Confessions of a Forty-Something F**k Up: The Funniest WTF AM I DOING? Novel of the Year (Confessions, 1)

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Synopsis (It's a fiction book, so it helps…from Netgalley, the provider of the book for me to review.) No Job - not my fault. Had a job. Enjoyed it. Pandemic came along. Lost job. So instead I say I'm a writer, when really I'm a failed author pleading for someone to read my book.

The first Confessions book was one of my favourites of 2021. It was so original and I absolutely loved it! So I squealed with excitement at being given a copy of the sequel. Of course, I realize this is just a new stage of life, and one that–if all this midlife stuff is to be believed–I should be embracing. But what if you’re not ready for this new stage? What if you haven’t even reached the old stage yet? Even if you’re not sure about having kids it’s comforting to know you’ve got options. No one wants to be The Woman For Whom Time Ran Out. You want to be the one making the decisions. Sitting on the fence is one thing, but what happens when the fence is taken away from you? Do you jump off joyfully or fall crashing to the floor?”

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In the sequel to the bestselling Confessions of a Forty-Something F##k Up, there are a lot more lessons to be learned, truths to be told, adventures to go on and joys to discover. But first, she has some more confessions... In this book the pair decide not just to help each other but through their column in a newspaper magazine they’re sharing their experience, humour and common sense with the world in general. I’ll leave you to find out if they both get their happy ever after..

From that late urge to want motherhood to dealing with the beginnings of Perimenopause, friendships becoming fragile as everyone is dealing with their own issues and realising you might not actually have it all together, despite being closer to 50 than before.She cites the miscarriage scene in Fleabag as a perfect example of this. “That has happened to friends, who have had one in the toilet at work, for example, and then had to rush into a meeting.” She pauses. “I think it’s very difficult for us to be vulnerable, but when we allow ourselves to be, like Chrissy Teigen did with her miscarriage and then Meghan Markle with her New York Times essay, that’s when we get that real connection – because we’re being honest and real.” Nell’s openhearted candor is proof that the more we love, and the more we give, the more love we have to give. Rather than her insecurities making her a viciously jealous Mean Girl, the bumbling heroine’s compassion and understanding make her an unwitting advocate for the downtrodden. In the hilarious and heartfelt follow-up to Confessions of a Forty-Something F##k Up Nell discovers that there's no such thing as having it all figured out.

In books, TV shows and films, everything is dialled up to be fantasy, the perfect wife/husband, the perfect children, the perfect house, the perfect figure, the perfect job, the perfect life. But in real life, no relationship, no friendship, no sex, no job is perfect. Whilst I'm aware this book is also a fiction and should be a fantasy, it really holds a mirror up to us as a society. It talks about the negatives of being a woman in society, making it so familiar and relatable, but shows that you don't have to be perfect to be perfect. I highly recommend this book, it is for every one of us, for the ‘outcasts’ like me (childfree by choice, gasp!) who try to walk life through a different path than one that is deemed acceptable, or for someone like you who may have achieved the so-called ‘milestones’ in life, is considered a ‘success’ by society but like Nell’s friends in the book may feel like a f-up nonetheless. A book begging to be read on the beach, with the sun warming the sand and salt in the air: pure escapism.Living in London, Nell is content with her life. She enjoys her job writing obituaries, has a strong circle of friends (including the ultimate frenemy). Yet people, especially her parents are worried that she hasn't married, had children, is not successful. Nell is apparently a "Forty-Something F**k Up". FREE: REGISTER NOW] Why do we need role models of childless elderwomen? Join us for our December 2023 ‘Fireside Wisdom with Childless Elderwoman’ session, Wed 20th December, 8pm Join her for more laugh-out-loud lessons to be learned,truths to be told, adventures to go on and joys to discover. I've said it before that I'm not overly fond of books that talk about the pandemic, as I want escapism, I don't want to read about something I lived through. But Alexandra has found a balance here. She's mentioned it - as anyone would if their book is set during that time - but it's not a main plot point. It helps give context to a few things, but the story would equally be as great without it.

First of all, thank you NetGalley, Pan Macmillan, and Alexandra Potter for allowing me access to this e-ARC! Now, we're 2.5 years on from that, I am now 30, and I am 1) still single, 2) still childless, and 3) have no job but still refer to myself as a writer, albeit a failed one when it comes to actually finishing anything. After thoroughly enjoying Confessions of a 40-Year-Old F***Up, I was thrilled to hear there was a sequel. The author has done a stellar job in conveying these social issues through humour and I end this review with one line from the book -Because Nell is determined. Next year things are going to be very different. It’s time to turn her life around. I’ve had that title in my head since my late thirties,” says author Alexandra Potter, “when I used to moan to my friends, ‘Oh God, I’m going to be a forty-something f--- up.’ So I really fought for it!” The book features an array of wonderful friendships. From cross generational, to long distance, to the support you find when someone has seen you at your best, and your lowest, over many years. The thing is, no matter how settled you think you are, life always has alternative plans, and Nell's life is no different. I will continue to read Alexandra Potter’s books, as from the 3 books I’ve read so far by her, I thinks she does a great job at capturing the trials and tribulations of women in their 40’s.