So I have to be honest i wasn’t completely sure who this author was when I picked up this book so I had to google her but what a fun laugh out loud read about life during lockdown. This is a warts and all story of life with a husband, two young children and pets during lockdown whilst in the middle of dealing with the loss of a friend. It’s warm and funny and at times sad but most of all felt real and I really enjoyed and related with it.

I thought it would be a huge stretch to make 2020 funny and it is a stretch too far for Dawn O'Porter. Maybe it's too close to the time for any real perspective or insight but I guess I just expected more. Any of our lockdown diaries would be the most boring diary of our lives and I think it's fair to say that that is true of Dawns' too. I'm not sure there's anything in here that you wouldn't already know and it gets repetitive. Small children are boring and produce a lot of bodily fluids. We all overcompensated with food and booze. Maybe for some people it would be normalizing to read those things but to me I'd already lived my lockdown Groundhog day and ridden my coronacoaster to infinity. I didn't need to relive somebody else's. Not For Me.

I am a fan of Dawn O'Porter's writing having read all of her novels, and I was intrigued to read this, even if I was a little concerned if it might be too soon for reflections on such a recent difficult period in all our lives, and one which we are not yet through - did I really need to revisit it so soon?. Well I needn't have worried - I should have known that O'Porter would provide me with a good "laugh out loud" read and she certainly did.

There is so much we can all relate to - the highs and lows of lockdown and the struggles to get through family life one day at a time - and it is all told with O'Porter's candid sense of humour. And yet at the same time there is an emotional element to the book as we live through O'Porter coming to terms with the loss of her friend Caroline Flack and dealing with her grief whilst living in this strange new world.

A quick entertaining read that I wholeheartedly recommend!

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

Dawn O'Porter brings us a refreshingly honest, witty, charming, at times self deprecating view into her life between March and July in lockdown. From the highs of the THC gumming to the lows of her good friends suicide. She let's you in on some very intimate and private moments of her and her families lockdown life.
Often biographical novels span the course of a number of years and are written in reflection, as this only focused on 3.5months and was written as diary entries as time went on it had so much more detail than you might get in another piece of non-fiction.
I loved Dawn's honesty from her mum fails - I too have abandoned my child to a wasp Dawn, I stand in solidarity, to her coping mechanisms, health concerns and reliance on medications to get through her days and nights. There is nothing to be ashamed of in that but most would hide it!
I did feel parts got a bit repetitive but overall I just thought it was great.

My thanks to HarperCollins U.K. for their invitation to receive an eARC via NetGalley of ‘Life in Pieces’ by Dawn O’Porter in exchange for an honest review.

“Dear 2020 – can we just start over?
Dawn O'Porter has been thinking about life. In lockdown. Mostly from a cupboard.”

In the spring of 2020 Dawn O’Porter started a lockdown diary recording her day-to-day life. This is the result, looking at life from mid-March to early July mainly at the situation in the USA where she now lives.

I loved Dawn O’Porter‘s ‘So Lucky’ and a few years back had been inspired by her ‘This Old Thing: Fall in Love with Vintage Clothes’.

Here I felt that she had invited me into her daily life. Yet while funny and down-to-earth, especially the bits about parenting, pets, disrupted beauty routines, and her relationship with food (I also feel the Kettle chips love) and alcohol, Dawn O’Porter also chronicles her raw experience of grief with the sudden death of her close friend earlier this year.

This kind of authenticity is what I look for in a memoir. I want to feel a connection and recognise those aspects of life that we share. What makes this memoir stand out even more is its focus on the 2020 new normal.

I read ‘Life in Pieces’ in a single day and at the end I decided to sign up to her Patreon so that I could continue reading more of her words on a regular basis. ‘Life in Pieces’ also helped me to examine my own responses to the challenges posed by 2020.

Desperately honest and raw, reading someone else portrayal of their lockdown put my mind at ease that we are struggled together, we all cared together. Warm and honest, exactly what I needed to read right now.

This was such a real and raw book to read. Who knew you could write so much about a time when we could do nothing. Great humour and bought back familiar memories of having small children. I completely related to the indulgence of alcohol and was inspired to be more creative cooking! Absolutely fantastic read.

An unflinching view of life with 2 small children during lockdown. However, it has to be said that there is no shortage of money and the husband is one of those wonderful supportive ones, but that said it was a funny, sad, pithy, even wise at times, read of a snapshot of life in strange times. Even though I am well past the child rearing stage, I could still relate to much of her writing and enjoyed it all.

"Talking of days, what day is it? I literally have no idea. Not that it matters"

This is the third of Dawn O'Porter's books that I've read, and I absolutely loved every 'WHAT IS HAPPENING' moment of it.

From reading just the introduction, I already got the feeling that there was a successful capture of the 'vibe' of 2020, articulated flawlessly, and with at times a dry sarcasm and wit that feels familiar and comforting. She'll also make you want a kaftan.

I'm sure many people will be able to relate to this book in many many different ways, but I think it stands as a perfect testament to the importance of not being afraid to share and express what you are feeling. Reading it feels like you are just chatting to a new friend really, the pieces are intimate and at times very raw with so many hilarious moments! But you will laugh out loud in one piece and be deeply moved to tears at others. This may be an insight in to Dawn's life but she will have you nodding along at one thought or other.

Moving, funny and real it doesn't try too hard, it doesn't try and plaster everything with a happy brush and I loved that about it. Unafraid to comment on life and the world exactly as it is. One of Dawn's final thoughts in the epilogue expresses such a beautiful sentiment of gratitude for her life that you can't help but feel she is reminding everyone that there is always light even amidst the seemingly darkest of days.

"When the world goes mad, you either go mad with it, or focus on the things that are OK".

You go Dawn thank you for writing this and feel SMUG AS HELL, cos you've done it again :)

Thank you to Harper Collins and Netgalley for the ARC.

It’s very hard to give this book a star rating, because how can you rate someone’s diary? They write it as they want and allow the reader in. I felt uncomfortable reading this book, because I feel Dawn was in no fit state to write it and I think her publisher should have realised this. Throughout the book, we are told that Dawn is not coping looking after her two young children, gets drunk most evenings, starting late afternoon / early evening and takes recreational drugs most days. She is still mourning the loss of a dear friend. I have no doubt that writing down her angst every day was therapeutic for her, but it makes for uncomfortable reading and I hope someone who knows her personally encourages her to go for the help she needs. For many readers, I suspect it will feel like too soon to read a Covid diary, although I think it would be studied by historians hundreds of years from now.

I’m going to start off by saying that if this book had not been by someone like Dawn O’Porter, whose writing I already know I love, I’m not sure I would ever have picked up a book like this one.
Being totally honest, the idea of pushing your lockdown diaries comes across as a bit of a self-indulgent concept (which I guess it is, in a way), and I wouldn’t necessarily have thought that lockdown diaries would be all that interesting really – especially when you consider we’re all stuck inside every day with very little variation. But Dawn’s writing is so humorous and refreshing that it didn’t feel that way at all.

Life in Pieces was not a perfect read by any means; there were parts of it that were repetitive (something that’s difficult to avoid when in lockdown, I guess), and it definitely showed a certain privilege that Dawn and Chris have (I don’t think many people reading this would be able to say they can afford a Peloton!), but at least there is an awareness of this in the writing.
Some of the repetitiveness was offset, though, by Dawn’s wonderful sense of humour and the different ways she has at looking at situations. I often found myself laughing out loud at a situation that wasn’t THAT hilarious, but was made so by Dawn’s phrasing. I even stopped to read passages aloud to my partner, they were so funny and relatable.

There were definitely parts of this that were relatable too, which I didn’t necessarily expect. I don’t live in LA, I’m not a writer with an actor for a husband, and we don’t have children. I don’t really drink alcohol and I have never taken drugs that aren’t prescription, but Dawn is still incredibly relatable in the struggles she has and the candidness with which she writes about them.
I especially related to her deep and affectionate love of FOOD. Cooking is also a happy activity for me (not least because there is something tasty to consume at the end of it), and not eating too much has been a real challenge for many during the lockdown period, so it was nice to see I was not alone in that calorific struggle.

The other element of this that I liked was how honest and open Dawn was in exploring and discussing her worries and struggles. She discusses grief in great detail, lockdown having started just after the funeral of her good friend Caroline Flack. It was heart-breaking to go through part of that experience with her, and watch her try to come to terms with the loss of a friend at the same time as we all lost our ways of living.

All in all, this was a good read that I enjoyed more than I expected to. It was laugh-out-loud funny and entertaining in a way I did not expect. Although not as enjoyable as her novels (in particular The Cows, it was still a read I enjoyed and would recommend to others.

Loved it! Funny, open, honest and real. A glimpse into the life of a celebrity who is managing this pandemic much like the rest of us. Dawn has a real way with words which makes her so very human and relatable.

Excellent read, really candid and emotional and although she lives in sunny, glamorous Los Angeles actually hugely relatable as to coping with lockdown with two small children! And she definitely admits to all the eating and drinking most are in denial about over that period! Absolutely pertinent, spot on and searingly honest. Her writing style is very easy to just devour in one go. Really enjoyed this.

I think it’s safe to say many of us have ridden the coronacoaster of emotions during the covid-19 pandemic where the world ground to a halt and life was extremely different - lockdown was like something many of us have never experienced and a hugely testing time. I feel like Dawn has documented this coronacoaster of emotions better than I ever could and I’m a little bit envious of that!

I really enjoy Dawn’s writing style but this is different to her usuals novels as this is real it’s raw and it’s something that we’re actually still living through. This book is made up of blog posts that she’s written that are more like letters or diary entries documenting her life through lockdown. Of course it’s written brilliantly and has so many genuine laugh out loud moments it’s captivating.

Back in February prior to lockdown the larger than life and best friend of Dawn, Caroline Flack died and her funeral was merely a week or so before lockdown came into force. Dawn discusses her grief throughout this book and shares some wonderful happier memories of Caroline.

It’s the party house. Now it’s the farty house. Is a line that I absolutely loved and shines a light on how life really does change once you have kids!

I loved the breakdown of her whatsapp groups. We’ve all got different groups for family, work, friends, for our kids etc. Very relatable.

“When you share yourself with other women and you allow them to do the same, you find your power.” Love this quote and want this to be one of my new mantras.

My female friends are my emotional support animals she writes. Same here!

Godzilla was back in my knickers is how she described a particular painful period and she is soo right!

I really enjoyed this book and getting to know how Dawn, her husband, boys and pets made it through lockdown and all of the other tribulations surrounding them in America.

It isn’t all doom and gloom there’s lots of humour and positivity within this book too. Well worth a read. Throughly enjoyed.

I do like Dawn and I think she’s a good writer A not sure if I prefer her novels or worth like this - blog like reading. Either way I really enjoyed this book - after dealing with pretty crappy grief over the last couple of years I really found reading about her grief cathartic... almost comforting.
This book has left me a) wanting a kaftan and b) wanting to try a gummy

I've read Dawn O'Porters other books and thoroughly enjoyed them but had my doubts about this one. This is pieces of Dawn's own perspective of the beginning of the pandemic and there was drama, tears and her usual inimitable humour. I'm not sure I get the concept because it seems to have been written purely as a means to make money and at a time when most people's diary entries are pretty boring and this is mostly about the mundanities of life albeit in California. I found it a little self indulgent at times but overall Dawn's humour shone through enough to make it an enjoyable read.

This book gave me acceptance that yes 2020 has been the worst year and that I am not alone in finding it hard. I found it a mixture of laugh out loud funny, entertaining and at times sad.I loved the fact that Dawn talks to the pandemic as if it is going to read her account- if only then this nightmare might be over!!! It is good to share our different experiences and pull together during hard times. So easy to relate to. I wish I had been in Lockdown with her.

A laugh out loud account of life in lockdown. I actually felt sad that I hadn’t been in lockdown with young children! A warts and all, true to life account. I don’t think it matters where you were during lockdown- LA or Glasgow- experiences were the same. Add this to Dawn’s raw grief following the death of her beautiful friend, Caroline Flack, just before lockdown and you have a book full of raw, human emotion. The account of the riots outside her house following the murder of George Floyd painted a different picture to that widely seen on the news. I did find myself longing for a margarita while reading! Is it wrong to say this would be a great toilet read- a piece at a time? #netgalley #lifeinpieces

I do love Dawn O’Porter. I’ve read all her books, I’ve listened to her So Lucky podcast and I’m an avid Instagram follower so of course I jumped at the chance to read her latest, non-fiction book that takes a look at life through lockdown.

I’d promised myself I wouldn’t read any lockdown books. I didn’t want to be reminded of anything to do with it. Whilst I cherished the unprecedented level of family time, it’s also had a massive impact on our lives in many ways and reading about it and living through it all again just didn’t appeal. However, I knew that Dawn would have a great spin on lockdown littered with humour, profound sentiment and down right shocking tales and I wasn’t wrong!

I loved how raw and honest the book was. If it happened, Dawn wrote about it no matter how awful, embarrassing, terrible, emotional or ridiculous it might have been. There were many relatable moments for me (as a parent) that we’re amusing but also a candid look at life in LA, a unique glimpse into their unique celebrity status that was equally entertaining. Dawn spoke about the loss of her friend Caroline Flack and how she dealt with grief during lockdown as well as snippets from her childhood.

Parts of the book were quite shocking and if you’re offended by alcohol and drugs (legal in LA) then it’s probably not the book for you. I loved it, it entertained me and whilst it made me laugh, parts were profound and meaningful. Dawn has a wonderful way of seeing people and trying to understand them without judgement and I really liked this. Overall it’s a quick, entertaining read that I enjoyed thoroughly.

Genre: non-fiction
Rating:5/5

Wow what a wonderful look at the world this year and how it has changed people
It is written in a diary form and starts with the death of Caroline Flack someone who Dawn was great friends with but even that caused issues as the world was about to change so Dawn went alone in case USA closed its borders it didn’t and Dawn was home ready to spend quality time with her husband and her kids
I laughed so hard at the potty training saga why they just want to stand and pee anywhere but in the loo, how suddenly she had to cook meals every day for her family.
How they have a dog called potato! And a cat called lilu. How alcohol consumption increased as what else was there to do?
She made me cry talking about her grief for Caroline and her mum love that she has two trees that she feels represent them and talks to them, brilliant idea and something I intend to do as I lost my best friend and still like Dawn feel its rawness
I loved all the talk of nits, bed bugs mosquito bites in unmentionable places and the sheer amount of shit you have to pick up or wipe off the body of a small child it is relentless
Delighted to have been able to read another persons view of 2020