Because sometimes happiness isn't a choice. Sometimes, no matter how hard you try, you can't find joy. Which is why I've decided to stop beating myself up by desperately seeking happiness and give myself the permission to feel exactly how I feel, when I feel it. In fact, maybe, it's not happiness we should be looking for after all - but acceptance.” 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. Read the hilarious rom-com that inspired the hit new sitcom Not Dead Yet starring Gina Rogriguez ( Jane the Virgin), Hannah Simone ( New Girl) and Lauren Ash ( Superstore). As recommended on Davina McCall's Making the Cut podcast, and perfect for fans of Dolly Alderton, Ruth Jones and Marian Keyes.

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. 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.Reakcia človeka na pokutu za parkovanie, stúpnutie do psieho hovna, meškajúci vlak a umierajúcu včielku vám o ňom veľa prezradí. Aj to, ako niekto manévruje s nákupným košíkom v supermarkete. The thing is, no matter how settled you think you are, life always has alternative plans, and Nell's life is no different.

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? 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. As Nell's story unfolds there is lots of laughter, lots of tears, life throws many curved balls when you are a childless, unmarried forty year old with a boyfriend who has a spreadsheet for everything, parents who have accepted " Alexa" as a family member, an eighty year old best friend who has more "get up and go" than you have ever had and who wears dungarees and silver plimsoles, three best friends with husbands and children who are all living the dream............or are they ? a glamorous old friend who re emerges, an old friend who can do "put downs" in the most sophisticated way, an old friend who also flirts with your boyfriend. 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".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. However, her friends of a similiar age all seem to be in a different place...marriage, kids, careers and Nell thinks of herself as a bit of a F-up.

People always talk about happy endings, but I think it should be happy beginnings. Who wants to talk about endings when ahead is a brand new year, stretching out before you. One filled with infinite possibilities and wonderful new opportunities and decisions to be made and doubts to be had and a whole lot of love to be explored.” Duchov a tiene netreba zamiesť pod koberec," prízvukuje mi, "ale poriadne si na nich posvietiť. Nesmiete žiť v minulosti." First of all, to be fair to the author, she doesn’t go down the whole probably won’t have children, but might just save it at the last minute (!) and pop one out route. And you have to respect that. Now a major TV series. Read the hilarious rom-com that inspired the hit new sitcom Not Dead Yet starring Gina Rogriguez ( Jane the Virgin), Hannah Simone ( New Girl) and Lauren Ash ( Superstore). As recommended on Davina McCall's Making the Cut podcast, and perfect for fans of Dolly Alderton, Ruth Jones and Marian Keyes. 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.Thankfully it was easy enough to catch up and work most of it out, except now I want to read book one because what a TREAT! This is just that kind of warm, hilarious, insightful and relatable read which I love, and Nell and her friends are now firm favourites - the friendships really were the heart of this for me 🫶 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. The women whom I love and admire for their strength and grace did not get that way because shit worked out. They got that way because shit went wrong and they handled it. They handled it in a thousand different ways on a thousand different days, but they handled it. Those women are my superheroes. ELIZABETH GILBERT” However, I am not sure what I think about this book. It for sure gives you with it promises in the title: more confessions. This novel simply follows Nell and her opinions about life. Some are brilliant, some are not, I agree with some, with some I don't agree... But altogether, for me, the plot was not strong and felt mixed up. On the other hand, there are many, many points that resonated with me and there are for sure many, many women out there with same thoughts and feeling.

Funny but layered, light-hearted but surprisingly deep, this is a perfect and inspiring new year read' - Red 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.I won’t lie; there were moments I thought, ‘Is this story ever going to end?’ But those short, snappy chapters? They were like little pit stops in a marathon, ensuring I was well-fed with light humor and hope as I journeyed through. Nell makes herself write a gratitude list to help her survive her life, and gradually her list goes from breathing to achievements that she is really proud of. But mostly she becomes proud of herself, f##k up's and all, which is so lovely not to mention empowering to watch. One is the “relationship” with the hot dad/uncle. I felt there could have been more added to Nell & Johnny’s story and I was disappointed by the outcome. Nell handled it very mature which on one hand was great but I wanted it handled in the “Nell” way. It was just cut too short and tied in too neat a bow. the friendships that Nell has in her life, they flounder and flourish, and reminds me that friendship needs to worked at to keep alive