A review by sharondblk
Happy Never After: why the happiness fairytale is driving us mad by Jill Stark

3.0

I like Jill Stark. She sounds like someone I could be friends with. She sounds like she could live in my apartment building. I've read some of her writting in The Age. I like memoirs. I love a redemption memoir more than anything - except one read by the author on audio book. So why was this book dissapointing? Rather than feeling like I was following Jill's journey, it felt like a collection of "things I've tried". Some chapters felt like newspaper columns, rather than parts of a narative structure. Some were just annoying - yes, motorbikes are loud and horribe and scare my cat too, but what am I meant to do about it?
She makes some good points, but the book wavers between a memoir and a journalistic exploration of the wellness industry. if she has chosen one or the other, the results could have been outstanding.