Crazy Aunt Purls, Drunk, Divorced & Covered in Cat Hair by Laurie Perry is a hoot! This is a really quick read that is a totally funny, yet honest, portrayal of one woman's walk though divorce, finding herself and knitting in the process. While I'm working on my 18th year of marriage to the "Big Guy" the book was a little hard for me to directly relate to but as a "born & raised southerner," I could totally "get" her "Rules of Southern Women" and a tendency to put all others before oneself. Perry's memoir is a humorous and engaging read nonetheless. As an added plus, she includes several knitting patterns at the end of the book! Perry is also an avid blogger and you can find her at http://www.crazyauntpurl.com/. Enjoy! ( )

I've been a long time fan of the Crazy Aunt Purl blog in which Laurie Perry shares the (mis)adventures of her life after her divorce in the international house of cat hair.

The book provided a lot of the backstory from some of the posts on the blog and was a very interesting book. ( )

The book title pretty much says it all. How anyone can make such an entertaining book out of such a bleak period in her life is beyond me. I laughed, I cried and now I am going to knit the shawl. ( )

Like many in the knitting community, I've been a long-time reader (lurker) of the Crazy Aunt Purl blog. There's just something genuine about Laurie; she'll talk about anything, and she tells it like it is. She's not afraid to talk about embarrassing situations at work or, as in the book, something as personal as her divorce. She's willing to admit that the breakup of her marriage blindsided her and sent her into a depression. But this book is about hope and recovery and becoming independent and finding strength within yourself that you didn't know was there until you had to use it. She was a mess (literally) after the divorce (as anyone in her position would've been), but it became a learning experience. It wasn't long before she was traveling overseas with friends (and later solo) and spilling her heart out to hundreds of readers on the Internet. The fact that she was offered a book deal shows you that something horrible can become one of the best things that ever happened to you. Her inspirational story is better than the free knitting patterns, though those are a plus! It just goes to show you that what doesn't kill you makes your stronger and how any situation can produce something good. ( )

Laurie Perry's site, Crazy Aunt Purl, was one of the first blogs I read on a regular basis. I was there from the beginning. I watched her learn how to knit, mourn her divorce, make toys for her cats, drown her sorrows in wine, start dating again, and finally find joy and happiness in her life. That's what this book is about: one woman who bounces back from a major life upset by using humor and knitting. Perry is sweet, funny, and real. She has loads of Southern charm, is a born storyteller, and has a great personality. She made me laugh many times and I really enjoyed this cute book. ( )

I liked this book alot. I thought that the writing was witty. Quite a few times I would start laughing and my dog would perk her ears up and give me that look like "what are you doing?"

Having been through a break-up (not a divorce, but a long-term relationship break-up) I could relate to just about everything that she was saying. And for me being able to relate to the characters is one of my must-have features for a book to be enjoyable. Also being that it was a book about knitting, I knew all of the struggles that she was going through. Not sleeping because you just want to finish one more row (that inevitably turns in to 20 or 50)!

I think that this is a good pick-me up book. If you're down it can make you laugh, which is always a good thing to me. While reading I found myself laughing not so much because she was going through it, but because I have gone through the same things.

I would recommend this book to anyone going through a tough break-up, a knitter, or just someone looking for something amusing to read. ( )

I loved this book! I laughed and cried throughout and totally identified with the author. I think any woman going through a divorce, looking for a new view on life, or just in the mood for a laugh should read this!!

Having been divorced at a young age myself, I can totally empathize with the loss and humiliation she describes. However, her struggle to regain some normalcy and self-respect really give you hope. She's funny, endearing, and self-effacing. Her blog (www.crazyauntpurl.com) is a must read as well. ( )

Months ago I posted about Crazy Aunt Purl scoring a book deal. I started reading Laurie's blog in March 2006 after someone (I honestly couldn't tell you who anymore) told me about a post about a trip to Paris in which she attacks a man that was bothering her and her friends with an umbrella.

Actually, after she whacked him upside the head with it she chased him down the street and yelled ""I'm from Los Angeles, motherf***er! I'll bust your ass!!" If there is one thing I recognize it is my kind of crazy and Crazy Aunt Purl was my kind of crazy. I hadn't laughed that hard in weeks. It was instantly added to my blog feeds and it has not left.

Late last week I wandered down to the bookstore to buy a gift for a friend and seeing they had Drunk, Divorced and Covered in Cat Hair: The True Misadventures of a 30-Something Who Learned to Knit After He Split in stock I added it to my pile. Then I went out of town for the weekend, taking it with me. When my friends saw it on their kitchen table they raised their eyebrows and I told them I was studying for my future life. Ok, so I'm not married. But I figure the day will come once again when I am drunk, single and covered in cat hair. After all, that's most of my life now if you take away the drunk part. Luckily while I was in the bookstore I also picked up some book darts (the best invention since books themselves) and I used at least half a dozen on this book. You know what that is? That's a sign I liked the book. A lot.

Read the rest here. ( )

From the back of the book.

If you've ever been dumped, duped, or three minutes from crazy, you'll love Crazy Aunt Purl. Side-splittingly funny and profoundly moving, Drunk, Divorced and Covered in Cat Hair is the true-life misadventures of Laurie Perry, aka Crazy Aunt Purl, a slightly offbeat, displaced Southerner trying to create a new life after her Husband leaves her to "get his creativity back." (Whatever that means.) But will she get her groove back in a tiny rented house, with a mountain of boxes, visible panty lines, and a slight wine-and-Cheetos problem?
"I was a thirty something woman living alone with four cats. I was probably going to be divorced. I was on the short bus to crazy. I pictured my Grandmother making hoop-skirted yarn cozies for the toilet paper. I pictured myself making doilies for furniture that I did not own. I saw my cats wearing knitted hats with lace appliques. From my vantage point, knitting seemed like 100 percent of some road I did not want to walk down."
Yet, surprisingly, it's knitting that saves her and emboldens her to become fully engaged in life again - to discover new friends; to take risks, however scary; and to navigate the ins and outs of the modern dating scene.
"Dating has changed in a decade. now there is a higher chance of meeting someone who has an Internet porn addiction than someone who has a job. In Los Angeles, your dinner companion might have served time in Pelican Bay or run a meth lab. Or, worst of all, he might spend all night talking about his agent, his craft, and what it means to grow as an actor. Then he'll ask you to read his screenplay."
And such is life in the quirky, irreverent memoir, a spin-off of the blog phenomenon, www.crazyauntpurl.com, one of the most successful online diaries in history, with an international fan base of readers. But don't worry, you don't have to knit to love Aunt Purl. You just have to know what it feels like to have loved, to have lost, or to have taken a leap of faith.
We've all been there. Pass the wine.

********

Now if that doesn't make you hop on over to amazon to purchase the book right now, then you'll just have to be lumped in the swiss and ham category.

You will absolutely love this book, Laurie tells her tale with a blend of funny, witty, spunky, a little sad, and a desire to continue reading, all wrapped into one.

I decided that I was going to have a "me" day, so I drew a bath, poured a glass of wine, grabbed my book and my razor, thinking I would shave my legs after relaxing, as they were getting a little long. That was until i read Laurie's tale of the Epilady, and the hot wax incidents. My legs are still unshaven. It's still cool enough here in California that I can get away with jeans, or cargos for another few weeks. I may even been scarred for life, but thankfully, I had my glass of Bordeaux to help me through it.
I cried in Paris, and wanted to punch her ex- Husband, with all that "get my creativity back" crap. Somewhere, on one of the pages, I picked up some size 10 needles and some Frosty Green Medium Worsted weight yarn, and started knitting along with Laurie. I didn't make a cat tunnel, or a devil blanket, but it was sure great to pick up my needles again, after such a long time.

So, thank you Laurie, the motivation to go out and mayhap join a Stitch N Bitch in my area, for bringing knitting back into my life ( even though I've only really been on a 5 month hiatus,) and most of all, for the great read.

One day, maybe I'll look up from my knitting, and find a friend like you, across the table. ( )

Endearing, which isn't a word I'd normally use to review a book. Laurie is so easy to like and identify with. And, since she still blogs, the book can go on (sorta). ( )

This author is a writing style that just makes you want to hug her. She is bruatally honest about herself, and that makes her writing like talking with a friend. It didn't seem like there were any real problems in her marriage other than the fact that her husband was a super picky eater until he just up and left one day. He cited his need to "get his creativity back", which is yet another euphemism for having found someone else. She really does pretty much fall apart, and her description of which food groups are addressed by wine and cheetos give us a pretty good picture of those days. She starts to claw her way out of the pit of despair when she is dragged kicking and screaming to a knitting group. One can't underestimate the medicinal nature of various social groups. Knitting is fun, but today's knitting groups are a joy. Watching her find her way to a better, stronger, more independent self is a wonderful reading journey. AND there are simple patterns included as well. ( )

A very funny look at one woman's life while dealing with the aftermath of a divorce. ( )

A thoroughly engrossing tale of Laurie Perry's reaction to her husband leaving to find his "creativity". Having been through a divorce myself there were many spots I could have underlined as they expressed thoughts I had. And as a knitter I can recommend the healing powers of knitting.” ( )

Laurie Perry, now best known in knitting circles as “Crazy Aunt Purl,” did not set out to become a blogging superstar. The introverted Southerner transplanted with her husband to L.A. and was stunned when said husband coolly informed her that he was leaving “to get his creativity back.” Left alone with four cats and a penchant for wine as comfort food, Perry quickly finds herself “three minutes from crazy” and grudgingly agrees to join a friend at a knitting class. There she discovers a new best friend - knitting can always be fixed, it helps you keep busy and find your own creativity, and it’s not about to leave you.

As Perry slowly sticks her head out into the world, she finds solace with her new knitting friends and begins to blog about her adventures with a distinctive self-deprecating humour. She quickly gained a loyal following who shared her joys, sorrows, dating mishaps and knitting adventures. Her stories are ones which everyone can relate to and readers love her trademark writing style – her voice just leaps off the computer screen and she immediately feels like a long-lost best friend (as evidenced by the seventeen-hundred condolence messages left on her blog after the death of her beloved cat Roy).

Crazy Aunt Purl’s Drunk, Divorced and Covered in Cat Hair: the true-life misadventures of a 30-something who learned to knit after he split is much more than simply a self-help book on life after divorce or about learning to knit. Perry has penned a book about heartache and self-discovery and each reader will find something here to which they can relate. Readers will laugh, cry and moan along with Perry as she conquers her wine and cheetos problem, heads out on her first post-divorce date and discovers that life does go on after “he splits.” ( )