Crazy Aunt Purl’s Drunk, Divorced and Covered in Cat Hair

by: Laurie Perry

Published by: HCI

Reviewed by Janelle Martin

Subtitled: The true-life misadventures of a 30-something who learned to knit after he split

Laurie Perry, now best known in knitting circles as “Crazy Aunt Purl,” did not set out to become a blogging superstar. After the introverted Southerner was transplanted with her husband to L.A., she was stunned when said husband coolly informed her that he was leaving “to get his creativity back.” Left alone with four cats and a penchant for wine as comfort food, Perry quickly finds herself “three minutes from crazy” and grudgingly agrees to join a friend at a knitting class. There she discovers a new best friend–knitting can always be fixed, it helps you keep busy and find your own creativity, and it’s not about to leave you.

As Perry slowly sticks her head out into the world, she finds solace with her new knitting friends and begins to blog about her adventures with a distinctive self-deprecating humor. She quickly gained a loyal following who shared her joys, sorrows, dating mishaps and knitting adventures. Her stories are ones which everyone can relate to and readers love her trademark writing style – her voice just leaps off the computer screen and she immediately feels like a long-lost best friend (as evidenced by the 1700 condolence messages left on her blog after the death of her beloved cat Roy).

This book is much more than simply a self-help book about life after divorce or about learning to knit. Perry has penned a book about heartache and self-discovery and each reader will find something here to relate to. You will laugh, cry and moan along with Perry as she conquers her wine and Cheetos problem, heads out on her first post-divorce date and discovers that life does go on after “he splits.”

Armchair Interviews says: A good book for any woman who needs to care about another’s story–and who needs to laugh.

Author’s Web site: http://www.CrazyAuntPurl.com