What's That Lady Doing?: False starts and happy endings by Lou Sanders is a relatable raw and funny memoir about dealing with some very difficult experiences.

This was a fun, honest and open book. Well written and felt like a conversation with an old friend where all chat is on the table, no holds barred and no one is judging anyone else.

As much as there was tough topics covered, it was done thoughtfully and with Lou's humour. Really enjoyed it.. Highly recommend

This book is fun from start to end. Lou Sanders is wonderfully human and a little bit mad as a box of frogs, as all the best people should be! Read it to feel better and have a good chuckle. It feels like chatting with a friend.

Absolutely brilliant. I was laughing out loud one minute & crying the next, in true Lou style this a wonderfully hilarious read but I was not expecting the hard tough subjects also covered but Lou addressed them head on and held nothing back. Loved it.

I love it when Lou Sanders is on my screen so was overjoyed when I got this book.

Although the book is comical, Lou covers some heavy subjects too. I think its made me a bigger fan!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

What’s That Lady Doing
Lou Sanders


I enjoyed this book so much and found myself laughing out loud more than once. I loved the honesty and the chatty style of writing. Lou should definitely give novel writing a go next!

Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read & review this book.

Brilliant read. Funny, honest, raw and endearing, Lou tackles some heavy subject matter head-on. It must have been quite cathartic to write in places. The book surprised me in some ways as I didn't expect such depth given the description, but Lou's humour shone through and lifted it where it needed it. Definitely worth a read.

Lou Sanders doesn't shy away from the tough subjects and is engagingly open and honest about her (sometimes) chaotic experiences. Coupled with her warm and sparky comedic voice, and an essential good-heartedness that shines through, this makes for a thoroughly enjoyable and touching memoir, peppered with some excellent advice.

I thoroughly enjoyed delving into this book. The concise and snappy chapters made it remarkably easy to immerse myself in the narrative. Lou Sanders deserves praise for crafting a story that, despite tackling weighty and significant topics (please check trigger warnings), remained remarkably binge-worthy.

"What’s That Lady Doing?" serves as a poignant reminder that the personas we encounter on our screens may not reflect the depth of the individuals behind them. While Lou Sanders undoubtedly charms with her humor and comedic prowess, her memoir reveals a profound layer of sadness in her life. The narrative provides a raw and unfiltered account of Lou's journey up to this point, addressing challenging subjects through the lens of her lived experiences. Despite the sometimes somber tone, Lou infuses her storytelling with the comedic wit that has endeared her to many. Moreover, the memoir offers a retrospective look at her life, showcasing the ways in which therapy has played a pivotal role in enhancing her understanding and growth.

The E-Book could be improved and more user-friendly, such as links to the chapters, no significant gaps between words and a cover for the book would be better. It is very document-like instead of a book. A star has been deducted because of this.

This is a first for me by the author and one I enjoyed and I would read more of their work. The book cover is eye-catching and appealing and would spark my interest if in a bookshop. Thank you to the author, publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.

I read Lou’s book and its a really honest, open, funny and sometimes sad book about her experiences and what made her who she is today.

Lou, you are incredible. I found some things hard to read but after finishing the book I could see the journey you have been on and the changes you have made for you. Sharing your story will help others who may be experiencing what you did.

Although a lot heavier going in places than the cover lead me to expect, this was a fantastic read. Candid to the point of uncomfortable in places, and a very important read. I have recommended this book to a few friends who I think will enjoy it as much as I did.

Now don’t get me wrong , I might be a little biased but what a great little surprise this was. When I saw that our narrator was raised in Thanet I was a little excited as I spent a few years of my teens living there too and could picture the settings of her stories so well.
Her memoir is not all seaside and sunshine though, there are some truly dark, raw and heartbreaking moments in our authors past and this is a no holds barred tale that will have you wanting to cry one minute and smiling the next .
Even though this books deals with some huge issues such as alcoholism , drug use, sexual assault and abuse the book is also full of wit, friendship, love and humour.
This book isn’t for everyone and could hold triggers for lots of readers but it’s real and raw and what more could you ever wish for from a memoir than that.
Thank you Lou for you bravery and honesty and I hope this book gets the attention it deserves.

I will confess to not knowing who Lou Sanders was but I was intrigued by the cover and title. She is very amusing and I loved the short structured chapters of the book

Thank you netgalley for the ARC.

I really enjoyed this book. The short and snappy chapters made it incredibly easy to read. It is a credit to Lou Sanders how easy it was to binge read given some of the topics were incredibly heavy and important (check trigger warnings)

I would also recommend the audio book that I’ve since listened to as she narrates it and her tone in it keeps you hooked!

“Life is long and we are all just borrowing each other for a bit”

I was very lucky to get an arc of Lou’s memoir from NetGalley and found so much to love in it through her humour and honesty.

She does at times stray from the path into tangents that don’t feel as though they have specific meaning. However, there is a flow of information not dissimilar to how my own brain works that made this book near impossible for me to put down.

It’s a stream of consciousness with the feeling of ease towards discussing trauma that doesn’t shy away from the harsh realities of it.

“Sharing our stories hopefully makes us more empathetic and dissipates the shame”

This terrific, unsentimental memoir takes us from Lou's childhood in Thanet (where she tries to pioneer the 'ponytail in the middle of the face' look) to her success as a stand-up, via giving up alcohol and joining that organisation that isn't supposed to be named.

Between these moments, Loulie goes on various adventures including fronting a band called Geoff Leopard that got themselves banned from a comedy festival - I really wish I'd seen them! - and gigging up and down the country in between head-wrecking hangovers.

The depictions of her mum (who dresses up as a condom at one point) her stepdad 'I did a test for autism, and it turns out I'm really bloody good at it') and her Dad, who pretends to be dead to get out of momentary inconveniences, leave us in no doubt as to why she ended up so very...unconventional. Now she's beat her demons, let's hope the best is yet to come because she seems fab!

Funny, poignant memoir that has a unique voice that 'tells it as it is'. I respect both the vulnerability shown by the author and her ability to honour the requests of some friends/family members to remain anonymous - without sacrificing any impact.

What’s That Lady Doing? is a classic example of showing that we don’t really know the people we see on our screens. Yes Lou Sanders is hilarious and a fabulous comedian but there is so much sadness in her story. Lou’s memoir is a raw account of her life to this point. It tackles tough subjects which are shared with us through Lou’s lived experiences and although sometimes bleak to read they are told with the comedic whit we know and love. They are also told with hindsight and you can see the ways she’s allowed therapy to aid her understanding.

I really enjoyed this memoir and laughed out loud several times. It also felt a little nostalgic (I think we’re a similar age), the mention of Mad Dog 20/20 allowed me to reminisce about my own underage drinking in a park. That stuff was nasty - if you know you know! I also think this memoir has the ability to help others who may be struggling. It’s wise and insightful without being judgmental. We’ve all got our own demons after all!

What’s That Lady Doing publishes today and I was lucky enough to receive a copy in advance for review.

I have always enjoyed Lou as a comedian and so I knew this book would be funny and engaging, but I wasn’t expecting the level of depth and vulnerability that was given to us.
The stories that are shared with us are, for many women, very relatable but often not talked about so openly so I commend Lou for being so honest.

There are several trigger warnings for this read which I’d be happy to share with anyone that would like them.

What Is That Lady Doing? by Lou Sanders

I’ve felt over the last year that every comedian has a book out. This is the result of the pandemic, where comedians could write material but had no way of testing it out on audience. It seems that a lot of them decided to use this time to write a memoir and this is up there with the best of them. One of the most important things about a memoir written by a celebrity is that it feels authentic and this book feels like a rambling conversation with Lou. She has such a strong narrative voice. I must admit to being a bit fascinated with Lou Sanders for a while now. I’d seen snippets of her stand-up, appearances on panel shows and a gloriously deranged turn as Mel Giedroyc’s sidekick on Unforgivable. However, it was her appearance on another Dave comedy show that cemented her in my memory as someone I’d like to know more about. On Outsiders, she was in a team with Ed Gamble, tackling activities out in the woods to earn Scout-style badges devised by David Mitchell. It was her effect on Ed that absolutely floored me. She slowly drove him to distraction by agreeing a plan, then as he struggled with it, she would get bored and wander off to start a Plan B by herself. His exasperation is delightful. Similarly, on Chris and Rosie Ramsay’s BBC2 show, she dissolved the presenters to puddles of uselessness by beautifully relaying a story about a dog’s back end while visibly gagging! I felt like this was a lady with a gloriously quirky and unapologetic way of being herself in the world that I simply loved. I learned while reading this memoir that her ease with herself, her authenticity, has been very hard won. I now admire her all the more and plan on buying this book for all the teenage girls in my life by the bucketload.

Lou tells her story with no frills or filter and that led to a really intimate reading experience. I could hear her voice immediately and that is the best thing about it. She tells the story of a difficult early life - struggles with ADHD and a very late diagnosis, coupled with devastatingly low self-esteem. Totally misunderstood at home, she was drinking and drug-taking from an early age. All to mask feeling different and as if she didn’t belong anywhere. Leaving home at 15 and working in pubs, she learned to use drink to create a new persona, one that made people laugh. She used whatever it was that made her feel different and strange for laughs. Drama followed her and some of her stories, especially around the opposite sex are starkly told and are all the more devastating for their honesty. She only realises in reverse that it’s impossible to give consent when you’re incapacitated. She’d learned that it was sometimes easier to give in and drink numbed the reality of what had happened. Each wound is almost unnoticed and that’s not just because she was obliterated. She’s totally unaware that she has the ability to keep to her boundaries, in fact I don’t think she was aware of her ability to set them. People who are worth nothing can’t ask for things. They’re not even aware they have the right to say no.

Lou is very matter of fact and unshowy about choosing to get sober and change her life. She credits AA with her success and it took a few false starts to get passed the times she kidded herself - ‘I’ve not had a drink for months, surely one or two would be okay?’ She learned that for her, one leads to many so she can’t have any. Ever. It only became clear for her when she realised she was ruining her own chances, self-sabotaging her career. She would ask comic friends why new comics were getting TV gigs and she wasn’t. After shows where she was obliterated, threw things into the audience and even bit someone, it took a good honest friend to tell her the truth. TV producers didn’t trust her, she was too unpredictable. That friend probably saved her career, in act they saved her life. I found her clarity around this part of her life really admirable, but she doesn’t want to see herself as a heroine or an example. This book doesn’t have a self-help vibe. She knows that she is a work-in-progress and only sticking with AA and practicing abstinence will work for her. In fact she also realises that therapy keeps her life ticking over, it gives her a release - like the pressure valve for her life. I loved the raw honesty of Lou’s writing. This is a book that never could have happened if she hadn’t learned to love every bit of herself. Well, most bits anyway. Some celebrity books are a list of achievements or a ‘how I became famous’ journey, but you don’t really meet the person. I’m not very good at surface stuff. Small talk is impossible for me, because it feels totally inauthentic. I put this book down feeling like I’d really met the person between it’s covers and we’d had a long, honest conversation about life.