Blog Tour: 'A Year in the Life' by Lucy Leonelli

Released: 20/01/22

Publisher: Unbound

Genre: Memoir

Buy Link: Click here for amazon link

Blurb:

In her late twenties and already a partner in her headhunting firm, Lucy Leonelli was seemingly on top of the world, but despite her success she couldn’t shake the feeling she was missing out on life out there. So Lucy did the only reasonable thing she could do: she hung up her suit and set out on a year-long journey to uncover her most authentic self.

Stepping outside her comfort zone, she turned to twenty-six little-understood subcultures of the UK – communities often heard about but very seldom seen. For two weeks each, she lived with battle re-enactors, circus performers, hill baggers, Morris dancers, naturists, trainspotters, yogis, zeitgeist political activists and more, experiencing first-hand their social rituals and customs.

A Year in the Life charts Lucy’s adventure as she swam naked with lawyers and vets, cast spells with teachers and IT consultants, dressed in tight latex, drank with self-proclaimed vampires and fought the undead in an epic LARP battle. It tells of the importance of community in an increasingly isolating society; of the unquenchable human thirst for a sense of belonging; of how misguided our own prejudices can be; and of how when we open the door to others, we might just learn something about ourselves.

My Thoughts:

This was a really interesting book, full of humour and warmth.

I found it a curious idea, to research and write about the various 'subcultures' of the country - using inverted commas as some of them didn't enjoy the word - and become almost a part of them. Lucy has self-declared FOMO (fear of missing out) and uses this as the premise for her year of adventures and self-discovery.

I think this memoir could appeal to a large readership, mainly due to the variety of themes that are discussed. We follow the author through more 'subcultures' than I even realised there were (and I'm sure now that there are far more than would fit into an alphabet) and I'm not sure which was my favourite to learn more about.

The chapters almost read like fiction in parts, though in an endearingly anecdotal way where Lucy's self-deprecating comedy draws the reader in to learn more and see the next scenario she will find herself within.

For anyone who has ever been curious, or found themselves in a worm hole googling about life and concepts. This book will make you smile and may even bring you a few new nuggets of information about the UK population (I now know what Otherkin means) Thanks to Anne Cater and Unbound for sending me a copy for review, and to Lucy for making me smile and share random information with my partner, who I'm sure enjoyed them as much as I did.