I grew up in a (religious) culture where if you're not married by 21 (the time you finish uni), you're on the shelf, a failure at your divine calling (aka pumping out babies), and you're doing something wrong. When I found myself divorced at 24 and was single for a few years, I experienced EXACTLY what Nell Stevens was experiencing at forty-something.
Flying through these 500 pages of Nell feeling like a forty-something f##k up felt like reading my thoughts when I felt like a twenty-something f##k up. I thought I would never get over the feeling that I was floundering when everyone was flying. And yes, it is basically criminal to feel that way at twenty-something because that's so bloody young and absolutely everything is ahead of you at that age.
Alexandra Potter has put into words what so many people are feeling when life doesn't go according to The Plan. At 500 pages this looks daunting, but the chapters are so palatable that you just keep flying through them and it resonates so much. I loved seeing Nell come to terms with her forty-something life. This year of her life felt so familiar. And if it felt this familiar to me, I know it will to anyone who has ever asked themselves What the f##k am I doing?
Flying through these 500 pages of Nell feeling like a forty-something f##k up felt like reading my thoughts when I felt like a twenty-something f##k up. I thought I would never get over the feeling that I was floundering when everyone was flying. And yes, it is basically criminal to feel that way at twenty-something because that's so bloody young and absolutely everything is ahead of you at that age.
Alexandra Potter has put into words what so many people are feeling when life doesn't go according to The Plan. At 500 pages this looks daunting, but the chapters are so palatable that you just keep flying through them and it resonates so much. I loved seeing Nell come to terms with her forty-something life. This year of her life felt so familiar. And if it felt this familiar to me, I know it will to anyone who has ever asked themselves What the f##k am I doing?