Author: Rachel Herron
ISBN: 978-073-229-2867
RRP: $27.99
A Life In Stitches is a warm-hearted, unexpectedly funny memoir about a woman with a passion for knitting, and the way that this passion has marked the great milestones of her life. From knitting her very first sweater (a disaster!), which brought her closer to her father, to a yellow afghan that caused a break up, to discovering another passion, true love, A Life In Stitches shows the memorable moments of blogger Rachel Herron’s life through the medium she knows best: knitting.
Having never knitted myself, I had no idea what to expect from this book. I liked the pretty, colourful cover, but I assumed it would be a somewhat boring story about the things the author knitted throughout her life.
Thankfully I was wrong. What I found was that Life In Stitches is filled with surprisingly humorous, compellingly touching anecdotes that cover a range of topics including love, loss, cats, family and more. This book was a lot funnier than I thought it would be, and I found myself laughing out loud so many times while I was reading it.
I could also relate to most of the stories even though I’m not a knitter, and I found that this made me like the novel even more. It’s this relatability that is the books biggest asset. It’s like reading those “real life reads” you find in most magazines, a total guilty pleasure, and it definitely held my interest. I raced through each of the 20 essays, and finished the book in one sitting.
The enthusiasm of the author when it comes to knitting is definitely contagious, and after reading this book I felt an urge to pick up a pair of knitting needles and “cast on”. I just have to buy some first! This enthusiasm spreads through the entire novel, infusing it with a huge amount of honesty and warmth; you really feel like you’re having a heart-to-heart conversation with Herron, that she’s telling you her innermost thoughts and secrets.
A Life In Stitches is a lovely memoir, emotionally honest and poignantly humorous. It’s inspirational in many ways, not only in terms of knitting, and it even comes with a knitting pattern to make an adorable hot water bottle cozy. It’s also short, at only 238 pages, so is an easy read, perfect to kick back and relax with!
