But there are two main things I have a problem with in this book. The first is the main character’s grief. Now I know this is a humorous book, I totally get that. But humour and pain can co-exist quite nicely, especially in fiction. My gripe is the main character feels pain, but not quite enough. This is not to say that the pain of the childless can’t be overcome, not at all. All I’m Friends that I used to have but don't have anymore and didn't even think about them for years until today and all I remember is all the fun that we used to have and nothing else. Life is rarely a straight line, and as the saying goes, 'Life is not a puzzle to be solved, but a dance to be danced’. That's certainly the case for our forty-something protagonist, Nell, and we have a front-row seat to her grand rhapsody.

I actually read the first look of this over on Readers First and thought it was such an uplifting and fun book; and I felt that way for perhaps the first half, but then i just began to feel very cliche and the ending was just really disappointing for me. I thought this was going to be a story about her finding herself and I was hoping the ending would follow suit but then it just felt like such a let-down for me. This piece of women’s fiction is truly undersold in being labelled in such a misaligned genre. Its wonderful, funny, powerful, clever and insightful and I fear that people will overlook it because of the label attached to it and brush it off as something unimportant. Nell Stevens is a great protagonist for the reader to get behind and cheer for. Her life is an utter shambles at the start of the novel which appropriately begins in January of a new year alone, with a failed business, broken engagement and a return to the UK from living the American dream behind her, with her apparent inability to even see five things to be grateful for in her newly created gratitude journal. But as the months go by, things don’t magically fall into place ending in a happily ever after that would be so predictable, but you see her take responsibility for her life, her choices, find a new career path, new and old friendships developed and a willingness to sit with her single status in the midst of society’s coupledom concept and find life to be good, just as it is by the end of the year. A life affirming, insightful, savvy and meaningful contemporary fiction piece, I am very happy to send my full recommendation to Confessions of a Forty Something by Alexandra Potter. Synopsis (It's a fiction book, so it helps…from Netgalley, the provider of the book for me to review.)It's feeling happy and content, because life is a success and all sorted out and you’re exactly where you

This book is just as funny and heartfelt from start to finish and for any woman or man who wonders how the hell she got here and why life isn't quite how she imagined it was going to be... Na starobe je smutné len to, že strácate priateľov a ľudí ktorých máte rada," pokračovala. Všetci naokolo vás umierajú, jeden po druhom. Prísť o Montyho nie je ľahké, ale veľkú časť života som prežila prv, ako sme sa s nim sme sa spoznali, bol workoholik a často pracovne preč. Som zvyknutá na jeho neprítomnosť... No prísť o kamarátky bolo v mnohých ohľadoch oveľa ťažšie, ako prísť oňho.. Told in a diary style format by Nell (first person) be prepared to embrace what everyday life throws at you and how you deal with it . . . . . family,friends,laughter,sadness,gratitude. Nuž neviem, ale som si istá, že o tom už bol napísaný článok. Lebo pokiaľ ide o záležitosti spojené s rodením detí, všetci sú odborníci. Ani nespočítam články, ktoré som prečítala o trampotách násťročných/slobodných/starších matiek. Na jednej strane "experti" varujúci, aby sme sa príliš nesústreďovali na kariéru a našli si čas založiť si rodinu, na druhej strane pranierujeme slobodné matky na sociálnych dávkach.Sally Philipps narration was absolutely perfect! Her voice was so easy to listen to and she made me laugh so much especially when Nell was being snarky or sarcastic. She made the book a real joy to listen to and she has definitely been added to on my favorite narrators list! This is a new favourite and one I could definitely listen to again as it made me smile so much. Alexandra Potter has created a wonderful character in Nell Stevens someone women of any age can identify with. This book has such a witty way of expressing the loss, the confusion, the desperation to be successful according to a set of standards that we have had nothing whatsoever to do with creating. It’s a reminder that sometimes where we find ourselves is exactly right, as it is, and that nothing is ultimately beyond redemption if you know how to view yourself and your own personal journey.

Starnutie nie je pre slabé nátury. Maj v úcte a pozdrav každého - od pokladničky po šoféra autobusu a baristu, čo vám servíruje kávu. My other favourite character is, of course, the gorgeous Arthur. I can’t resist a slightly mischievous, four footed ball of fluff. Duchov a tiene netreba zamiesť pod koberec," prízvukuje mi, "ale poriadne si na nich posvietiť. Nesmiete žiť v minulosti." Told with laugh out loud humor and the perfect wit Confessions of a Forty-Something F**k Up is the perfect book for any woman (or man) whether young or old that feels like she isn’t enough or in the right place in her life.Confessions of a Forty Something has a great structure. The novel follows a year in the life of Nell Stevens. The book is divided in terms of months of the year and significant moments in time in Nell’s life, such as New Year’s Day, Sunday Lunch, Easter Monday, Mothers Day and so on. I really enjoyed this format and I think it worked well to situate the reader in the unfolding story. Interspersed between the narrative are references to Nell’s entertaining podcast, along with her notebook entries on what she is grateful for each day. There are also snippets of conversations via communication channels such as Whats App. I found these inclusions funny, authentic and enlightening. Undoubtedly there is part of the story that feel somewhat cliché, this being women’s fiction and all, but there is a good dose of reality bound up in the creation of a cliché which is the precise reason that they are as such. Of course, there is a happily ever after ending of sorts, but it is not the typical rom-com ending where the girl ends up with the three-carat diamond on her finger and life being perfect. Rather it is seeing that we all have ideas and expectations of what life should look like, and how we are not measuring up, but a reminder that every person feels the same way. The old saying that you don’t have to worry about what anyone else thinks of you because they are so worried about themselves to notice you are the real moral of this story. That and the power of honesty and friendship.