This is Sylvia Patterson's memoir of her diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer and it's a very visceral and moving book. I love the way the author writes - both the way she tells her story and her brutal honesty about what it was like going through her treatment. I found it very difficult to read, it was so raw. The book is beautifully written though and I would recommend it - especially to anyone going through cancer or anyone who is a carer or loved one of a patient.

I have been envious of Sylvia Patterson for a while. She had the rock and roll life style that I could only dream of – standing at the side of the stage of music history and getting to write about it for a job. I was extremely jealous and I hoovered her book I’m Not With the Band a few years ago. When I saw that another book was going to be released I was eager to read it and wondered what part of Patterson’s life I would be envious of next. Well, I got my eye wiped.

Same Old Girl is not focused on music but is focused on Sylvia Patterson’s cancer diagnosis and how she dealt with it. Through her own inner strength combined with the love she got from family and friends and the tireless work of the NHS Sylvia Patterson documents this journey. And whilst I can honestly say that I am not jealous of this things she has been through but if I ever do find myself in that position I hope that I handle it with the grace and power that she did.

I have been envious of Sylvia Patterson for a while. She had the rock and roll life style that I could only dream of - standing at the side of the stage of music history and getting to write about it for a job. I was extremely jealous and I hoovered her book I'm Not With the Band a few years ago. When I saw that another book was going to be released I was eager to read it and wondered what part of Patterson's life I would be envious of next. Well, I got my eye wiped.

Same Old Girl is not focused on music but is focused on Sylvia Patterson's cancer diagnosis and how she dealt with it. Through her own inner strength combined with the love she got from family and friends and the tireless work of the NHS Sylvia Patterson documents this journey. And whilst I can honestly say that I am not jealous of this things she has been through but if I ever do find myself in that position I hope that I handle it with the grace and power that she did.

Same Old Girl is a brilliant memoir.

Same Old Girl by Sylvia Patterson is available now.

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Same Old Girl is a memoir from renowned music journalist Sylvia Patterson and her diagnosis of breast cancer towards the end of 2019 in the months leading up to the Covid-19 pandemic. Covering her two years of treatment, she also looks back over her life from her upbringing in Perth, Scotland, through her time with seminal music magazines such as Smash Hits, NME and Q,

Patterson pulls no punches when recounting the difficulties of dealing with her cancer and the treatment she needed, including a mastectomy. She deals with her illness with an almost gallows sense of humour and is open and honest about living with cancer and the pandemic at the same time.

It doesn't feel right to say I 'enjoyed' the elements of the book which followed Patterson's diagnosis and treatment but there was very much a sense for me of feeling real empathy, through her writing, for what she was going through. I enjoyed the flashbacks to her younger life less and in some ways was waiting for her to bring the story back to the present day where the story felt more urgent. Undoubtedly a well-written book though and one I'd recommend.

Having grown up reading Smash Hits and Sylvia Patterson's writing, I associated her with funny, tongue-in-cheek writing, as evidenced in her previous publication "I'm Not With The Band". And while there is still plenty of humour woven into "Same Old Girl" the subject matter is a lot more serious, after she's diagnosed with breast cancer just as the Covid-19 pandemic kicks off.
This book affected me deeply, as my best friend was in a similar situation, at the same time and so many sections of this book mirrored events that she would tell me about. Patterson's writing took me behind the edited version my friend would tell me to protect me from the worst, giving a warts and all account of experiencing a diagnosis and the subsequent necessary but brutal treatments that leave her teetering on the edge of life.
This is a valuable and fascinating look behind the hospital curtains as to what it means to be diagnosed with cancer and the subsequent surgeries and treatments and their effect on the human body. Patterson pulls no punches and shares even her lowest lows in a compelling account of her illness. This book made me laugh, cry and experience all emotions in between. An essential read.

I devoured Patterson's first book, I'm Not With The Band. A few years older than me, Patterson was at the heart of the pop culture that sustained me through the Eighties and Nineties and her writing dredged up old memories and the excitement of the days when pop music was unashamedly my life.

This book is a different kettle of fish altogether. Patterson, now in her fifties, receives the diagnosis nobody wants just before COVID takes over our lives and spends months dealing with breast cancer, chemo and radiation in a terrifying and uncertain world.

A brutally honest book about what it means to wrestle with your mortality. This forces Patterson to make changes to her life she never thought she would want to or have to make. It's a kind of coming of age novel but in your Fifties. It's sad, brutal and yet sometimes extremely funny and it is full of heart.

I have loved Sylvia Patterson’s writing since she wrote for Smash Hits (as did I, briefly, but we never met). I loved her first memoir (which apparently came out in 2016?? I feel like it was two years ago max) so I was thrilled to get to read Same Old Girl. And, reader, I adored it.

I was honestly expecting something more along the same lines as I’m With the Band but Same Old Girl is something different. It’s about Sylvia’s breast cancer diagnosis and subsequent treatment (in - oh no - 2020). It’s a difficult, painful read in parts. But it’s also often hilarious, life-affirming and a love letter to friendship and the NHS.

I couldn’t put it down, but didn’t want it to end. A triumph!

Same Old Girl by Sylvia Patterson explores her experiences of living with a cancer diagnosis and undergoing treatment and how illness makes you really appreciate the moments when you don't feel unwell.

Absolutely wonderful. Loved Sylvia's first memoir but this is a massive step change, as she deals with the onset of cancer. Manages to be funny, moving and really insightful. Loved it.

Intensely compelling, beautifully written (as her music pieces have been for her entire career) take on the shocks - of being middle-aged, of the discovery of cancer and the horrors and indignities of its treatment, and possibly the greatest shock of all...to discover that you've metamorphosed into a grown-up with all its attendant ideals , attitudes and opinions.