Little Brown, 2014
*e-Galley provided by publisher via Net Galley - thank you! This in no way impacted my opinion of the book.*
Josh Sundquist was 25 when he realized something pretty extraordinary about his life so far. No, not the fact that he only had one leg - that was amputated when he had cancer as a child. No, this was something that was just as mind blowing to him: he'd never really had a girlfriend. He almost had one, once, but for less than a day before she broke up with him through a friend.
Yeah. Ouch. And so, armed with curiosity and an appreciation for the scientific method, Josh sets out on a quest: to get in touch with all his almost-girlfriends of his past and find out what exactly went wrong. Over the course of several years and many awkward meetings, Josh learns that his path to finding romantic love necessitates first loving and accepting himself. All parts of himself. Even the parts that have been amputated.
It's an interesting journey that readers go on with Josh. While I don't know what it's like to be an amputee, Josh is able to explain his life, his views, his perfect pick-up line of "We should hang out sometime (he has deep thoughts why it's impossible to say no to) and the way he interacts in a world without ever seeking (or getting) pity. Instead, he got a lot of me nodding along, completely identifying with all the bumbling, stumbling, nerve-wracking, occasionally wonderful feelings that come along with growing up and dating.
My criticisms of this memoir are few. By the end, the pattern established of how Josh examines each of his past "relationships" felt a bit redundant, but mostly I was disappointed that we didn't have more to the conclusion with Ashley, Josh's first real girlfriend and now fiance. While I understand the desire for privacy (which they of course deserve), as a reader I wanted to know more about why this time, things were different. And I just love happy endings, so come on! Give me more! :)
Fans of Josh's previous memoir Just Don't Fall or his YouTube channel should absolutely give this book a read. And even if you've never heard of him before, even if it seems like on the surface you may have nothing in common with this guy, give this a read anyway! This book's conversational style feels like a long talk with a friend who, by the end, you'll wish you could hang out with sometime.
Comments welcome, and, as always, happy reading!
Josh Sundquist's Website
Josh Sundquist on Twitter
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