Brutally honest, uplifting and written with sensitivity and heart, My Pear Shaped Life is a brilliantly written tale women everywhere should read. Full of relatable situations and issues, My Pear Shaped Life is a fantastic tale from a writer who goes from strength to strength with every book she writes: Carmel Harrington.

Greta Gale has always been the fat funny one. Hiding behind jokes and humour helped Greta to mask her pain and unhappiness with herself and the direction her life was going in. Being the first one to take the mickey out of herself and putting herself down had become second nature to Greta and the role as the fat funny girl had seemed to fit her like a glove. Having always maintained to be happy with her size, Greta has always been the first to say that your dress size does not matter when you have a sense of humour. But the same sense of humour has started to wear thin now. Her big smile cannot stretch any further and it’s time for Greta to hang up the comedian persona she has hidden behind for so long and to take a long and hard look at herself. But is she going to like what she is going to find? Or will she find the impetus to take the bull by the horns and take charge of her life?

When Greta’s life begins to go pear-shaped, she finds herself with two options: she can either crumble and continue laughing at herself even though being funny is the last thing on her mind or she can take stock and begin to pick up the shattered fragments of her life. It’s going to take Greta great courage to pick herself up again without the shield she has hidden behind for so long. But will she realize that her latest misfortune could actually be the best thing that has ever happened to her?

Will Greta finally end up finding something to laugh about which isn’t a dig at herself? Or will she find herself falling straight back into the vicious circle she has been trapped in for years?

Carmel Harrington is a talented writer who creates female characters that are so real and believable that they end up becoming like friends and family by the end of the book. In My Pear-Shaped Life, she tackles insecurities, body images, weight issues and despair with assurance and compassion without resorting to mawkishness or melodrama, instead she has penned a book that will resonate with readers everywhere as it features a character it is impossible not to love, cheer for and relate to: Greta. A character so well written and so brilliantly nuanced, it is almost a chore to say goodbye to her by the end of the novel.

Written straight from the heart and full of humour, emotion and hope, My Pear-Shaped Life is a book you will devour and want to tell everyone you know about.

I was expecting a light hearted read but I got so much more. Having read one of the author's books before I should have known there would be a lot more to the book than the strap lines.

I don't think I am giving too much away to say that within the first few pages of the book Greta finds herself in rehab - I wasn't expecting this and began to re-evaluate just what the title of the book actually referred to.

Once Greta was in rehab I thought the book was going to be a little dour, but I began to love Greta and really routing for her to succeed. What followed in the rest of the book was surprise after surprise, really I didn't know where this book was going, and I doubt you could even second guess it. I got lost in the book and couldn't put it down.

Revelations were flowing from all the characters in the book and each was such a unique story, enriching the book so much. Towards the end of the book Greta fights a really big internal demon of hers and I was willing her to succeed so much.

I'm not sure the ending was the one I was expecting but I was ok with it. Lets just say for once the cynics won't be able to say it's predictable chic lit!

Carmel Harrington tackles social issues in such an accessible way and her latest, My Pear Shaped Life, is a classic case in point. The heroine is the larger than life Greta Gale who just happens to share a name with an American lifestyle guru. But while Dr Gale spreads her mantra for coping via social media and tours, her UK namesake struggles not only with a plus sized figure but an increasingly unhealthy addiction. With her aspiring acting career in free fall along with her self-esteem Greta descends into drug addiction to such a degree that rehab is the only solution. While barely recovered her much loved uncle Ray takes her on a US road trip culminating in an evening with Greta’s idolised US namesake. An enjoyable, warm, well researched and life-affirming story. Thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins for the ARC.

I love Carmel Harrington books and My Pear Shaped Life is no exception. It deals with difficult issues such as drug addiction and body image problems in a clever and respectful manner. Greta Gale is a powerful and likeable character that will stay in my memory in a long time to come.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC

Review:

I have read a handful of Carmel Harrington’s books and have loved them all. Some will make you weep with tears, you will definitely have some laugh out loud moments but most of all you will think about your life or the people around you and learn not to take life for granted.

A moment will cross and you say”a-ha” and you get just what she is trying to convey with her lovely words all sewn together.

My Pear Shaped Life is no different in that fact and I throughly loves reading it! A fabulously written story!

An excellent story, well written and engrossing. Even if it's a chick lit it's not as light as it seems and I liked how the author manages topics like body image.
The characters are interesting and well thought, the plot flows.
It was an excellent read, highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

Definitely a chick-lit book plus – almost a self-help manual for those who have low self-esteem due to image – but this is not to disparage chick-lit. Horses for courses and all that… I enjoyed this book but probably expected it to be more light-hearted and not so analytical.

We are introduced to Greta who is part of an Irish family, Mum, Dad, 2 brothers and an uncle (and presumably large extended family). Greta is the odd one out – oh yes, she is funny, very funny but she is also overweight and uses humour to camouflage her pain about this – and she has insomnia, serious insomnia. So bad in fact that she resorts to sleeping pills, initially on prescription, and she becomes addicted to them.

What follows is Greta’s journey to resolution and in the second half of the book we follow her, and her uncle Ray on a road trip to Las Vegas – her trip on the Yellow Brick Road – and plenty of references to The Wizard of Oz. To be honest, that bit rankled with me a bit, because the plot became somewhat contrived to accommodate the lion, the tin man and the scarecrow plus Dorothy.

Well-worth a read but definitely not a side-splitting, laugh a minute kind of story – more a thought-provoking ponder on the ravages of low self-esteem.

Thank you to the author, publishers and NetGalley for providing an ARC via my Kindle in return for an honest review.

Greta Gale is a gal in trouble. She is fat, a failed actress, hated by her family because of her size, and addicted to sleeping tablets. This story follows her as she goes from failed audition, to accidental? Overdose to rehab and finally a road trip with her uncle to find her namesake lifestyle guru hero. We follow the ups and downs of Greta, her uncle and their friends. Well written. Couldn't put it down

An interesting read, it wasn’t as light as I thought it would be but I definitely wasn’t disappointed I was pleasantly surprised. It deals with important issues like addiction, it obviously touches on body image and body positivity too. It was a bit slow I found in the middle but worth perseverance because it picks up again. A good story with solid writing. A wonderful book about self worth, self love and acceptance

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

Another fabulous inspiring story that didn’t fail to brighten my day. Anyone who has read previous books by Carmel will know that references to The Wizard of Oz pop up in her novels and in this one there are so many that you could be mistaken for being in The Emerald City!

The Gales family are a typical Irish bunch with terrific sense of humours but also with their own flaws. Greta Gale the daughter of Emily and Stephen is an outwardly a fun overweight young lady who has an addiction to sleeping pills. Greta laughs at herself even when others are being quite cruel with their remarks but a spell in rehab gives her tools to a happier life. Her uncle Ray announces that he is taking Greta on a road trip from Kansas to Las Vegas, which at first doesn’t go down well with her parents, but the chance to meet her namesake Greta Gale an American who she has idolised for so long is not to be missed.

The journey offers life changes not only to lonely Ray and low esteemed Greta but also to Billie, an old flame of Ray and to Dylan a friend of Greta. During the exciting trip they all discover who they are and more importantly who they can be.

There are highs and lows during the story but the support of friends and family shines through.

My thanks to Net Galley for the ARC digital copy of My Pear-Shaped Life which I thoroughly enjoyed and happy to give a 5 star review.

This is a book that has you reflect about your own body image and how you react to others. I have a mild bias going in, especially after seeing the author's note at the very beginning. I was super skinny throughout my childhood well into my bachelors, irrespective of what I ate or if I exercised at all. So when I started putting on weight, I did not know how to keep it in check (working out has turned out to be the best solution). I am not overweight, and I know some people would look askance at me for even talking about this topic, but that's pretty much the point of the narrative. Everyone has weaknesses and sometimes its easier to wallow than consider that there are alternatives, again-not talking of losing weight per se but to even see yourself healthily.

Greta Gale is a budding actor, she is also much heavier than she would like to be. She dresses in a way she thinks hides herself the most and also cracks jokes with others while being the punchline and has people in her corner and even as she does the judging, they help her out. Greta also learns the hard way that she has a problem with her coping mechanism. That is just the first half of the book, in the second we have a road trip with powerful parallels to the Wizard of Oz as the author warns us would happen. Both parts are pretty unique and have different learning curves for the protagonist and her loyal family and friend. I really liked the positivity running like a thread through it all, and I think this is a brand of Uplit that makes sense in the current social media-obsessed world where what you see is often not what you get, but you aim for that image anyway.

The only reason I did not give this a full five stars is because despite the serious content and the colourful characters (I loved Greta's mother the best) it took me a considerable time to get invested emotionally in their trials and I felt like the second half wrapped up a little too abruptly. It is still an excellent book to read and has all the kinds of people one could cheer for, and we are strongly advised to do just that both fictionally and in real life.

I received an ARC thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, but the review is entirely based on my own reading experience

I would like to thank the author, the publisher and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read an ARC of this book. I really don't know where to start as I loved this book from the first page to the last, the characters were fabulous and I was with them on every step of the journey, I actually cried when I finished the book as I was no longer able to spend time in their company. This is a must read book.

I love Carmel Harrington's books and this, her latest, is another fabulous read. Greta Gale, the lead character, is just wonderful. She is warm, witty and kind but she is also overweight, insecure, and really struggling with her life as she feels she doesn't fit in nor belong anywhere. This leads to a drug addiction (sleeping pills) which further leads to rehab. How Greta grows, heals and gets her life on track is the subject of this lovely book. She has a funny, kind and supportive family with a special closeness to her uncle Ray who delivered her when she was born and who regards her as the daughter he never had. The two of them embark on a road trip across America. They meet an old flame of Ray's who joins them on their trip midway through and who travels with them to their destination. It was really heart warming to see Greta's progress as she grows in confidence during the journey and how she comes to value herself and to accept that she is enough. There is a back story with Ray and his former love which is also interesting and keeps the reader guessing as to will-they-won't-they. There is also a wonderful young man called Dylan who is Greta's best friend. He and the other three main characters all relate very closely to the people in the Wizard of Oz story as each one has their own issues to overcome and there are many references throughout to that particular story and its similarities to their own situation. I rarely cry over books but this story had me shedding tears of joy, sadness and sheer emotion as a result of the beautiful words and story line and, of course, the true to life characters who I was sad to leave behind at the end of the book. Another absolute winner from Carmel I can't wait to see what she comes up with in her next book. My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC copy of this book. in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

Wow! This is a book I couldn’t put down! Just under three hours and I managed to devour this gorgeous book. This is a perfect book for when your feeling down. It’s definitely one to cheer you up. This has been the perfect read at the end of a busy day.

Fantastic book with loads of twists and turns loads of things happening with likeable and relatable characters.

This is the first book I read by this author and I will now look to read her previous ones.

Greta Gale is an aspiring actress whose big break seems just out of reach, but Greta is also unhappy with her life. Severely overweight and the butt of everyone’s jokes, she is also addicted to sleeping pills.

The first part of the book deals with Greta’s addiction and her struggle to beat it. The second part focuses on Greta and her uncle Ray as they take off on a trip to America.

A great book with a good cast of characters. Although the story deals with the tough subjects of addiction and body image, it is nonetheless an uplifting read.

Please be aware that this book does contain trigger warnings for drug addiction.

This is my first Carmel Harrington and I don’t think it will be the last. My Pear-Shaped life is a very uplifting book which reminds us that we are good enough even if we don’t fit current social norms. Greta is a very realistic character and I very quickly found myself rooting for her to get better.

I do feel like the synopsis of this book is slightly misleading as while the story does focus on Greta’s struggles with her weight, the main plot point in this story is her addiction to sleeping pills. I didn’t have an issue with this as I feel like not many books touch on the topic but I did feel a little blindsided going into the book.

Unfortunately, I did find myself getting a little bit bored in the second half of the book when her and her uncle decide to go to America. Whilst I loved the Wizard of Oz references, I felt that there was a lot of chapters that honestly were not needed. As much as I loved her Uncle Ray in this story I honestly felt like his plot line fell incredibly flat and was over so fast!

Overall it was a quick and pleasant read which focuses on the importance of self-worth and leaning to love yourself.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins for providing me with a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Wow, I don't know how Carmel Harrington does it, but wow! This book has just had me spellbound for the past 3 and a bit hours, where I couldn't put it down, didn't care about anything else I possibly should have been doing, and just had to keep reading.

And its such an uplifting story, all about body positivity , and how you should love yourself no matter your size which is a wonderful message. I'm on the larger side myself and could completely emphasise with some of the descriptions of Greta. Especially that moment when you realise you need to ask for a seat belt extension on a plane, for less than an inch of extra length needed, utterly mortifying.

It's not just body image that is covered, in this there is also to start with an addiction storyline, that is present throughout. The part in rehab felt very real and i can only imaging a large amount of research went into it.

All of the tough subjects dealt with in this story, are done so with utmost sensitivity, and give you a great insight into them.

And as much as I was gripped by the first parts of this book, it is the second half that really lifted me,and that I thoroughly enjoyed, at least as much as the first half if not more. For it features one of those things i love in a book - travel, and an American road trip. I'm not going to say why, or where, but I felt it was so well written that I was alongside Greta as she makes this trip, and the descriptions of the different towns and states match the little I knew of them.

This is eye opening, thought provoking, had me literally unable to tear myself away from the pages while I was reading it. This is Carmel Harrington at her very best, and I'm so glad that I've been able to read it.

Thank you to Harper and Netgalley for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

This book should be on prescription if your feeling a bit down!, Everyone has pear shaped moments in their lives but sometimes these moments make us stronger and allow us to grow and this book portrayed this perfectly.

Greta Gale is an inspiring actress. She is the girl who is always laughing, to the outside world she’s the life and sole of the party but deep done Greta is hiding a lot. She struggles with her size and feels less than enough. Turning to sleeping tablets for escape her life spirals out of control and her family insist on her going to a rehabilitation centre. Her friend Dylan is her constant support but will he ever be more than just a friend?

With time to reflect Greta reaches a turning point for . She is determined to change and when her uncle Ray books a surprise trip to Las Vegas for them both to visit Greta’s famous namesake who is her idiot her life becomes brighter. Their road trip takes them from Kansas to Las Vegas. Greta loves the Wizard of Oz and the trip takes them along their own yellow brick road, with Ray meeting up with his first love, Billie along the way.

I loved Greta and cheered her on as she began to realise that loving herself was the most important thing. We are all surrounded by so much perceived perfection nowadays especially through social media. This book demonstrated that we sometimes believe the key to happiness is when we lose weight, find the perfect partner or job, when really these things are just extras.

Thank you Carmel Harrington for an emotional, inspirational read . You had me laughing, crying and , nodding my head in agreement throughout this uplifting read. Thank you also to netgalley and the publishers for my chance to read this beautiful book.

What a lovely story this new novel by Carmel is! I’ve followed Carmel from the very beginning of her new career as a published author and I have never been disappointed in what I have read. This novel is new and fresh and tells the story of Greta Gale, a young Irish would-be actress, currently searching for her big break and still living at home with her supportive parents and two younger brothers. She has not been successful with her auditions for quite some time and she thinks she knows the reason why: because she is a plus size and she is anything but a slim Jim. She has laughed off her clumsy accidents and her size related nickname, supposedly happy and full of fun. What her family don’t know is that she is an addict. She couldn’t possibly tell them because she knows that they, all slim and contented, would be disappointed.
However, matters come to a head when she crashes into a neighbour’s front garden. She sees her beloved mother’s injuries and she just knows that it cannot go on. She eventually confesses to her shocked family and goes into rehab, with their full support and lots of love. If you want to know more about this story, the book is published on 1st March and I know you will love this novel and recommend it as a good read. It’s heart-breaking at times, sunny and funny too at other times, as well as full of wisdom, compassion and an exciting Road Trip based around the theme of ‘The Wizard of Oz’. Carmel writes with fluency and flair, her descriptions are wonderfully vivid and tantalising and her characters will definitely feel like they are close friends that you really care for as you get to know and empathise with them. It’s a real rollercoaster of ‘firsts’, memories, love and loss and new beginnings. I particularly liked the first part which gripped me instantly. Through health issues during my pregnancy I put on masses of weight, reaching 107kg when our son was born. I dieted to an eventual 72.6Kg. which is how I feel comfortable. I have a large frame (I like to believe)! So I had masses of empathy for Greta. It’s not easy to diet and she was in despair. I loved the ending which I felt was well balanced and true to life. The mid story was a bit slow for me.
I received this book through my membership of NetGalley and from publisher HarperCollins, all in return for an honest review. Thank you for my copy. These are my own thoughts and I have not been influenced at all. It’s a 3.5* review from me.