What Does It Feel Like? by Sophie Kinsella - A Review

I am floored...  I went into What Does It Feel Like? knowing almost nothing about it—only that readers were raving. I borrowed the audiobook from my library, pressed play, and within minutes realized I might be in trouble. As a mom of five who was diagnosed with breast cancer while pregnant with my youngest twenty years ago, I knew this story would stir memories I don’t often revisit. And yet, nothing could have prepared me for just how deeply Sophie Kinsella’s autobiographical novella would cut…and heal.

This book is raw, funny, heartbreaking, and astonishingly hopeful. Kinsella fictionalizes parts of her own experience, rearranging some events and changing names, but the emotional truth is unmistakable. Her signature humor—bright, quirky, and disarming—shines even in the darkest moments. There were scenes that shattered me and scenes that made me smile.

Sophie approaches her own trauma with immense courage, vulnerability, and a stubborn spark of optimism that refuses to go out. I deeply applaud her bravery in sharing something so profoundly personal with her readers.

The novella follows Eve, a mother of five and a beloved novelist, who wakes in a hospital bed with no memory of how she got there. She soon learns she has survived an eight‑hour surgery for a stage‑4 glioblastoma. What follows is an intimate and moving account of recovery: relearning how to talk, walk, write, even remember Christmas carols. The moments where Eve Googles survival statistics—terrified yet determined—broke me. But what remains constant is her devotion to the ordinary magic of everyday life: walking hand‑in‑hand with her husband, loving her children fiercely, fighting her way back to herself one tiny step at a time.

It’s also impossible not to feel inspired. Sophie Kinsella’s humor, light, and resilience never fade, even as she confronts some of the most frightening words a person can hear.

Beautifully written. Brutally honest. Utterly unforgettable. Ugh my heart is still feeling it...

Five stars. Absolutely.

★★★★★

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