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Katherine Ryan is a comedian, writer, podcaster, and apparently a regular across the BBC panel shows… but I rarely watch them, so The Audacity was my first real introduction to her work.
In this memoir, she describes her small-town Canadian childhood, her on-a-whim decision to move to the UK, and her various misadventures in building a career and a life for herself and her daughter. My friends at Blink Publishing (via Allen & Unwin) were kind enough to send me a copy for review.
I think maybe The Audacity suffered from the fact that I’ve read so many truly brilliant memoirs lately; by comparison, it fell flat for me. Something about Ryan’s voice and approach just felt… off.
She has a very matter-of-fact tone, which I’d normally like, except it was coupled with 20/20 hindsight; she doesn’t really bring the reader along with her.
I appreciate Ryan’s schtick of audacious self-confidence, but that alone doesn’t make for a good memoir. She’d definitely be a fun person to grab a drink with, though.
(Psst: trigger warnings for violent crime, coercive control, and pregnancy/loss.)
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