I didn’t enjoy this as much as I thought I would, being a fan of Dawn O Porters previous work. Interesting read into the Hollywood lockdown but not her best work.

I've loved all the Dawn O’Porter books I've read so far and I think she's a really talented writer. Life in Pieces was really funny as well as poignant and it was good to have an insight into how others have handled 2020. Saying that, it maybe feels a bit too fresh at the moment as we're still in the midst of it but this doesn't detract from the quality of the writing.

I have such mixed feelings about this book. I’ll be honest and say that I didn’t request to read it and I don’t really want to read any books about this pandemic. Especially as we’re still living through it and will be for a long time yet. It was sent to me, and I do usually enjoy Dawn’s books. I struggled though bits of it because I wasn’t in a good place myself and it was too hard to read about lockdowns and riots. The parts about Dawn’s grief over Caroline were heartbreaking, though. I really feel for her losing a close friend in that way.
I don’t enjoy reading about her kid’s and pet’s bodily functions. I’m sorry. I know it’s kind of a diary and there wasn’t much else to talk about when you’re stuck inside with two young boys, a cat and a dog, but it’s just not interesting to me in the slightest.
I will continue to read Dawn’s fiction books, but this type of read just isn’t for me.

I have read every book by Dawn O'Porter and have loved every single one. She is funny, honest and relatable. But this book I didn't connect with in the same way. It wasn't a bad book, not even close, I just prefer her non-fiction works personally as they are what I like to read most. However, I love how relevant this is, talking about her times during the current pandemic. It is absolutely worth a read, I'm just more of a fiction fan.

I am a fan of Dawn O’Porter’s fiction writing so I was excited to read her new book Life In Pieces which are non-fiction diary entries from March 2020 onwards.

It is the first ‘lockdown diary’ I have read and I found Dawn’s version of lockdown in LA with two very young children an entertaining read. Strangely even authors with a huge following and married to famous actors had the same problems as everyone else during these testing times.

Dawn stresses over how much she is eating and drinking, will she run out of toilet rolls? and how to keep the children occupied.

There are some funny moments and Dawn’s observations on life in lockdown are honest, witty, and relatable. It has to be said that at the time of writing Dawn was also grieving the loss of a dear friend who tragically died. Her sadness is clear and might explain why she uses alcohol as a prop at times. Caroline Flack’s death just before the lockdown was a shock to everyone, even people who didn’t know her, so I can’t even imagine how close personal friends and family felt at this time.

Parents who experienced tight restrictions will find the book most relatable. From constant bodily fluid eruptions and homeschooling guilt, Dawn describes it all with absolute honesty.

I feel that the publisher and Dawn assumed that by the time the book was on the shelves the pandemic would be over and we would all be looking forward to Christmas. Sadly, this isn’t the case and the virus is still creating heartbreak and huge disruption. I’m sure that if the Corona Virus pandemic had passed it would have been a very different read for me. However, we are still living with all the stress and worry so this book is not the lighthearted, nostalgic account it was meant to be.

I picked up this book last week when I had seriously had enough of watching the news. If you feel anything like this and also have small children then YOU DEFINITELY NEED THIS BOOK! If you don’t have small children but are someone who loves a woman’s dry and witty observations on life, then you need it too. It was exactly the pick-me-up I needed and I’m so sad that it’s over!

It’s basically a fleshed out version of a diary that Dawn made in the depths of lockdown, to help her cope and to give her something to look back on. It catches Dawn at a time when she was grieving for her good friend Caroline Flack and then thrust into isolation with her husband and two boys. She ruminates on everything from raising boys to white privilege, grief, spirituality, fashion, food, drink and everything in between. There are quiet, contemplative and touching moments and very funny anecdotes.

What I loved most of all is that it is frank, honest, hilarious, thought-provoking and, in so many ways, relatable. I adored it and will no doubt be gifting it to lots of friends too.

Thank you so much Dawn O’Porter and Harper Collins for gifting me a digital copy of this book and for brightening my week.

A decent read from Dawn O’Porter. I’ve always loved her but I found this book it a little self indulgent,
It was nice to hear how she’s coped with a challenging year and it was especially poignant to read about her relationship with Caroline Flack.

LOVED IT!

A real insight into the life of Dawn O Porter and in lockdown! Lockdown has been challenging for everyone and this book explored that, and told of the relatable and often non relatable experience for Dawn. Reading this has got me craving a margarita!

I absolutely loved Dawn’s fiction books The Cows and So Lucky so was eager to read her isolation diary. The book details Dawn’s family life throughout lockdown warts and all and also her trauma at losing her close friend Caroline Flack earlier this year. Dawn writes very honestly which some people may not like however it is quite refreshing and I enjoyed it.

⭐️⭐️⭐️ I really enjoyed this book at the start but the more it went on the more I had a few gripes.

It was a tad self indulgent & repetitive, with an over reliance on descriptions of kaftans, weed gummy’s & drinking every night.

What I did like was the reassurance that even Hollywood types struggled in lockdown & with home schooling. Also I got a real sense of Dawn’s grief.

Ok.

This was brilliantly written and gave an insight on how Dawn dealt with Caroline’s death and how she felt during lockdown. We sometimes forget how famous people also have to deal with normal everyday life and this was a reminder. Fab book and highly recommend!

I’m sorry to say that I just could not get into this book/diary. Now in October 2020, we watch fearfully as the Coronavirus that caused so much damage to so many, appears to be spiralling out of control again. It is very difficult to read a jokey, supposedly humorous take on it all.
I don’t wish to come across as preachy, but this made for very uncomfortable reading. The author seems to be barely coping with her recent bereavement, and is evidently reliant on alcohol and recreational drugs to get her through each day. The family anecdotes about potty training, and the antics of a toddler are a strange juxtaposition within this diary. Perhaps the author thought it would be cathartic for her to write down all her thoughts and feelings in this diary? Maybe it has been of benefit to her, but for me, it made me feel like a voyeur on the writer’s darkest moments of despair. I found it disturbing.
Possibly this diary might have some value in five or ten years time, as a ‘recent history’ piece, but not now, and not for me.
My thanks to the author and Netgalley for my advance copy of this title.

I enjoyed this book and found it really easy to read. It was lighthearted and had me laughing several times. It wasn't my favourite book by Dawn but still a good read. I look forward to reading more by her.

I partly enjoyed this and partly felt frustrated by it. I am aware that it's essentially excerpts from Dawn O'Porter's lockdown diary, but to be honest I had expected more. I am not sure I needed to know about potty training her son, and would have liked more of the smart humour and awareness of how ridiculous life can be for a woman. Fiction is more entertaining than fact when it spills from Dawn's pen. I did appreciate her openness around the impact of Caroline Flack's death had on her, it was brave to put it so firmly out there.

I found it kind of hard to get into this. She is a good writer and there were some very funny moments, as well as some bittersweet ones, but it didn’t really grab me and felt a bit repetitive. I have really enjoyed her novels, so I think it’s more that this just wasn’t for me.

I do love Dawn O’Porters writing and this is no exception to that rule. Witty and yet with tender moments, this is a written like a diary taking us through lockdown and the loss is Caroline Flack also. I read this really quickly, as the writing just flows so well. Like talking to an old friend.

I love Dawn O’Porter, but this was just not my cup of tea, it’s a hard stretch for anyone to make light work of this year and it was a stretch too far , I also feel she might have wanted it to be like a therapeutic journey of lockdown or to show how her diary helped her, but I just felt it’s too soon for this at the moment


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

Life in Pieces
Dawn Of Porter
Publisher: HarperCollins Uk
Publication Date 1/10/20

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
An honest and heartwarming book, written in a engaging diary style, which really brightened my days this past week. Written from the start of lockdown, Dawn reflects on her life, dealing with themes of parenting, marriage, and the grief of losing a much-loved friend during these strange and uncertain times. I laughed, a lot, at times felt sad, but ultimately this was incredibly uplifting and life-affirming. A real tonic!

I’d like to thank the author, publisher and NetGalley for this advance digital copy in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion.

This was my Margarita read - relaxing, funny, light but with depth and intoxicating, It also happens to be Dawn's pandemic cocktail of choice.

This is Dawn O'Porter's lockdown blog - which she published on Patreon during the first lockdown period in 2020. It made me laugh out loud (which is medicinal in a pandemic) because I have lived through much of the Isolation existential crisis she details. However she was existing in a strange vortex of riots, protests (she lives in Los Angeles), a pandemic and mourning the recent loss of a close friend. All this while feeding her family, entertaining and managing her children and pets, and trying to be creative. She copes with this by penning these blog/diary entries, popping CBD gummies, cooking and eating, and drinking many Margaritas!

I would read anything Dawn writes, shopping lists included. Life in Pieces is Dawn’s lockdown diary and as always her writing is unapologetically honest, hilarious and real. Parenting during a pandemic was a challenge for us all – despite what Instagram looks like – and hearing about how Dawn struggled at times, and ate and drank her way through, just like me, was a big help. Best enjoyed with a margarita and some crisps.
Thanks to Harper Collins and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this gem in exchange for an honest review.