Crazy Lady
Customer Rating: 
Cute, funny, and A silky smooth ride.
In the beginning, Charlie, her beloved husband, gave a single reason (his "creativity") and said he was leaving the marriage. And then, he did.
So a thirty-something young professional finds herself alone, dumped, and devastated in Los Angelos. She goes crazy. After a while she learns to knit. She makes knitting into a hobby. And that's it.
Of course the story isn't really about knitting - though it claims to be. And we find that our heroine is a survivor, after all. I won't steal - by quoting - the hilarious one liners and funny story episodes. Author Laurie Perry is quite comfortable with character development and, in matter of fact, manages her subtle story progress quite handily.
I guarantee you will like this fast, short, and very funny read.
No Straitjacket Required
Customer Rating: 
Strap yourself in and be prepared for a compelling true story ride that goes up and down, side to side, spirals this way and that and leaves you smiling in the end.
The Crazy Aunt Purl thing in the title is misleading to the unitiated (me), that's just the name of Laurie Perry's blog/website (add a dot com), and obsessive knitters who've read Stephanie Pearl-McPhee's books shouldn't expect the knitting to be the star here, because it's not: it only makes an appearance around chapter 7 and is mentioned only a few times thereafter. Yes, there are knitting patterns (14), written in the same vein in the rest of the book-which makes a nice change if you're used to only normally written knitting patterns: These are in the back followed by a gallery-you have to see the picture of the cat wearing the hood of the devil baby blanket! There are scarves(5), hats(2), bags(3) and one each of a cat tunnel, pom-pom, flower, aforementioned blanket and shawl. My glitch with these is that they mostly come with a wine recommendation but not always gauge or yardage-extra homework for those who wish to substitute yarns.
The knitting comes across more as a crutch, but this might be a good thing: one could give this book to non-knitters also going through a divorce or break-up, because that's what this book is really about, and how she, Laurie, survived the dark days of divorce and created a wonderful, sparkly new life (and with luck, the recipient of this book will be encouraged to knit too! So diabolical, it's brilliant! Get 'em when they're vulnerable-because knitting is, of course, healing and did I mention useful?)
Although this is by a woman and probably marketed to women, there's no reason a man shouldn't look into it.
The 44 chapters are bite-size, for that sense of accomplishment, and it feels like reading someone's really well-written diary or pages of a nice long letter, flashbacks to childhood and those real, often uncomfortable feelings we're too polite to say out loud, included.
It's funny in places, smile-free in others and unwittingly kind of self-helping, mostly the third act.
4 stars because I like it but don't swooningly love it (needs a pinch more knitting for my taste) but I'm happy to have it in my knitting book collection.
Definitely worth a read if you're in the mood for comfy, cozy, light and ultimately feelgood (and/or are on a diabolical mission to convert the non-knitting...)
Dumped and depressed - not after reading this book!
Customer Rating: I picked up this book based on the title alone. I had once been drunk, divorced and covered in cat hair and trying desperately to make myself whole again. Now, many years later I find myself knitting furiously to fill the empty next. Not quite the same as being dumped by one's husband, but a similar feeling of loss and loneliness. In addition to knitting and latch hook and crocheting, I've started reading voraciously so I took myself to the bookstore to find a book to fill the void.
I knew, instantly, from the title of this book, I had to read it and I was not disappointed. Any woman who has found herself clinging to an empty marriage, unwilling to accept that it's over only to be unceremoniously dumped will be able to relate to the sad but funny antics of the author. She takes you on her journey from shock and despair, to total depression to re-entry into the world as a whole person equipped with knitting needles. You'll both laugh and cry and remember your own journey to becoming whole as you read.
The chapters are all very short, some only one or two pages long and cover a particular point in her journey - like the hair emergency a few days before divorce court or "cooking ADD". Her style of writing is very similar to Erma Bombeck who could also make you laugh at the irony of life. Whether you were dumped when "he" decided he was losing his creativity or you lost your spouse through death or you find yourself alone after the children have left the nest, this book is for you.
