Women Like Us A Memoir by @mrsamandaprowse @lovebooktours

Book Description:

Amanda Prowse has built a bestselling career on the lives of fictional women. Now she turns the pen on her own life.

I guess the first question to ask is, what kind of woman am I? Well, you know those women who saunter into a room, immaculately coiffed and primped from head to toe?

If you look behind her, you’ll see me.

From her childhood, where there was no blueprint for success, to building a career as a bestselling novelist against all odds, Amanda Prowse explores what it means to be a woman in a world where popularity, slimness, beauty and youth are currency—and how she overcame all of that to forge her own path to happiness.

Sometimes heartbreaking, often hilarious and always entirely relatable, Prowse details her early struggles with self-esteem and how she coped with the frustrating expectations others had of how she should live. Most poignantly, she delves into her toxic relationship with food, the hardest addiction she has ever known, and how she journeyed out the other side.

One of the most candid memoirs you’re ever likely to read, Women Like Us provides welcome insight into how it is possible—against the odds—to overcome insecurity, body consciousness and the ubiquitous imposter syndrome to find happiness and success, from a woman who’s done it all, and then some.

My Thoughts:

I’ve been a huge fan of this author’s for a while now. She could probably write a shopping list and I would still devour it and love it. I just love her writing. I was very exciting to read her memoir and to find out more about her.

Amanda goes through her childhood all the way up to the present day. There is nothing that she doesn’t talk about and I can imagine how hard sharing some parts of her life must have been. A big part of her personal story is her battle with her weight. I have to say, and I am sure that many readers will probably feel the same, it felt like she was talking of my own personal battle with food. I could wholly relate to the hiding food, eating food whilst either waiting for the takeaway to come or whilst tea was cooking. Every since my early teens I have been at war with my weight and food so this part totally resonated with me.

The author also shares a dark time in her life about her miscarriages and I found this part particularly emotional. Even though I haven’t been through this experience myself, I was heartbroken for Amanda and wanted to give her a great big hug. I was that caught up with her own experiences that I hadn’t even realised I’d been crying. Whilst there is also mention of Josh, Amanda’s son, and his own dark time with depression, these are only small. If like me you are a fan, of course you will have read about this time in their life in The Boy Between. If you haven’t yet read it, then I highly recommend it.

Women Like Us is a poignant and moving memoir. I feel privileged that the author has opened up about her own personal experiences and shared them. In some ways I found it quite therapeutic and I love how Amanda opens up not just about her battle with her weight but in her appearance also. There isn’t one person reading this book that won’t be able to relate to some of what the author has gone through and it reminded me that we are not on our own when it comes to feeling insecure. An emotional and thought provoking read!

My thanks to Kelly at Love Book Tours for the invite to be part of the tour. All opinions are my own and not biased in anyway.