The Woman Who Upped and Left: A laugh-out-loud read that will put a spring in your step!

The Woman Who Upped and Left was a delightful read. As an American, I found the British phrases quite endearing and alovely change of pace.With refreshing prose and dialogue, this story rings true for women, especially single parents. While many may not admit it outwardly, most single mothers would agree to fantasizing about getting in the car and just driving, away from the problems, the bills, and the “mundane practicalities” of life, looking at least for a respite from the responsibilities and the remote possibility of an exciting encounter. Single mothers know the slight tinge of guilt they feel when they have the slightest bit of a good time without their children, and can completely relate to having to cut short their activities because a child needs them, just as Audrey did when Morgan called while she was at Wilton Grange. We can also commiserate with parents like Audrey who are a bit disappointed with their child’s choices as they travel into adulthood even as we know we did the best we could to raise them. As Audrey ventures into the world again as her own person, she has some missteps, but eventually she realizes the things she likes (and doesn’t like), what she is good at, and more importantly, finds and makes peace with her true self. When she is authentic, her relationships flourish. Just as upping and leaving is exhilarating, so too is coming home to a rich and fulfilling life.

This is a good book to read while on the go; doesn't require much concentration, and it was enjoyable.Audrey didn't really up and left, as the book title said. Even as she was not physically with her son, her mind kept going back and worrying what's happening with him. Well, it is how mothers are, that's just the way we are wired. Her worries about her son, though valid, were eventually eased when he stood up and took responsibility. Though the undertones of the story were serious (it's about life after all), there were a lot of funny moments in the book, mostly Audrey's musings.Here are my takeaways:1. Everyone needs a time out, we all deserve it.2. We will not always get it right the first time, most of the time actually. The important thing is to learn from when we got it wrong.

I read a sample of this book and the only reason I dropped $.99 to buy the whole thing was because I wanted to know if the incredibly silly protagonist in the story ever wised up. I don't like reading about stupid people and this woman was definitely over-the-top. She's one of these moms who wants to be her child's "friend", and as a result she let her 18 year old's girlfriendsleepover night after night after night, having sex in the boy's bedroom and she could hear them! She did not require her son to look for job or tidy up behind himself and she had the apron strings so tight it was looking like there weren't a sharp enough pair of scissors anywhere to cut them. There were other instances throughout the story that proves that if this woman was a real flesh and blood person, she shouldn't be let out of the house without a keeper glued to her side. Aside from my problems with the protagonist, it was an OK book. There was an interesting cast of supporting characters and many chuckles throughout the story. And shockingly, in spite of this extremely naïve woman, the book has a happy ending.

The heroine is an ultra responsible mother, worker and all around good person. She had a bit of fun for a while with a boyfriend who turns out to be triple timing her and her teenage son takes terrible advantage of her. So when she wins a French cooking course at a prestigious resort, she decides to take it instead of the cash prize and do mundane things like pay bills. She sees a different type of life and opens her eyes to the possibilities ahead. I got a bit irritated at her for her extreme pandering to her son but that made his transformation more dramatic.

I felt that I was there with all those people. The author brought everyone to life and everyone's life was different.. The only negative is the treatment of the guy who didn't admit he was a chef and her date with him. It was just out there - nothin telling about how she ended things with him - even their time at together was vague. I'm happy that her son got his act together, and that she put her culinary experiences to good use.

I had trouble finishing this book, since I found it hard to deal with some of the characters. I found the lead character unsympathetic since she let people walk all over her. She subscribed to that idea that her son could not possibly live without her and thus he failed to grow up and selfishly ruined a lot of things his mom tried to do for herself. He needed to grow up and learn how to take care of himself. There was some growth by the end of the book, but I wish she would have confronted her son sooner than she did. The lead character really suffered from a lack of confidence, and that was bothersome. It was ok, but not as funny as her first book.

It's hard to love a book when the lead character is such a mess and not in a funny way. You route for her because you know she's has a good heart, but her neediness and self indulgence is nerve grating. She never really upped and left! And I have such a hard time reconciling that fact that there was this big about face for her super spoiled son! The book was a bit longer than it needed to be. It could have been wrapped up faster and for realistic sake, better. That being said, I did like that she did grow as a person and again, you really wanted her to win and stop self sabotaging herself, which she does. Interesting read...

This is the first story I've ready by this author. It was funny in that Southern, somewhere between sardonic & sarcastic (bless her heart) sort of way; and in moments it was sputtering, laugh out loud. I think I'm going to look up something else by the author to see if the style is consistent. If it is, I've found a new goody.

When I read the blurb on the back of this novel, the storyline resonated. There have often been times when I wished I could walk out and leave my responsibilities behind for a while. Many scenarios came to my mind as I considered this novel and I imagined that some of them could be hilarious. Once I was reading the book, however, I experienced a sense of disappointment. Audrey does leave - but not as I imagined she would. In addition, I felt a little annoyed with her as she seems to perpetuate the situation she finds herself in. Having said that, The Woman Who Upped and Left was a lighthearted read which leaves one with a sense of well-being at the end.

Easy read. Some fun. Would read more by the author

Loved this book!

Audrey Pepper is just your average divorced, 40-something mum of an18 year old teenage boy who is slowly being driven round the bend by her life. Well, more accurately by her son, Morgan, who is just drifting and seems to think mum will always be there to feed him, clean up after him and pay all his bills. So starts the great underpant-war. Morgan won't pick them up and now neither will Audrey. It all comes to a head when Audrey wins dinner lady of the year and has a choice of two wonderful prizes - £5,000 or a week long French Cookery Course. Which will she choose and will it be good for her?This is a typical Fiona Gibson story - warm and realistic feeling characters who have their nasty side as well as the nice bits that make them the focus of the story. Whilst some encounters feel a little contrived (does that ever happen to anyone in real life?) knowing that the world is full of surprises that we never anticipate makes even these feel convincing.The real joy of this story is the inter-personal relationships that show how we are all different people depending who we are with. From the caring and empathetic dinner lady and carer to the brazen woman in her Motorway Lover's eyes, the overbearing, nagging mum to her son, fun friend and then the defender of her son's girlfriend all these personalities are wrapped up in one middle-aged woman. Fiona Gibson really seems to understand human relationships and can write about them in such a lively way her books are a joy to read.

This was the second Fiona Gibson novel I purchased and I'm going to download another one right now. I love the humour she inflicts on the reader! Audrey and her teenage son, who I'd cheerfully strangle, live somewhat happily along with Jenna, Morgan's girlfriend, who I'd also cheerfully kick, in a house where Audrey is the sole breadwinner and keeper of said house. When she wins a competition with a prize of £5,000 or a fantastic cookery course she is definitely going to have the money - until she receives, in her birthday card from Morgan, a list of things HE wants! She decides to go on the cookery course instead, leaving a quick note for her son in the hope he'll rally and tidy his mess. It's a lovely story so buy the book to find out more.