This delightfully hilarious, sensitive, witty, brave, forgiving and loving read is not to be missed. The author’s magical simplicity is a clever invitation, not only to be thoroughly entertained, but Gruger reintroduces ourselves in a whole new light.
Laughing at Myself is a beautifully easy read that you won’t want to put down. Gruger skilfully guides you effortlessly through her narrative, while giving you all the details the reader needs to put themselves in the scenes of the story. Each short story flows into the next. Equally if time to yourself is limited, (and hiding from my 3 children at home during lockdown is only successful for so long), it is a book you can delve into for a quick visit, be entertained and come back to it again later… again and again. It will never fail to put a smile on your face.
As Gruger continues to introduce herself as she skips through her life’s encounters, you are left laughing out loud as you get to know her ‘Bridget Jones meets Calamity Jane’ character. The amusing references are endless, but… “Yet another time in my life when something I found funny, everyone else thought was idiotic”… resounds throughout.
I was left feeling not only amused, but quite elated. Encouraged to look at the humour within ourselves, our own vulnerabilities, to recognise them, greet them, open heartedly, and laugh away. Perhaps we can admit a little piece of this author is within all of us, and Gruger does a superb job of introducing us.
Gruger will leave you awakened, with a renewed awareness, as she teaches us those good solid life lessons… laugh at yourself, laugh with others, find the humour in life, forgive ourselves and ultimately love ourselves and the life we live.
The only criticism you will have is being left wanting more. Not just more tales of Gruger’s adventures, that goes without saying. But intrigued to find out more about each scenario, to share the further depths of Grugers thinking and humour. Where will each experience take her next. You want more than that peek, you’ll want to be experiencing it with her, get to know her better. She’s your potential best friend you haven’t met yet. And there’s a hell of a lot of catching up to do!