “It’s a fucker. But luckily…”
Eve laughs, because “luckily” is their family watch word. Tack it on to any gloomy sentence, they have instructed their children, and you can turn things around, viz: It’s raining. But luckily, we’ve all got umbrellas. I hate hockey. But luckily, I also play football. I have incurable cancer. But luckily, my last scan was good. “Luckily,” reiterates Nick, “there’s always a cup of tea.”

……fuuuuuuuuuck 💔

This required reading releases October 8, 2024. Thank you to NetGalley, Sophie Kinesella, and The Dial Press, for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

It's tough to review Sophie Kinsella’s latest autobiographical book without feeling as though daggers are stabbing into your heart, with tears streaming down your cheeks, and barely holding yourself back from choking up.

What surprised me, however, was that despite honestly fictionalizing her own life story and changing some sequences of events, she never loses her positive outlook. This has always made me adore her novels, along with her amazingly unique sense of humor. There were several times when I laughed so hard I nearly fell off the couch and peed myself (which is why I always wear adult diapers before starting her books, just in case).

The chapters about her eight-hour brain surgery after being diagnosed with stage 4 glioblastoma, dealing with short-term amnesia, learning to talk again, and using a Zimmer frame to walk without falling are hard to absorb. Yet, her uplifting writing tone—accepting things she cannot change and infusing them with honesty, optimism, and sarcasm—shows how incredible a writer she is. One particularly memorable moment is when the doctor asked her who the president was, and she jokingly replied, "Hugh Grant," before correcting herself to say he was the Minister of Foreign Affairs, which made me literally guffaw.

Two of my favorite chapters include the family Scrabble gathering and her early morning conversations with her husband.

Initially, I hesitated to start this book, fearing it would break my heart and devastate me as I read the fictionalized journey of author Eve, based on Kinsella’s own battle with a brain tumor and terminal cancer, including the entire radiotherapy and chemotherapy process. But after reading the book, I realized how wrong I was. My respect and devotion to the author only grew as I witnessed her bravery, power, and brilliant mind. Additionally, the book gave me so much hope and inspiration. I wished the author all the happy endings she highly deserves after giving her fans so many great laughs, happy tears, and immense hope that encourages them to trust themselves, believe that positive things happen, and overcome bad luck in their lives.

Her bravery and honesty inspire you to change your own life, starting with your perception. The universe needs more authors like Kinsella, who change our worlds by delivering humor and warming our hearts with full of positive possibilities. Her books have vividly colored my life with her humorous vision for the past 20 years. I love her works, adore her courage, and applaud her for doing the toughest thing: facing her fears, sharing her most private challenging moments, and pouring those feelings into her writing.

We need her words, her power of comedy, and the hope she delivers through her characters to help us keep going and embrace happiness.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group/The Dial Press for sharing this meaningful journey’s digital reviewer copy with me in exchange for my honest thoughts. Millions of thanks to Sophie Kinsella for bravely sharing this meaningful journey with us.

Sophie has been one of my most beloved authors for so many years now. It was heartbreaking to hear of her diagnosis and so inspirational to learn of her fight against cancer. This brave woman, not only had to relearn some of the basic skills following her operation, but she wrote a book, a work of fiction, yet her most autobiographical work to-date.

This book is a novella, but there is so much emotion and determination packed into the 122 pages. Eve wakes up in the hospital, learning that her life has just turned upside-down, and with the grim diagnosis she will likely not be coming back to her normal life as a successful novelist and a mother of five. This book really puts things in a perspective and is a very thought-provoking read. It is painfully honest and personal, but Eve's (and Sophie's) perseverance and hope shines through. The audiobook was amazing and the afterword, recorded by the author herself, was touching and uplifting.

There was no question for me on whether I was going to read this book. I adore this author and if she was brave enough to write her very personal story, I was going to read it. Let's celebrate life with Sophie and send her our love and support 🙏 ❤️

When I first started to read this novella, I wasn't sure what to expect, as she likes to write stories with "a happy ending"******

After having an 8 hour brain operation on a tumor, Eve's life was turned upside down. Then the waiting for the test results and worring about her 5 children, sadly, the results turned out to be a rare form of a cancerous tumor.

Thankfully, (she loved that positive word) she had an extremely supportive and loving husband, who stood with her 100%, and over a board game of family Scrabble, she broke the news to their 5 bewildered children, and answering their questions.

At this time, I felt some tears run down my face, as I personally knew someone in this position, with a brain tumor, a that came by my job to personally tell me "goodbye" at only 27 yrs old.

So, think positive, enjoy today and hopefully Sophie and her family will also have a "happy ending"

This should be a must-read for everyone, as tomorrow is never promised.

Read this book and encourage others to do the same.

This will also be posted on Good Reads

Which is about a mom with brain cancer. It is semi-autobiographical and it blew me away to learn that one of my all time favorites, suffers from such a terrible and life threatening disease. The story details her journey, including the very raw emotion of the diagnosis and the horrific treatments. It is honest and gritty and real and so emotional. All the stars and admiration for her putting this out there for all of us to read. I read it in one sitting and thought about it for days afterwards. Thinking of Sophie Kinsella and her family and sending all the good thoughts their ways.

This book is short but immensely powerful.

Eve is a writer with such good luck: a flourishing career, a family, a husband who adores her. And then it all changes with a brain tumor. She is still incredibly lucky with her family and husband but now there is surgery, recovery, chemo and radiation...and the very fuzzy future.

This was a beautiful portrait of a person, eternally optimistic, who has to deal with some of the worst news we feel we could get. I empathized with Eve and her family having been through a similar scare with my own partner. There were many scenes that were familiar and brought up the fear, sadness and uncertainty.

I thank Sophie for sharing her journey: for having the courage to write about it and the courage to remain optimistic. I hope that only good luck continues.

I am not really sure how I can even review this book. I knew that this story was personal for the author, I knew that it was going to be heartbreaking, and I knew that she was going to tell Eve and Nick’s story in the most honest way possible. It was everything that I thought it was going to be.

It’s no secret that I am a big fan of Sophie Kinsella’s writing. Was I looking forward to reading this book? Well, yes, it’s a Sophie Kinsella book, but it also made it more difficult because I knew that it was based on her own life. She did an incredible job of telling this story. For someone who is used to creating fictional characters with fictional storylines, how daunting must it be to open yourself up and tell a version of your own story. While it is in a different style than what I was used to from her, it worked perfectly. It pulled me into Eve’s life, her career, her marriage, her children’s lives, and her battle with cancer. I don’t think a page went by where I wasn’t wiping the tears from my eyes. It all felt real, too real. F cancer!

What Does It Feel Like? was a special story, an important story. The strength, the perseverance, the positivity, bravery, and the abundance of love was present throughout. I wish that this was solely a fictional novel, but then again, I wish that no one ever had to live through the reality of this disease. All I can say about What Does It Feel Like? is that it is a raw, unforgettable story that is told with the utmost bravery and candor. I sincerely wish for nothing but happy endings for this wonderful author and her family.

*5 Stars

This novella surprised me. At first I thought it might be a bit light/shallow, an established author doing glitzy things. I was very wrong, and welcomed the destruction of my pre-judgement. This is captivating and I most certainly shed some tears. A short, but meaningful piece! Loved the different writing styles, it broke things up nicely - allowed time for the reader to recover from heavier emotions or brought forth a change in feeling. Will be recommending!

This short, autobiographical novel is a courageous take on the author's own struggle with a brain tumor. One minute Eve is buying a dress she is hoping she will one day have a place to wear and then the next she is waking up in the hospital after surgery to remove a brain tumor.

Based on her life, Kinsella portrays such a depth of emotion and the struggle of learning to walk, talk and live with a diagnosis that is very grim. This is worth the read for anyone as we all know people who have lived and died with cancer diagnoses. The writing is beautiful and you really feel like you understand a little more what her life has been like.