An immersive delightful memoir about the transformation of one woman's life as she and her husband renovate a Victorian country home. Highly recommended!

This was an interesting twist on the renovation memior I was expecting. I do wish it had gone into the nitty gritty details of the house updates, but I enjoyed this. As someone who really values mental health care and feels like we need to talk about these things more. I really loved all of the issues she brought up and the things she shed light on. This was enjoyable and I really recommend it.

If words on the page/screen can create a "feel-good" sensation like music or film, then Gutted is checked off the top of the list. I especially found the author’s stories of growing up plus raising her four Daughters uplifting while meanwhile leaving the city for the countryside & taking on a farmhouse, outbuildings & vast acreage. She must be a juggler in her spare time to maintain a successful, well-known home design firm plus a happy marriage!

(I even went down the rabbit hole of finding her childhood book, Rufus & Apron Springs, on Thriftbooks! The sweet retelling of the horse auction & the kitten had me reaching for a tissue, too.)

There are life lessons in every chapter of this book. In an age where we want it NOW, this Family had the discipline to understand the steps of getting there with a finished sterling product matter more than the instant gratification. If only more individuals realized this is a key component of achieving contentment, there would be less consumer debt & bankruptcies.

I don’t know anyone who hasn’t had a home improvement project or remodel take over & make the homeowner feel like they aren’t steering the ship…Maybe someone who lives in a hotel full-time doesn’t experience the rollercoaster of emotions & endless outflow of $$$ when your house reminds you how many years (or more likely decades) it has existed?

A charming feature of this read is that they celebrate & marvel in the journey that comes with the remodeling of a 100-year-old farmhouse. It isn’t a spiteful retelling of each hurdle they encountered & how much it cost. They love this structure that will be Home for the rest of their days. If I had to guess, the Home loves them right back.

If this house healed the author, her Husband & Daughters from the endless rat race of city living, I feel like you will close the book & experience the affection that she not only had for this project, but also for you, the reader.

This isn’t the first book that I have loved from this publisher either. I would encourage a reader to explore She Writes Press for other authors who share their outstanding work.

I thank NetGalley, the author & the publisher for sharing this book in exchange for a fair & honest review.

_Gutted_ is Maida Korte’s story of moving to a house in the country from the city and living in an old house to follow her husband’s dream. The couple moved from Chicago to a somewhat distant suburb, and this story discussed the transition as well as much of Korte’s past. She reflects on many aspects of homeownership and family as she discusses the shift in location and her family’s years in the house, with its joys and challenges. She’s an engaging enough narrator, although I did find myself wishing for more detailed stories of the house’s problems and their home projects given this book’s title, even if it was meant to be less than literal.

You are a sophisticated artist and designer who has lived in Chicago for years. What do you say when your husband proposes a move to the country? To an old, decrepit Victorian house that you will renovate? Maida Korte reluctantly says yes and a life changing journey begins. She believes that “a house is a world away from a home…” and begins to create that home. Maida will learn a lot about insulation, single pane windows, furnaces, wiring and more. She, once an overly sensitive child, probably with OCD, who lacked self esteem, will learn a lot about herself. In her new, rundown home outside the small town of Woodstock, she will realize just how capable she is.

Gutted is subtitled From There to Here: How an Old House Remodeled Me and that is a perfect description of this memoir. I’m not sure I could have done what Maida did - the bats alone would have left me screaming. The changes in the house and the changes in Maida make Gutted thought-provoking and hard to put down. 5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley, She Writes Press and Maida Korte for this ARC.