Heather Chaplin

Based on notebooks she kept between April 2006 and July 2008, Journalist Heather Chaplin chronicles this period of her life in an impressively open and brutal manner. Having felt trapped in a frustrating marriage for over ten years, she finally decides enough is enough and forces a separation from her husband whom she resents deeply by now. Setting out on a journey of self-discovery which also takes her to Dublin, she re-invents herself as a free and single person, falls for an Irishman, and show more discovers a lot about love, relationships, memories, gardening, and the value of friendships, amongst other things. As her free-spirited life spirals increasingly out of control, darkness and depression set in and she has to face up to some uncomfortable truths.
At times, this made me laugh out loud. At times, it made me cringe. At times, it was very sad and emotional. Being inside the mind of a woman who became increasingly out of control and was suffering, was a very intense reading experience. A very brave and unique memoir that I would definitely recommend.
Contains strong language and sexual content.
I received an ARC via NetGalley. show less

This year I got out of a 9-year relationship, and it was strange and also exciting to see my experience captured so precisely in someone else's memoir. There are very specific emotions that happen that Heather described so well, and following her roller coaster of emotions was relatable, too. Taking a step back from the feels, I do think this could have been a little better edited. She says in the intro that she made some of her friends into composites but I think she could have made even show more more friends into composites! Overall though I really enjoyed this book and working my way through Heather's experience with her. show less

I'm a sucker for books that are largely built off of journal entries. When I was a kid, I filled up notebook after notebook with these weirdly self-conscious entries that seemed to assume that one day, I would become famous, live through a disaster, or stumble into a situation that would lead to me publishing them.

So, I kind of love the idea behind this book -- a slice of a person's life as her marriage disintegrates and the emotional impact it has on her. And the way it's written -- drawn show more from her actual diary entries -- is compelling.

There are some aspects that may or may not be pitfalls depending on your opinions of reading another person's diary. A very tight perspective, a different writing style from what would be found in a fiction depiction of the scene, things being deliberately left out or not fully described.

But if you like diary entries and intense books about relationships and breakups... definitely give this one a shot. show less

3.5 stars. I’m a curious (nosy) person by nature, so reading someone’s journal is a no-brainer Nan read. I appreciate how much she describes her mental illness, want to punch the Irishman in the face, and above all, feed her a goddamn sandwich.