Confessions of a Forty-Something F**k Up

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What to expect

Read by Sally Phillips

Meet Nell. She’s like the thousands of women who’ve fallen in love with her story. Because most of us wonder why life isn’t turning out quite as we imagined. From bedside to poolside, this book is the perfect summer listen. It will make you laugh and it may make you cry. But above all, it will remind you that you’re not on your own. If you enjoy Bridget Jones, Dolly Alderton, Ruth Jones and Marian Keyes – you’ll love Confessions of a Forty-Something F##k Up.

'The new Bridget Jones' – Telegraph

'Say hello to a book that will have you laughing with every page, whether you're 20, 40 or 80' – Heat


A novel for any woman who wonders how the hell she got here, and why life isn't quite how she imagined it was going to be. And who is desperately trying to figure it all out when everyone around them is making gluten-free brownies.

Meet Nell. Her life is a mess.

In a world of perfect Instagram lives, she feels like a disaster. But when she starts a secret podcast and forms an unlikely friendship with Cricket, an eighty-something widow, things begin to change. Because Nell is determined. This time next year things will be very different. But first, she has a confession . . .

'Brilliant! Laughing out loud' – Emma Gannon, podcaster (Ctrl Alt Delete) and author of Olive

'Funny but layered, light-hearted but surprisingly deep' – Red

As recommended on Davina McCall's Making the Cut podcast.

Critics Review

A funny, feisty tale about the highs and the oh-so-lows of having to start over in your forties with a smart, sassy character at its heart who you'll be cheering on from start to finish.
Mike Gayle, author of All The Lonely People
Nell’s journey to mid-life happiness is hilarious, moving and filled with clear-eyed wisdom about what it means to be a woman of any age, proving that the best happy ever afters come when you fall in love with life.
Lucy Dillon, author of After the Rain and A Hundred Pieces of Me
I loved this book so much. It’s very funny and painfully true. Confessions of a Forty-Something F*ck Up is perfect comfort reading for anyone who thinks life isn’t working out as they want it to, whether they’re forty, fourteen or eighty-four.
Chrissie Manby, author of Three Days in Florence and A Proper Family Holiday
Say hello to a book that will have you laughing with every page, whether you're twenty, forty or eighty
Heat
The new Bridget Jones for our times
The Telegraph
Brilliant! Laughing out loud
Emma Gannon, podcaster Ctrl Alt Delete and author of Olive
Funny but layered, light-hearted but surprisingly deep
Red

User Reviews

Book 4.7
Narration 5.0
5.0
5.0
Beautiful story and amazing narration. Funny, touching and empowering.
Pvl.po 26/04/2025
5.0
5.0
jacob.jones2 11/04/2025
4.0
5.0
Tdk 16/11/2023
5.0
5.0
evieplo 01/05/2023
5.0
5.0
Eviecatmum 06/04/2023
5.0
5.0
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. In paper form I’d describe it as a “page turner”
Would definitely recommend it to other audio listeners
theresa coyne 06/03/2023
4.0
5.0
janetpearl 21/01/2023

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