Jane is Trying (W&N Essentials)

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Some of Jane's musings are so relatable you'll catch yourself laughing out loud, slightly alarmed by the accuracy . I did really enjoy reading this though and there was some glimpses of genius in her writing… would definitely read more of her work!

I should caveat my review by saying that this isn't by any means the worst book I've read and I definitely swithered between giving it a 2 or 3-star rating. Some continuity issues aside, this was a story that kept me interested, wanting to know what happened next, and there were some interesting supporting characters along the way. The blurb read as though it would be an interesting feel-good story about a woman regaining control of her life after it had gone off the rails. Some of the behaviour of others, especially her parents, was ridiculous to the point of hilarity at times.I. A three-time British Comedy Award nominee, her short stories have appeared in A Love Letter To Europe and Dead Funny: Encore .

To begin with some positives it is well written and it is an easy read, I read it in less than 2 days, It isn’t a bad read, I just expected the book to have a more empowering undertone and focus upon Jane overcoming OCD and rebuilding her life as that was the vibe I got from the blurb but she never really did rebuild her life, she just flitted from odd decision to odd decision. Trying for a baby is a huge one, but also trying to hold it together, trying to overcome trauma, trying to understand and manage our own minds.I really enjoyed it and sympathised with Janes anxieties, i think we have all done the double check the gas is off before or straighteners but doing it 16 times a time is mad! I also felt the characters were written as stereotypes of either rich middle-class families (Sadie, Andrew, Jonathan etc) or low income working-class families (Kelly, Becca etc) and this made them lack realism. Then I read her latest memoir and found out she quite liked Trump when she was on The Celebrity Apprentice, but it was too late. Jane suffers from anxiety and intrusive thoughts that affect her constantly, and I felt the author dealt with this aspect in a particularly sensitive manner. Jane’s struggles with conception, anxiety and undiagnosed OCD are immaculately written and Jane is Trying covers the ‘not knowing’ and ‘trying to figure it out’ aspect of life really well.