Well hello to you my reader chums! As my first ever blog post (nearly 12 years ago) was about Miranda Hart's first book, it would only be right to write a review of her latest book, 'I Haven't Been Entirely Honest with You'. As you can tell from my opening blog statement, I've been a Miranda fan since I was a teenager and started writing blogs with that opening phrase at the age of 16 - and I've never stopped. It would be weird writing the blogs without a 'reader chums' starter!

The show 'Miranda' has been a comfort to me since my teens, and I always found so much joy in watching it over again and quoting the show with my friends. I loved how the show always taught me the power of being my true self, loving who I am and how as a woman, I can do anything I put my mind to. 

Miranda Hart has always been an icon to me and still is, with her joy and showing the world the fun in life and how embracing your inner child is incredibly important, even as we get older. This book encapsulated everything I thought it would be and more - and was an uplifting, refreshing and insightful read of Miranda's personal journey.

Synopsis

'I Haven't Been Entirely Honest With You' is Miranda's personal story of her journey through chronic illness and navigating the tools that worked for her. It's a personal tale leaning into the basic keys of wellbeing, learning to be your true self, embracing the little treasures in life and learning what's right for you and your life rather than what society tells you to be.

Overall thoughts

Miranda's novel was like a nice warm hug, reassuring me and all the other readers that everything will be okay. The core and heart of the book share the importance of being yourself and living authentically as you - and how that can do wonders for your mental health and everyday life.

I love how the book was the heart of who Miranda is, even with simple quirks and phrases in how she says things, and adding her favourite songs in each chapter. I love how incredibly vulnerable this book is and how Miranda opened up about her lowest moments, the simple pleasures she found and the connections she made which brought her out of herself and made each day a little better. 

This book was everything I needed to read. As a people pleaser and someone who struggles to relax or not be productive, it gave me the reality check I needed. It shared the importance of slowing down, being present and how the little things in life are the most important. Many of these lessons I've heard before but the way Miranda wrote it and her vulnerability meant so much more than any life coach or wellbeing manual I've read. It felt like Miranda's heart was on the page and I could experience her journey from the start to the current day. It's honest, vulnerable and open - which I can imagine took so much courage to write and share.

I felt somewhat lighter reading this book. There's something so powerful to hearing someone else's journey and not feeling so alone. I learned the term 'highly sensitive person' in her book and it hit me - that's me. For one of the first times in my life, I felt seen and that there are people like me who feel things incredibly deeply but also can only socialise in intentional situations, with smaller crowds of people.  

Overall this book warmed me in so many ways. I felt seen, loved and special and finished it knowing I deserved to show the world me and live fully as I should. It helped me realise how important it is to set boundaries, rest, slow down, not always be productive and not always chase success. This book taught me how special life is just by existing. Miranda poignantly shares a tale about a dark and difficult period and how moving away from her true self made her struggle more. Living authentically made life magical again.

A 10/10 read and one that'll stay with me forever.

I hope you enjoyed this post. What's next on your to-be-read pile?

Thank you for reading <3