Thank you to Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I love Jay Blades he's so watchable. I. Enjoyed reading his story. Recommended.

I love Jay have watched him since I first saw him on Money for Nothing, there is something very warm, honest and open about him and his presenting style. This is full of humour and showing a lot of Jay’s cheeky personality, he is also brutally honest about his dyslexia, his childhood, he is very open about his past including how he hasn’t always treating women the way he should when he was younger. This covers the issue of racism in Britain today, obviously also covers his experiences with racism. It’s a very honest book and it’s like having a chat with jay himself, I really enjoyed how open he was and without rose tinted glasses, which is so rare. A wonderful read.

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

I love watching repair shop I have watched every one.and yes I have cried with them.I don’t have anything from my family that’s died.so makes me more sad.but I loved the book made me think how people treat others.I treat people all the same.i treat people how I want to to be treated.the book is brilliant loved it.it’s a must read.well done Jay keep up the good work,but look after yourself as well take time out for you

A wonderful biography of a the presenter of The Repair Shop. Some heartbreaking descriptions of his earlier life and how to overcome adversity. This book was an true inspiration that no matter how downbeat you get there is always light at the end of the tunnel.

At first, I would like to thank Netgalley for allowing me to review this book. Keep in mind that my review, however, is my true opinion on this book.

Jay Blades is known for being a furniture restorer and television presenter. Now he has written a book: “Making It - How Love, Kindness and Community Helped Me Repair My Life”.

In the book, Jay Blades covers a lot of different topics. This is a very personal and honest book, and tells the story of Jay Blades along with some serious topics like being homeless, dyslexia, drugs, violence, racism, and so on.

Jay Blades has not had an easy life, and with all the obstacles on his way, he has learned a lot from it, along with his mistakes, which he is willing to share about in the book.

We hear about the best and the worst parts of Jay Blades life. But one thing is true for his life, hard work seemed to work out for him!

This book shows Jay Blades personality of being humorous at the same time as personal and emotional. He is uplifting and telling his story to inspire and give hope to others. I can fully imagine Jay Blade telling the story just by the writing in this book.

If you need inspiration in your life, if you need courage, and if you need hope, this is the book you need to read!

Never having learned to read or write it is quite amazing what Jay Blades has achieved. Along with ghost writer Ian Gittins, the story of Jay's life is told warts & all. He freely admits that his eye for the ladies has often led him astray! And he has not always treated them well. His desire to stick up for the underdog led to many fights, particularly when racism reared its head. There was a very violent time in his life but he also discovered that his greatest talent was caring for others. His life has not been a bed of roses but he has battled on. I read this book in great gulps & I loved it. I have always liked his on screen persona but after reading all he has gone through I admire him even more.

I am a huge fan of 'The Repair Shop' so when I heard about this book on the radio I was desperate to read it. It is a wonderful uplifting read. Thanks to Netgalley & the publisher for granting my wish to read it.

This is a brilliant book! I’ve been a fan of Jay’s for years as an avid viewer of The Repair Shop, but I didn’t really know anything at all about the Jay underneath the flat cap!

In one book, Jay shows the very best and the very worst of society - the amazing impact Gerald and his family have had on Jay, through to his absent father and the horrific racism and prejudices that have sadly followed him throughout his life. So many people in similar circumstances would have given up and not even tried to make anything of their lives, but fortunately for Jay (and for us!) he has often had the support and the love of the right people at the right time in his life.

Despite being humorous at times and showing a lot of Jay’s cheeky personality, this book isn’t a rose-tinted view of the world by any means - Jay addresses the ongoing racism issues in society, and he is brutally honest about his own life experiences with dyslexia. But he is a real inspiration and a big success story of how to overcome difficulties and adversity to flourish and succeed.

With thanks to NetGalley and Pan Macmillan Bluebird for a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

I think it is always a privilege when “someone off the telly” decides to share their story with the viewers, it gives you a better insight and understadning of what makes that person tick.

And in the case of Jay Blades, probably best known for The Repair Shop we are treated to what life was like growing up with an absent father, racism, police brutality, dyslexia, making it and then losing it all and hitting rock bottom.

In a very honest account, written with the help of a writer, Jay takes us from his very beginnings on a council estate in Hackney through to The Repair Shop. The honesty of the injustices that Jay has witnessed and also been personally involved in made for some uncomfortable reading. My heart really went out to all those who suffered racism and yet whilst it could have taken Jay on one path (and perhaps it nearly did), it took him on another more compassionate path.

That path though was littered with obstacles and we see how his strength of character, his immense depth of love repairs not just those around him and of course the furniture we now know him for. He repairs himself through the kindness of strangers and those that would give him a chance and I felt once I had finished this book that you realise how far Jay has come but on that journey he has become the genuine chap that radiates from our television screens.

This is a book which could be used as an example of social history of growing up in the seventies and eighties in Britain, it is not a book that will tell you the secrets of The Repair Shop because there are some things which need to remain an institution. And I can think of no better foreman for it than Jay Blades.

Thanks to Pan McMillan, Bluebird and Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for a review.

I have loved the Repair Shop for a long time but during this horrible time in the world I have found my visits there more frequent and even more calming than usual so I was absolutely delighted to be selected to receive a copy of Jay Blades' book.

I sometimes find that I like to dip in and out of biographical books, but not so this one. I actually feel like I've just had a chat with Jay - It wasn't formal in tone and it reads very much the way Jay speaks when you see him on TV. He's had a colourful life and I found it interesting hearing about the different paths he's taken.

Grab a cup of tea (or two) and devour this. You'll enjoy Jay's company!

'Making It' is an inspirational memoir by Jay Blades, the presenter of BBC’s popular TV show 'The Repair Shop', which features him leading a team of talented experts restore old and broken stuff brought in by people who still cherished the items.

Through shows such as 'Money For Nothing' and 'The Repair Shop' he has become a celebrity restorer giving new life to cherished items and even to things about to be thrown away at recycling centres. From watching these shows, I can say without hesitation that he has a keen and discerning eye in spotting items that he can not only restore but transform and add value to them.

There are many able and talented restorers like Blades and some have displayed their immaculate ingenuity and skills on those TV shows. I bet all of them have amazing life stories to tell. Blades certainly does and 'Making It' is his story of how he beat incredible odds and turned things around even when it all seemed hopeless and got to where he is today.

I’m glad the publisher granted my wish to read Blades' new book because I’m keen to know the real person behind the public persona and what makes him tick. Watching him on the shows, exuding confidence and positive vibes, one could hardly have imagined how messed up and troubled his past was and what disability he has to live with.

Blades is keen to point that he’s no different from many people who have amazing turnaround stories to tell.

"...My story is not unique. I’m not the first, or the last, person to be raised by a single mum, with an absentee father. I’m not the first guy to face racism, to go badly off the rails in his teens, or to have kids before he was ready or mature enough to raise a family...I’ve done things I’ve been proud of, and made terrible mistakes. I even, not all that long ago, lost my way so catastrophically that I broke down and wondered if I wanted to carry on living at all...I’m relieved to say that I managed to turn my life around. And the impulses that helped me to do that are the same ones that power The Repair Shop - love, and family, and community."

Indeed, Blades' life on the mend has been like a repair job - one that had taken many years. It displays the fortitude and tenacity of the human spirit to want to turn one’s messed up life around, helped along and supported by a caring family and a loving community.

Writing about one's messed-up past without sounding like a self-pitying sob monologue is quite a challenge but Blades has managed to pull off this job admirably with a good dose of verve, humour and positivity. Written in conversation-style prose with candour and humility, this book is truly an inspiring read for me. I'm sure many will find it so when it is released in the next few weeks.

I received an eARC of the book from the publisher via NetGalley and I'm posting this review voluntarily.

Warning: Some vulgar language

I don't read biographies very often, I love the idea of them but rarely the actual books. I have to be in the mood to pick one up or to really love the person whose story is being told.

'Making It' is exactly what I look for when I pick up a biography or memoir. It was honest and open and almost intimate in tone. It wasn't polished and over edited, it was informal in narrative so it felt like Jay was sitting opposite me.just telling me the stories.

Jay has certainly had a colourful life, and it was a roller coaster reading through the highs and lows. At times I liked him, his passion and compassion, his drive and determination earned my respect, and then at times I couldn't understand his choices and wanted to shake him. Either way, I was totally invested in his life. It was an engaging and compelling memoir.

Personally for me the writing style let it down a little. There was such an over use of exclamation marks and it - perhaps irrationally- annoyed me. It felt like everything was being shouted or exaggerated. Though admittedly I think this exclamation enthusiasm decreased in the second half of the book, either that or I noticed it less.

Definitely glad that I read 'Making It'.

This is an inspirational and passionate memoir from someone who wants to make the world a better place.

Jay Blades who many of us will know from the heartwarming TV show The Repair Shop shows us how he got to the point where he is at now from growing up with his brother and mother in Hackney to living and working in Oxford, High Wycombe and now being in Wolverhampton. It covers the significant relationships of his life and covers parts where by his own admission he didn't behave as he should. Along the way one thread is that he has always got involved in projects that have tried to improve things for those who need it most and he has done all this while not being able to read due to dyslexia.

This is a great memoir and I've read a lot of them in my time. He doesn't hold anything back and lays it all on the line. With all the different charity work over the years that he has become involved in any one of those roles would be an amazing achievement never mind a few like he has done. With the aim he is hoping for at the end of his book I'm willing him to achieve it.

Buy this book.

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book pre-publication.
I LOVED it........Jay is a figure we all recognise from the television and the book is written (thanks to some wonderful software and a ghost writer) in his easy going, laid back style which makes it a pleasure to read. Whilst a mere whipper-snapper this dapper geezer's life has been no walk in the park and he lays all his faults out on the printed page for us all to read. Dealing with a range of topics including unemployment, gang behaviour, hard times, relationships, race and mental health issues This book is a brave and thought provoking read which I wholeheartedly recommend to all.

A true biography with warts and all. Not written to look good in fact the opposite seems to be the case Jay has told his story his way just like he has lived his life, obviously there must be things he’s not put in but the gist of the life is there for all to read

I had read parts of the life story of Jay in a newspaper so was curious to read this and what a read. I could not put it down and read it in one day.
Jay has a fascinating life story and I will not say much in my review as I would rather the reader discovers his highs and lows when reading it.
He certainly faced a lot of challenges and hopefully he has now found enjoyment and peace in life. This really is an amazing read and as "autobiographies" go (you will understand the " ") when you read it as to why I put that in quotes) this is right up there with the best of them.
One of my top books of 20121