I even took the book to the ice hockey with me to read inbetween intervals.
The book is available to buy from Amazon, click HERE.
You can find Amanda on Twitter and Instagram.
Women Like Us: A Memoir by Amanda ProwseMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
Time taken to read - in and out over 10 days
Pages - 396
Publisher - Little A
Source - Review copy
Blurb from Goodreads
I guess the first question to ask is, what kind of woman am I? Well, you know those women who saunter into a room, immaculately coiffed and primped from head to toe?
If you look behind her, you’ll see me.
From her childhood, where there was no blueprint for success, to building a career as a bestselling novelist against all odds, Amanda Prowse explores what it means to be a woman in a world where popularity, slimness, beauty and youth are currency—and how she overcame all of that to forge her own path to happiness.
Sometimes heartbreaking, often hilarious and always entirely relatable, Prowse details her early struggles with self-esteem and how she coped with the frustrating expectations others had of how she should live. Most poignantly, she delves into her toxic relationship with food, the hardest addiction she has ever known, and how she journeyed out the other side.
One of the most candid memoirs you’re ever likely to read, Women Like Us provides welcome insight into how it is possible—against the odds—to overcome insecurity, body consciousness and the ubiquitous imposter syndrome to find happiness and success, from a woman who’s done it all, and then some
My Review
I have heard/read and even used warts and all used many times and I absolutely am using it for this book however it is probably the first time I am using it with actual pure felt meaning! So if you don't know who Amanda Prowse is she is an author who has written A LOT of books, I have read 3 with a few more on my tbrm and many more to buy! So about the book, Prowse takes us through her life, from a wee barra, teen, adult and authorhood.
This book took me through Amanda's life and back to quite a few stages of my own. Some of the things/experiences were so relatable I could have written them myself. Then there was some shockaroonies like the sanitary belt, I absolutely had to go and look that up. I can't imagine how you get into it let alone wear it!
The book is very open and honest and whilst I feel like you get that reading a lot of autobiographies Amanda Prowse felt it went deeper. If you have never had a battle with addiction, your weight or both then you may not appreciate just how much I imagine it cost to not only deal with that but to then commit it to paper and share it with the world. I wanted to reach out and hug her because it is a battle like no other and despite some addictions being treated more with compassion and understanding food/weight gain is still very judged/stigmatized.
The book is really interesting, emotive and takes us on many roads of the authors life and experiences, I have been struggling to read like I used to but for snippets of time I managed to loose myself. I cannot wait to read her other books and will absolutely be buying up others as I go along. If you only read one memoir this year make it this one, 5/5 for me.
Of an age I can remember the dreaded sanitary belt and Dr White sanitary towels ... oh the joy when adhesive sanitary towels became known. I actually had a ceremonial burring of my sanitary towel belts. Sorry, TMI. Seems like a wonderful read and not just for fans of the author by the sound of it. I'll keep it in mind, thanks.
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