Kristin Newman

I suppose it shouldn't be surprising that this book is hilarious. Newman's voice is warm, engaging, and deeply honest (in a more than you wanted to know kind of way). As a woman in my late thirties, I found a lot to connect with here, and some inspiration as well -- my only sigh of disappointment is that, much like Eat, Pray, Love, it starts out with a woman who learns to embrace her enviable single life and ends up with the final romance she was looking for all along. You know, we haven't all found that final, blissful, romance. And I'm a little tired of all the books insisting that it's coming. What rescues that arc is Newman's unfailingly engaging, realistic voice, that promises more crazy highjinks to come in a life well lived.

Advance copy provided by Edelweiss.

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I'm not quite sure why I didn't give this the whole 5 stars, but 4.5 felt right, even though I can't think of a single thing I didn't like about it.

Although I could have happily lived out my days not knowing about the prostitute named Victoria in Amsterdam.

This is a book, I think, that one will either really like, or find to be a pointless, narcissistic journey of self-denial, depending on one's personal life experiences. For me, it resonated strongly. I lived the PG version of this woman's life for almost 10 years, never stopping long in any one place. Any relationships I had were with men who lived progressively further and further away until, upon hearing I was being setup with a co-worker's Australian best mate, another friend quipped that anyone else from here on out would have to be geographically closer simply because I couldn't get any further away. (Fortunately, the Aussie stuck and he's now my DH.)

So, I could relate, albeit on a much calmer, drug-free level. I get the journey she went on and how she got where she ultimately wanted to be, in spite of herself. As a result, I loved reading this book; plus, it's hysterical and it's well-written. I went into it thinking it was going to be told from more of a "why I chose not to have kids" POV, which it isn't at all, but what it was, was even better.

If the first line of this book appeals to you: "I am not a slut in the United States of America." then I strongly recommend this book.


[PopSugar 2015 Reading challenge: A MemoirI]
[Sock Poppet's 2015 Read-By-the-Month Reading Challenge: new to me author]… (more)