Wow what a fabulous read. I couldn't put this book down and read it in two days Lesley had certainly had a rollercoaster of a life from losing her mother at just three years old to being the great writer she is today. She overcame so much at such a young age but always worked hard and definitely played hard and certainly enjoyed herself making many mistakes but always working hard and I admired her so much for all she overcame. I'm not going to give anything away as think readers will enjoy her story as it unfolds. Thank you Lesley for sharing your story and being so honest you deserve all your success and more I've read all your books some more than once and I think your experiences shine through in your writing and I hope this memoir flies high and I'm so happy you have all your children in your life. A brilliant story and I highly recommend it

A lovely trip into this authors life. Was an emotional read in some places. But I really enjoyed diving into this

I love Lesley Pearse and have read most of her books so to be granted this was a bonus. I found it to be an interesting read and feel she had a very sad childhood and life was just as tough as she grew up maybe that’s why she has been able to write such brilliant books having experienced such a varied life.

Firstly thank you Netgalley for this ARC

What a lovely book relaying the life of Lesley Pearse

Very emotional in places

As a huge Lesley Pearse fan I was thrilled to be given the opportunity to receive a digital ARC of her autobiography. What a journey Lesley had been on, from a young child who grew up in quite hard circumstances to where she is today is amazing, she really is a resillent individual.

I had built up a picture in my mind of what type of woman Lesley may be and I couldn’t have been anymore wrong! This lady went through hell and back, brushes with contacts of The Krays, drugs, squats it was all going on! I was pleasantly surprised to read that she is a Kent girl and lived in Folkestone!

The way that Lesley has written this is at times like I am reading one of her fiction books, she is so talented. I would’ve loved to have read more around the time of her life when she was a fully fledged author.

I LOVED this memoir. Pearse takes the reader on a journey of her life, and everything is so well written and recounted I felt as if I was really there with her. I adored how she recounted the different eras of her life, and I was thoroughly entertained the whole way through. It’s often hard to write a book about yourself and make it appealing to a wider audience, but she managed to do it. I just loved it, what a spectacular woman with a jaw dropping life.

What a resilient woman!
Lesley Pearse has written this autobiography as if it’s a book of fiction. (In my opinion)
It’s easy to read and I really didn’t want it to end,
It’s unbelievable how many knock backs she had, but with grit, determination and a lot of hard work she bounced back. She certainly is not afraid of getting her hands dirty, but I’m pleased she managed to get her writing career off the ground.
I definitely recommend this book!

An amazing story of hardship and survival against all odds. From the death of her mother at a very early age and having to spend time in an orphanage where her trust in adults was sorely tested it is surprising, to me, that she achieved so much. It was, of course, due to her shear determination through the many trials and tribulations which she faced throughout her life. I was fascinated from the beginning to the end. The end was such a lovely story when she found her first born who she had to give up. As much as it was heart breaking at times it certainly was heart warming when her dreams of becoming a writer was fulfilled so successfully. I admired her as a writer having read all of her books but knowing her story had made me admire her more.

I'm sure that all bibliophiles know of Lesley Pearse, but how many of us actually know who she is as a person rather than an author? I was super excited to receive this book.

Lesley mentions in this that her Father was called Sergeant Arthur Geoffrey Sargent, and that really made me smile as my late Nan's maiden name was Sargent, and so her Father at one time or another would have been Sergeant Sargent too.

She hasn't left anything out in this book, especially from her childhood. It's brutal and upsetting and unbelievable how she was treated and I just wanted to find this little Lesley and comfort her.

I haven't read a Lesley Pearse book in a very long time, but there was something about her writing in this that reminded me of Julie Owen Moylan's writing; this way of writing about human behaviour, especially female human behaviour.

My main criticism is there seemed to be an imbalance of stories. I don't want to call it a criticism really as it's her life story, she knows what she wants to write about, but as a personal comment, I felt it was very heavy on the childhood and upbringing and very light as an adult and a writer, and personally, I would have loved more about her later life and career.

I did find it became a bit fanciful at times. I know she can't help what happened in her life, and the fact that it sounded so unbelievable should have made it even stronger considering it's real. But at times I felt it was just listing one morose thing after another. It grabbed me instantly and I was enjoying it, and then the last 10% maybe I enjoyed, but it lost its way a bit for me in the middle sort of 30% or so. I was finding it a bit tiring to read and I wasn't enjoying it so much.

If it were a fiction book, I'd say the author has put too many things in it and it was becoming too heavy.

Having said all of that, I definitely think it will be an interesting read for Lesley Pearse fans.