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

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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. In this hilarious, un-put-downable follow-up to the bestselling Confessions of a Forty-Something F## k Up, now the basis for the major TV series called Not Dead Yet, there are laugh-out-loud lessons to be learned, truths to be told, adventures to go on and joys to discover. Unwittingly, Nell seems to stumble from one incident to another. Grounded in familiar everyday family and work situations, these situations remain plausible despite being a work of fiction. Nell is also utterly relatable as the continual survivor and you can't help but cheer her on. The story of Nell Stevens’ struggle through her imperfect, messy life doesn’t just make brilliant fiction, it’s turning into a cultural revolution!' – Matt Cain It’s rare for any book to actually make me laugh out loud like this one did (more than once) and for a book to resonate on so many levels with me.

A funny and heartfelt novel for any woman who wonders how the hell she got here and why life isn't quite how she imagined it was going to be.

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Confessions of a forty-something f##k up is the story of 40 -something Nell Stevens who at the very outset of the book asks herself — ‘How the hell did I get here?’ She has just returned to the UK after her life and relationship in California have fallen apart. Her friends in the UK have moved on with their lives, they are married, have children and she no longer seems to have anything in common with them. Her financial situation is dire enough for her to flatshare with eco-conscious Edward and out of desperation, she has taken up a job writing obituaries to make ends meet. But the well-structured story of Nell’s journey into light develops like her podcast, building organically, not forced, as she navigates her gloominess. After deriding trite hashtags and motivational messages, she ends up writing a slew of her own. At the end of each chapter, listing things for which she’s grateful, many are quotable enough for social media posts. (Also, the clever easy-to-miss footnotes are like tiny secret prizes.)

I have read all of Alexandra Potter's wonderful novels and not one of them has disappointed. Her writing style is casual, flirty, accessible... her books are an absolute joy to read, delving into the characters' thoughts and feelings in a way that not only has the reader relating to them, but fully empathising with them. In this instalment, it looks like Nell has her life under control, her ship is sailing smoothly. Maybe she isn’t such a f##k up after all? Or are the wheels about to come off her wagon again? Yet only recently have a broader selection of messy, unfiltered female characters entered the zeitgeist, primarily through our TV screens, with Phoebe Waller-Bridges’s Fleabag, Sara Pascoe’s Out of Her Mind, Katherine Ryan’s The Duchess and Lucy Prebble and Billie Piper’s I Hate Suzie all proving that it is possible for a woman to own both her flaws and failures.But then something happened that no one expected, turning the world upside down in a way no one could have ever imagined. Eighteen months on, life is finally returning to normal! But what is normal anymore? Watch now] ‘Challenging the Lazy Stereotypes of Childless Women in Fiction and Films’. A free World Childless Week webinar: Thursday 14 September 2023, 7pm BST

A novel for any woman who wonders how the hell she got here, and why life isn't quite how she imagined it was going to be. And who is desperately trying to figure it all out when everyone around them is making gluten-free brownies. It's still as funny and as honest and as relatable. Bizarrely, I found it really moving. When you get these kind of haphazard rom-coms (a genre I will be trademarking) you expect them to be fun and silly and light-hearted. You don't expect to find yourself crying at them, which I did on several occasions. But not always at the sad bits. Yes, there were sad bits and that made me teary, but the pure hope running through the book is so moving too. May 9, 2023 ] ‘Calm After the Storm’ and other treasures to support your childless heart on Mother’s Day Join her for more laugh-out-loud lessons to be learned,truths to be told, adventures to go on and joys to discover. 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..Brilliantly written, extremely relatable, honest, full of humour and totally uplifting, Everyone needs to read this (you don’t have to be forty-something) and realise it’s never too late to change what you don’t like in your life and their are tons of women dealing with the same thoughts and feelings. All of these pressures and stigmas – aren’t many of them propagated not by men but women, though? “Women do have a competitive streak, but I think that’s in life generally, and on the contrary I have always found them to be very supportive of one another.” After thoroughly enjoying Confessions of a 40-Year-Old F***Up, I was thrilled to hear there was a sequel. More Confessions of a Forty-Something F**k Up" by Alexandra Potter is an absolute gem that had me hooked from the very beginning. Having thoroughly enjoyed the first installment, I was eager to dive into Nell's world once again, and I can confidently say that this sequel did not disappoint. Potter's portrayal of Nell, a never-married, childless, forty-something podcaster and obituary writer, is both hilarious and relatable.

After reading the first book earlier in the year and loving that, I just knew I had to read this! And I’m pleased to say, this was every bit as good as the first book, I loved it. ❤️ Because Nell is determined. Next year things are going to be very different. It’s time to turn her life around. I really loved this catch up with the characters. I leave them at the end of this book wishing them well, and wondering if we will get another peek into their lives again in a few years, I hope so. 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". Mothers & Childless Daughters – a very hot topic for our next free Fireside Wisdom with Childless Elderwomen webinar

My bookclub friends will appreciate this one. ——‘When did I stop buying expensive lingerie and start buying expensive hoovers? Worst still when did I start getting excited about my new hoover?’ 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 -