Member Review

This is a beautifully written book focused around the author’s struggles to rediscover herself in the aftermath of Covid. She has an incredible way of describing exactly what is going on inside her head using clear and precise, yet lyrical, language.

It has taken me a long time to read this book because I have been reading it in little sections in the mornings - it is like having a heartfelt conversation with a friend every morning and I will miss her now she’s gone. In some places it felt like she was talking about me, especially the part about the swimming lessons. It was like reading something I could have written about myself (although not half as well). Her descriptions of Meniere’s disease were so raw and real - she really has an impressive way of communicating her inner world to her readers.

Each chapter reads like a train of thought, but a highly polished one. Each word serves a purpose; there are no extraneous ones. It is a very tightly written book, to be read with a feeling that it all flowed out naturally in the first draft (but I’m sure it didn’t!).

My favourite part was ‘Fire’ because I could relate to everything she said about writing - what happened to her also happened to me, although sadly, I never started writing again. For most of the book there is a melancholy tone which does pick up near the end. This book didn’t leave feeling uplifted but instead, I felt understood, which is perhaps more valuable and more real.

I highly recommend this book to, well, anyone who likes reading. But especially women who have been feeling a bit lost and disconnected. This book won’t fix you but it will help you feel less alone.

With thanks to Netgalley and Faber & Faber for an advance review copy. All opinions are my own.