Now, if you’re a regular blog reader you’ll know I adore Amanda Prowse’s fiction, but today it’s my absolute pleasure to share my review of her non-fiction Women Like Us: A Memoir. My enormous thanks to Kelly at Love Books Tours for inviting me to participate in this blog tour.

Amanda has featured many times on Linda’s Book Bag as follows:

My review of The Boy Between is here.

My review of The Coordinates of Loss is here.

My review of Anna is here.

My review of Another Love is here.

My review of My Husband’s Wife is here.

My review of The Food of Love is here.

My review of The Idea of You is here.

As well as meeting her in real life, I have also been privileged to interview Amanda here.

Women Like Us was published by Little A on 6th September 2022 and is available for purchase here.

Women Like Us: A Memoir

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 Review of Women Like Us: A Memoir

I’m not much usually of a reader of memoir but from the very first page of Women Like Us it was as if Amanda Prowse had looked straight into my soul and said, ‘I see you’. Genuinely, reading Women Like Us made me feel understood, uplifted and as if I’d been given permission to let go a breath I’ve been holding for over 60 years.

Women Like Us is written with such honesty, such humour and such skill that it is like having a conversation with your best friend. I’m not going to say too much about the events that happen to the author as there’s as much, if not more, drama in her life as in any fiction and I don’t want to spoil the discoveries for other readers, but what is so utterly wonderful about Women Like Us is the honest diffidence, the raw emotion and the self-deprecating humour in the way they are conveyed.

Reading Women Like Us leaves the reader with undiluted admiration for Amanda Prowse. She is unafraid to present the difficulties of life such as food addiction, low self-esteem, grief, negative body image and poor mental and physical health, family relationships and marriage with clarity, insight and humility so that she gives permission to her readers to face their own fears, accept their own imperfections and simply be. This makes Women Like Us perhaps sound like a depressing, navel gazing indulgence but that is absolutely NOT the case. It’s funny, emotional and such a fabulous read that I cannot recommend it highly enough. It’s also a fascinating exploration of being a writer that any aspiring (or indeed established) author would benefit from reading.

Written with warmth, honesty and humanity, Women Like Us is not only an engaging and entertaining insight into a much loved author’s life, but it may well be one of the most helpful and supportive books any woman –  any human – could read. It’s astonishingly fabulous. It made me laugh and it made me weep. I won’t forget it. Don’t miss it.

About Amanda Prowse

Amanda Prowse is an International Bestselling author whose twenty-eight novels, two non-fiction titles and seven novellas have been published in dozens of languages around the world. Published by Lake Union, Amanda is the most prolific writer of bestselling contemporary fiction in the UK today; her titles also consistently score the highest online review approval ratings across several genres. Her books, including the chart-topping No.1 titles ‘What Have I Done?’, ‘Perfect Daughter’, ‘My Husband’s Wife’, ‘The Girl in the Corner’ and ‘The Things I Know’ have sold millions of copies across the globe.

A popular TV and radio personality, Amanda has appeared on numerous shows where her views on family and social issues strike a chord with viewers. She also makes countless guest appearances on BBC national and independent Radio stations including LBC, Times Radio and Talk FM, where she is well known for her insightful observations and her infectious humour. Described by the Daily Mail as ‘The queen of family drama’ Amanda’s novel, ‘A Mother’s Story’ won the coveted Sainsbury’s eBook of the year Award and she has had two books selected as World Book Night titles; ‘Perfect Daughter’ in 2016 and ‘The Boy Between’ in 2022.

Amanda is a huge supporter of libraries and having become a proud ambassador for The Reading Agency, works tirelessly to promote reading, especially in disadvantaged areas. Amanda’s ambition is to create stories that keep people from turning the bedside lamp off at night, great characters that ensure you take every step with them and tales that fill your head so you can’t possibly read another book until the memory fades…

For more information, you can follow Amanda Prowse on Twitter @MrsAmandaProwse and visit her website here. You will also find her on Facebook and Instagram.

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