Join a book club that is reading What Does It Feel Like?!

Thought-Provoking Book Club

Book club based in Rochester, NY. We discuss thought provoking non fiction and fiction books. Mostly in person, but some virtual meetings possible.

What Does It Feel Like?

A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK • From #1 bestselling author Sophie Kinsella, an unforgettable story—by turns heartbreaking and life-affirming—of a renowned novelist facing a devastating diagnosis and learning to live and love anew.

“The bravest book you’ll read all year.”—Jodi Picoult

“Only Sophie Kinsella can make you laugh like this while she’s got you crying.”—Taylor Jenkins Reid


A PARADE BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR

What Does It Feel Like? is fiction, but it is my most autobiographical work to date. Eve’s story is my story.”—Sophie Kinsella

Eve is a successful novelist who wakes up one day in a hospital bed with no memory of how she got there. Her husband, never far from her side, explains that she has had an operation to remove the large, malignant tumor growing in her brain.

As Eve learns to walk, talk, and write again—and as she wrestles with her diagnosis, and how and when to explain it to her beloved children—she begins to recall what’s most important to her: long walks with her husband’s hand clasped firmly around her own, family game nights, and always buying that dress when she sees it.

Recounted in brief anecdotes, each one is an attempt to answer the type of impossible questions recognizable to anyone navigating the labyrinth of grief. This short, extraordinary novel is a celebration of life, shot through with warmth and humor—it will both break your heart and put it back together again.

“Why did I write such a personal book? I have always processed my life through writing. Hiding behind my fictional characters, I have always turned my own life into a narrative. It is my version of therapy, maybe. Writing is my happy place, and writing this book, although tough going at times, was immensely satisfying and therapeutic for me.”—Sophie Kinsella

BUY THE BOOK

Published Oct 8, 2024

144 pages

Average rating: 7.64

42 RATINGS

|

Community Reviews

Zamokuhle
Apr 29, 2025
10/10 stars
I cried and cried. It's been long since a book gripped me in this manner. Sending loads of love and God's blessing to Sophie and her family.
Louise K
Apr 06, 2025
7/10 stars
A short read, I never realised that Sophie was ill in this way, what a great way to put it out there for her readers and others to help understand what’s going on. Wishing her and her family all the best for the future
Kristin Madaj
Feb 17, 2025
10/10 stars
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

What Does it Feel Like? by Sophie Kinsella

It's a tear jerker. Seriously I sobbed. Make sure you know that and be prepared. It's worth it.

Looking for "inspiration," bestselling author Eve goes shopping and ends up buying this amazing dress she saw in the window with nowhere to wear it to. Love her, relatable. She rises to fame and even walks the red carpet, until suddenly, she finds out she has a brain tumor, forcing her to undergo an 8 hour surgery. Her world stops. This book broke me. Heartbreaking, honest, and real, the story of Eve's (Sophie's) brain cancer is one you will never forget. I tend to gravitate towards literary fiction with hard to tackle themes like death and grief, as these are concepts I personally have a lot of anxiety about, and I find they comfort me. What made What Does It Feel Like? different is that this is based on Sophie's own, true story, and reading this, her struggle broke me like it was my own. I felt it for Eve as much as I felt it for her husband and family. With Eve's short term memory loss, her husband continuously must explain what is wrong with her, and that is something so real and so raw that I'm sure many others experiencing similar situations have gone through. It is both comforting and heartbreaking. Also, somehow Sophie Kinsella succeeds in also adding humor and positivity. Eve's attitude and mood is actually relatively good throughout the story, and that proves how strong she is. As Eve says multiple times, "But you know. It could be worse." I'm praying for Sophie's recovery. Thank you NetGalley for this early digital copy!

What Does it Feel Like? Comes out on October 8th from Random House Publishing Group.

#whatdoesitfeellike #sophiekinsella #randomhouse #netgalley #bookstagram #fallbookpreview #arc
Peanuts56
Jan 27, 2025
8/10 stars
Touching autobiographical novel written as fiction by the author, Sophie Kinsella. The novel describes Eve's journey with brain cancer. It pulled at my emotions and I am in awe at the author's ability to write and share this journey with her readers and the world.
jenlynerickson
Oct 21, 2024
10/10 stars
What Does It Feel Like? is fiction, but it is Sophie Kinsella’s most autobiographical work to date. Eve’s story is her story. As queen of happy endings, her mantra is “If you buy the dress, the occasion will come” and her best advice is to “write the truth about life, whatever genre you’re in.” With an oeuvre of fiction as both Madeleine Wickham and her popular pen name, Kinsella is a biblio-celebrity. “‘I see all your children are here with you too–so, can I ask you, Eve Monroe, bestselling author, how does it feel to have it all?’ The starry career, the five children, and now a movie!’ It feels lucky…I just feel super-lucky, all the time.” But even celebrities are “just normal people with more make-up.” In the autumn of 2022, Kinsella was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor and underwent chemotherapy and radiotherapy for cancer. As readers, “we hate spoilers in books and films…But when it comes to this, all we want, above anything else, is a spoiler. We desperately want the doctors to give us the spoiler, but they can’t, because they don’t know either…Every scan is a plot twist…And right at that moment, this is her only aim in life, the only happy ending she wants. Just to keep going.” “I’ve done a lot of exciting bucket-listy stuff in my life. I’ve done glamorous travel and I’ve walked the red carpet and I’ve swum with dolphins. I don’t need to do any more of that stuff. I just need to be around. Have fun with the children. Have fun with you. See friends. Small pleasures.” Sophie Kinsella’s What Does It Feel Like? is a love letter to all those who have been touched by cancer with a biblio-benediction: “I wish everyone reading this a very happy ending.”

See why thousands of readers are using Bookclubs to stay connected.