Women Like Us: A Memoir

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Remember God is in the detail The stronger our impression of something happening to a particular person at a particular time in a particular place, the greater our sense of recognition. Amanda takes a no holds barred journey through her life. In 'The Boy Behind' we learned about the problems her son had with depression, and imagined that since he was feeling better Amanda's life was now wonderful. After all, she is living the dream on a large farm near Bristol, and jets around the world promoting her multi million selling books. However, is a warts and all account (or a poo and all 😂) account. Amanda's story shows that even when you get what you have dreamt of all your life, you have nothing without good health - yours and your family's. Amanda's book isn't just for the rich, the glamorous, the successful, it's for women like us.

The real message here is that the ones who matter the most, those who love us for what and who we are as a person, will love us unconditionally no matter what, but that doesn’t stop them worrying about what we’re doing to ourselves - to our body, to our health in an effort to shut out what we don’t want to face - after all, they want us to stay on this mortal coil for as long as possible. A very interesting and inspirational read! As Amanda traces her roots, right down to the the important and the impactful, (and Mandy really has seen it all - from horrific medical trauma, to achingly-tragic missed births, cancer, sexual assault, battles with alcohol, misogyny, grief, and familial mental illness) - she opens the coffers wide - her story made clearer, both to the reader, and in aid of her own deeper awakening. And yet, the narrator argues, it was the voices of these women, whispering and murmuring in her head, which pushed the daughter to write in the first place. These 999 women urged her to speak through the tip of her pencil. These 999 women wanted the daughter to tell her mother that women like them do speak, even if it’s in a language that’s hard to understand. These 999 women form an army around the daughter and are always with her. They boil in her blood and their names roll off of her tongue. And their transcribed stories become the daughter’s testament “to the way that these women lived and died and lived again” (Danticat 225). Analysis Tears streamed down my cheeks as the realisation hit that some situations hit much closer to home than others. I've been there before, too, and maybe, I'm there right now. After this explanation of writing the narrator talks about what happens when the daughter shows her mother her writings for the first time. She describes the mother’s disappointment when her daughter explains that writing will be her life’s work. For the mother, the sacrifices she made were too great to be repaid with just writing. The narrator then explains the situation from the mother’s perspective. Where she’s from, writers are tortured and killed if they are men, or called “lying whores,” raped, and then killed if they are women. The only people who write where she’s from are politicians, and they almost always end up in prison eating their own waste. The mother thinks their family needs a nurse, not a prisoner. She reminds her daughter that there were 999 hardworking women that came before her daughter. 999 women who toiled and sacrificed, and her daughter comes with a ratty notebook? Unacceptable.I don’t read much non-fiction, but am making it a rule to read at least one a month next year (please nudge if you don’t see one on my bio/reading update!). This was one I wish I’d read ages ago, what a book! However, there have been events and situations that have tested her and almost broken her at times. How did someone I’d never met know what I was feeling? Because that was what these stories did: they made me feel.” Spanning the majority of her life and covering every topic from family dynamics, teenage angst, growing up, changing times, relationships, moving home and moving forward into adulthood and beyond. Each topic beautifully presented to us with sensitivity and humour making it really easy to relate to - even when those subjects were difficult or unknown experiences. This book is beautifully written just like all of her books are. But THIS book and her previous book written with her son, Josiah, have touched me so very deeply. This is a book that makes you think, feel (yes, I cried a few times), and understand more about this amazing author while learning more about yourself!!

Amanda Prowse, the author of “Women Like Us, A Memoir,” has written an honest and heartfelt story. I appreciate that the author shares her most intimate and revealing memories of her challenging life. Many women will be able to relate to many of the topics that are discussed. Best known for writing about fictional women, I wasn't too sure what to expect from Amanda Prowse's new book, her own memoir. I’ll be honest, I’m not a big nonfiction reader and that includes memoirs. The only other memoir I’ve read is Michelle Obama’s Becoming, so this should be a big deal. Haha! Ok, not really, but I had an added interest. This is someone I have met and respect, someone who I have plans to stay up all night talking to and ice cream with when I make a trip to England. Apparently, I need to rethink the ice cream thing though based on the confession in the book. But I wanted to learn how she has become the person and author she is.Again I was aware of her family struggles with mental health issues. Her son Joshua suffered with serious depression and considered committing suicide, they wrote a book about this and continue to support others in a similar situation. But there have been a lot more traumas in her life - cancer, miscarriages, loss and more. All of which she has come to terms with and is now sitting (mostly) on the other side. Use the same storytelling devices that novelists use – plot, character, voice, motif and structure There has to be development, a reason to read on. A sense of style, too: just because it’s non-fiction doesn’t mean it can’t be “literary”. This memoir was a rollercoaster to say the least, incredibly raw and real - the author really laid everything bare. It’s a story of real life, success, struggles and mainly hope for everything to come right in the end. It’s not all rainbows and unicorns, but I think that’s what makes it a really special read.

Women Like Us spoke to me on so many different levels and I devoured it. I have already pressed it into the hands of my friends telling them that at last someone has put into words how we are feeling now we are in our fabulous 50s. Beautifully written with poignant moments of emotional intensity, this is a must read for every single woman who has ever read an Amanda Prowse book and wondered how on earth she consistently delivers female characters we find relatable and fascinating-the answers are all here. I received a gifted advance reader copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review as part of the book tour hosted by Lovebookstours. Even after I finished, I needed a couple of days to process it all. I normally jump right into my next book, and I didn’t open another one for a couple of days. (I know that may not sound like a long time, but for a reader, two days is an eternity.) What a truly wonderful, heartbreaking, emotional, life affirming, funny and truly soul bearing book from one of my favourite authors! I only found Amanda Prowse in 2015 and since then have devoured every single book of hers as soon as they are published. She writes with such insight into normal lives dealing with extraordinary situations that I was intrigued to see how her autobiography fared, it certainly did not disappoint. Mrs Prowse is only a year older than me and her life and mine have some similarities, although I do not have her gift of words! This book only served to cement that I think she has a camera peering into my mind! The book was amusing and heartbreaking, sometimes in the same sentence but I could not put it down. It had me crying with sadness and crying with happiness, so I suggest anyone of a similar age keeps the tissues handy! This memoir got really close to my heart as I was able to relate to the author's family when she was growing up, got so crazy about books and reading, how the experiences and the people we meet during our developmental stages leave an impact on us for the rest of our lives.In this immensely inspiring work, British novelist Prowse ( What Have I Done?) reflects on the bodily struggles that bled into her successful writing career…Told with clarity and vulnerability, Prowse’s story of overcoming cultural norms to accept herself arrives as a much-needed corrective in an age of filtered beauty.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review) If you have ever felt like you're not good enough, whether it's because of your appearance, career, or any other aspect of your life, this book is for you. Women Like Us is Amanda Prowse's Memoir; unlike her usual fiction, this is about her life and experiences.