Reviews with content warning for Ableism - My Mess Is a Bit of a Life

The premise of this book is "short anecdotes evacuating anxiety out of the body, as prescribed by a therapist." From the darkly humorous writer of The Thick of It, Veep, Succession, etc, that's a pretty interesting premise! I was pretty excited for this memoir based on excerpts. Parts of it REALLY delivered, offering tender and humorous anecdotes. Other parts... less so.

Approached as a series of short stories (which is more how it reads), they're thematically connected, but on average pretty unremarkable. Approached as a narrative string of vignettes, it's better -- particularly in the last 1/3 when the author stops recounting childhood & early career struggles, and transitions to talking about mid/late-career issues as a woman in a male-dominated field + the experience of raising non-neurotypical children as a non-neurotypical adult. But viewing the memoir this way requires generally forgetting about the childhood anecdotes. Overall, the book contains mostly punchy dismal bits that don't build to anything, with a few fantastically insightful moments interspersed.

Content Warnings

liz_not_bennet's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective sad fast-paced

5.0

This is one of the few books I'm sure I'll reread. Even if it's just certain paragraphs from it. I love the writing style, it's phenomenal. I'm convinced that Georgia Pritchett could write about being stuck in traffic in a way that I'd want it tattooed on my skin.
Will I ever find another memoir that I not only pick up and pay for and then read in less than a week of my own accord but also treasure and recommend to everyone who will listen to me? I didn't think so.

Content Warnings

More...