Confessions of a Forty-Something F**k Up (Confessions, 1)

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Landing a job writing obituaries, Nell meets the fabulous Cricket, an 80-something widow with challenges of her own. It had everything I was looking for in a novel and I hope others pick this up and love it as much as I did. If I could put those things aside it would be a 5 star read for pure entertainment (and a few emotional tears). I wish this was more focused on the podcasts and what she actually says on them; we are told that she's getting these insane amount of followers but it's barely mentioned apart from as an anecdote and just doesn't feel well thought out.

An amazing read which has you laughing and crying in equal measure and am sure the storyline will resonate with a lot of people and they will be able to emojis those with the rollercoaster of going through your forties and all the things that life throws at you. I'm not sure if I ever would have picked up Alexandra Potter's new book, Confessions of a Forty-Something, if I hadn't been offered it for review.

First of all, to be fair to the author, she doesn’t go down the whole probably won’t have children, but might just save it at the last minute (! Că fericirea nu e ceva ce îți dau alții, că îți poți îndeplini obiectivele din tinerețe (soț, casă ca în reviste și copii la școli private) și tot sa nu fii fericită.

This is the one book I’ve found which is supposed to be about women like me, only to find out that it isn’t.But sometimes, the book is as good as the original and you find yourself laughing out loud in public spaces and wondering and doubting alongside the main characters like you did in U. In her forties and feeling like a failure and so far removed from all these bullocky and unrealistic bloody hashtags, she is childless and feeling more than less than. She’s just broken up with her fiance, moved back in with her parents, and hasn’t got a proper career to speak of.

I did have some issues with the portrayal of childless women but it is comedy/light entertainment and I don't want to discuss my views here.And as a side note, I have been thinking about Cricket and Nell’s activity and wonder if that’s a real thing because if it is, it’s fantastic! And here she Is single, childless, renting a room from the crazy man who tries to leave NO carbon footprint by counting toilet paper squares etc. I wonder if I am alone in my feelings on this book or whether there are other women out there who feel the same way as me? I adore that film and that pettiness and suspicion of newcomers is something that is relatable to anyone who has ever been friends with a group of women and I liked how this subplot was resolved.

A book for anyone who’s ever worried life isn’t going to plan, Confessions of a Forty-Something F--k Up by Alexandra Potter will make you laugh and it might even make you cry. And sometimes the author delivers that more and while you like the sequel, it’s not as good as the first book and maybe that’s because you loved the original so much that nothing could be as good or perhaps something has changed in your life that you didn’t need the book as much as you initially did. I would like to thank Tandem Collective UK, Pan Macmillan and Alexandra Potter for sending me a hardback copy of ‘Confessions of a Forty-Something F**k Up’ as part of the Tandem Collective UK readalong; I would also like to thank NetGalley for allowing me to access a digital copy of the novel in exchange for an honest review. This suited Nell as he was stuffy and had too many rules, aka, one square of toilet paper per bathroom visit and a caveat not to touch the thermostat.There aren’t even many markers of what’s happening in the outside world; Jude moves to a loft in SoHo as a young man, but we don’t see the neighborhood change from gritty artists’ enclave to glitzy tourist destination. Interspersed between the narrative are references to Nell’s entertaining podcast, along with her notebook entries on what she is grateful for each day. Female friendships, the way some are domineering and will always show the 'my life is perfect', look at my Insta and look at my fancy wardrobe and stylised persona. Together they help each other heal their aching hearts, cope with the loss of the lives they had planned, and push each other into new adventures and unexpected joys.