My Mess Is A Bit Of A Life by Georgia Pritchett

My review

2/5 stars

If I'm being totally honest, I'm not sure what I was expecting from this book when I requested an advanced copy from NetGalley, but what I got didn't really hit the mark for me. It was sold as a "joyful reflection on living with anxiety" and the format indicated as "gloriously comic vignettes"; I found myself failing to connect with either sentiment as I read through.

The vignettes described in the blurb were quite off-putting as a format to begin with; I struggled to immerse myself in the random rambling thoughts and put them together into something coherent. I later came to realise that this may have been done on purpose to illustrate the chaos inside the author's mind, but as someone who lives inside their own chaotic mind, the concept just fell a little flat for me. It's worth noting that I did find the format easier as the book progressed and the vignette's followed a more obvious timeline in the author's life and seemed connected to each other.

There were parts of the book that I found funny (such as making her anxiety bear anxious rather than using the bear to get rid of her own anxieties), but overall the book just didn't appeal to my sense of humour. However, I was able to appreciate that the humour made it possible for the author to approach certain poignant topics with a degree of levity.

Having had no familiarity with the author prior to reading the book, the pop culture insights into working with well-known bands on their TV shows and movies, and writing on some very popular, acclaimed comedy shoes was a pleasant surprise and probably the part of the book I enjoyed the most.

I'm sure there are plenty of readers who would enjoy this book and find it funny, but sadly, on this occasion I am not one of them.

* I received an advanced copy of this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Book blurb

Multi-award-winning television writer and producer Georgia Pritchett knows a thing or two about anxiety.

From worrying about the monsters under her bed as a child (Were they comfy enough?), to embracing womanhood, (One way of knowing you have crossed from girlhood to womanhood is that men stop furtively masturbating at you from bushes and start shouting things at you from cars. It's a beautiful moment) worry has accompanied her at every turn.

This memoir is a joyful reflection on just how to live - and sometimes even thrive (sometimes not) - with anxiety.

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You can buy the book here from 1 July 2021. It's being published by Faber & Faber.

For more on the author, you can follow her on Twitter, or check out her Goodreads page.