Life In Pieces

From reflections on grief and identity, bad hair and parenting, sleep and spirituality, to the things we can control and the things we cannot, Dawn has been doing a lot of thinking about life in lockdown. Mostly from a cupboard. Discover the daily diaries that track the journey for a hilarious, heartbreaking and highly entertaining glimpse into the new normal.

There’s been a lot of well-meaning but mad advice on how to contend with the strangest period of human history any of us has ever lived through. Dawn O’Porter redresses the balance by telling it as it really has been: holding out for 5pm to crack open the tequila Mark Watson

My Thoughts: As soon as I began reading Life in Pieces, I was smiling and sometimes laughing at her view of 2020. Unlike her, I am not a mother of small children, but a senior citizen; however, having been in that role, I could definitely imagine how the year would play out from her perspective.

Her occasional jabs at those in charge in this strange new world particularly resonated with me. None of us are happy to learn that politics has played such a role in how events unfolded for us.

Now I am just hoping to make it through the yearand beyond, if necessary, but it is great to read books like this one along the way.

I liked her description of events, and how she expressed how her family learned new ways of managing at home and with each other. She had the support of others in lockdown to help her through, and as a result, felt a solidarity that was priceless.:

I love when a book pulls it all together so nicely, reminding us that, in the midst of uncertainty and chaos, there is a silver lining. 5 stars.

Dawn and I are worlds apart in almost every way. And I often wondered why I kept reading her book when I haven’t finished a book I’ve started in over two years. Cliche fresh, funny, from the heart, etc. Yes. But so much more than that. Dawn’s honesty, humor and talented storytelling ability showed me an unapologetic, authentic human being with a beautiful heart that reached out and touched mine. Thank you, Dawn.

Compilation of diary entries from lockdown. Easy read and entertaining at times but also easily forgotten.

Absolutely brilliant writing, as I expected from Dawn O’Porter. I knew this book would be different to her usual fiction style of writing, what I didn’t expect was I would finish it in a day! Hilarious, sad, heartwarming, relatable, heartbreaking…. all of the emotions and more.

This book is honest, funny, a must read. Lockdown and Covid affected everyone in some way in the first half of 2020, and nothing will make you feel better about it than Dawns own story. The real-life drama of two young kids, pets, work and a husband at home, balancing homeschool, cooking and all the stresses and strains lockdown brought about, is put into words beautifully and rather hilariously at times by Dawn. She doesn’t shy away from the intense grief she is dealing with after the loss of her beautiful friend, which makes the book so emotional and heartbreaking (in between many laugh out loud moments I had to explain to my husband while reading quite a few times!).

She also touches on the riots and racism issues, making you realize just how much craziness is going on in the world and how she is living and learning all the time. Like Dawn, I am from the UK and live in the USA, so found her point of view and analysis of all things politics, Americans vs British, and general differences very relatable and spot on.

I highly recommend this book; as soon as I finished it I sent a message to all my friends to tell them they must go out and buy it on October 1st 🙂

If you want a lighthearted look at some serious issues, be made to feel better about overeating and overindulging in alcohol, gummies (you have to read the book, I’m sure we are not all turning to certain types of dummies, but hearing about Dawns experiences with them will either teach you a lot or make you laugh out loud or both) and parenting fails then this is definitely a book you want to pick up, you won’t regret it!

I love Dawn and follow her on social media generally just loving her and her updates on her life. So I went into this knowing it would be good.

What I didnt quite expect was how I would relate to it, and take joy from what felt like a shared experience. As a first time mum in a pandemic, knowing that mums the world over with far more experience than me were tearing there hair out whilst equally rejoicing in their family time really helped!

Reading her talk so frankly of her grief.

Shes flamboyant and brutally honest about life. And in a very scary human year it was lovely to read something equally, unflinchingly, real

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