A huge thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with an ARC of this title in exchange for an honest review.

This was a poignant, emotional and hilarious story about the bonds between a mother and a daughter. What shapes them, what breaks them, and what makes them stronger.

Lulu's mother Patricia has just gotten herself kicked out of the third nursing home for questionable behavior. Though her mom may be suffering from Alzheimer's, she is still completely convinced of her appeal to "foxy men" and loves pursuing them. Her compulsion to to offer healing in all senses of the biblical term, and her string of ex-husbands, are the most exasperating and memorable things from Lulu's childhood. At her wit's end, Lulu decides to take her mother home to the somewhat dilapidated family home in rural Louisiana.

What ensues is a chaotic journey of self-discovery for Lulu that includes a rambunctious parrot, a smooth-talking handyman, and learning to let go of the ironclad control she has exerted over every portion of her life. What follows for Patricia is a nights of Pirate Booty, expletives and cringe-worthy observations that have stayed bottled up for a very long time, and finding peace in the familiar.

This is a wonderful story about finding your way home - both literally and figuratively.

I really liked this one! I had just finished another book about a woman and her father with dementia, and it almost seemed to soon to start one about a woman and her mother with Altzheimers, but honestly I think in this case it contributed so much to the story and to our understanding of the relationship between Lou Ann and Patricia. The cast of characters in this book is just full and rich, with Louisiana playing its own charming part. It's not a completely easy book and there is some sadless and loss, but I really connected with these people and was sad when their story ended. I would have liked to see more development of the character of Lou Ann before she took her mom into her care - I think it would have been a little easier to understand her feelings and actions throughout the book if we knew a little more about what she was like previously. It might have also shown more character growth. A good read!

First, let me start by telling you that I'm a nurse in a nursing home. The synopsis of this book screamed at me "read me, read me" and I'm glad that I did!

Lou Ann, aka Lulu aka Lulu the Love Guru, is having to put her business aside to care for her mother who is suffering with dementia. This is real life and happens all too often in my world. The mother, spunky and hilarious on her own, is no longer able to live in her assisted living facility and moves with Lulu to Sutton Hall in Louisiana.

Lulu, someone who enjoys the finer things in life, is not eager about moving nor is she happy with the living arrangements, but she persists. It's the man she hires to fix the place up... You'll have to read to find out what happens.

This brilliantly bright book was such a pleasure. I was able to read it quickly and found myself laughing and relating to it. Well done.

Thank you to Netgalley and Gallery books for allowing me to read this and give my honest opinion.

Thank you so much for the opportunity to read this book. I'll be posting my review on Goodreads and Amazon

How Lulu Lost Her Mind was an incredible read from start to finish. The characters were amazingly well developed and brought to life. I do have to say that the story was a bit different than I had anticipated when I read the description. What I had envisioned the story being about was more on the humorous side, and while there was a lot of humor, there were several other emotions intertwined.
Lou Ann is a successful and well known relationship expert who has made a household name for herself. She enjoys her busy life and all the extras that come from being successful. Unexpectedly, Lou Ann finds herself the full time caretaker of her feisty mom, Patricia, who has Alzheimer's, and was recently kicked out of a care facility for inappropriate behavior. Patricia decides that as her memory diminishes, she wishes to go back to her childhood home in New Orleans. Though this is the last thing Lou Ann wants to do, she makes arrangements for the move, in hopes that it will help slow down her mom's Alzheimer's.
What follows is an adventure for both mother and daughter that, at times stunned me, made me laugh, made my heart ache and wrapped me in warmth. This is a story that brings to life the heart wrenching reality of Alzheimer's and the devastation it brings to the person suffering, as well as those loved ones around them.
This author has an amazing talent to tell an all-absorbing story, that has a serious subject matter, and make the reader laugh, smile, cheer and connect to the characters. I really enjoyed How Lulu Lost Her Mind and recommend this to anyone looking for a great read that quickly draws you in and keeps you reading until the end.

I enjoyed this book. I loved the characters and was instantly transported to their world. It was a great book that I finished in an afternoon

This book started off with a great deal of promise and then sadly just fizzled out. There was a big revelation- which led nowhere; almost as if the author didn’t know what to do with it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Gallery Books for a digital ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐋𝐮𝐥𝐮 𝐋𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐝 by 𝘙𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘭 𝘎𝘪𝘣𝘴𝘰𝘯. This cover drew me in and the synopsis was interesting to me as my father has progressive dementia.

Lulu the Love Guru (Lou Ann) is a well-established relationship expert. She's about to go on tour when the assisted living facility where her mom lives calls to tell her to come immediately. Lou Ann's mom, Patricia, has been kicked out of yet another facility for her "passionate nature" with male patients. Lou Ann is out of options when trying to find her mom a new facility and must cancel her tour. Patricia pleads to Lou Ann to take her back to her ancestry home in Louisiana before she forgets more. This book was funny and sad, entertaining and thoughtful.

⁣Look for this on 7.21.20. ⁣

This literally is a book you need for your Summer vacation reading! It is so laugh out loud funny, chic lit meets pop psychology meets romance! Lulu may not be every woman, but every woman can relate to the STRESS and chaos that is her life and how when one of those well oiled cogs comes totally apart, it throws everything into a domino effect and leaves you thinking you can't handle any more. For many, the pandemic was the break they needed to regroup before this happens, so watching Lulu's explode is sorta a guilty pleasure! Lulu (and the reader) will delight in how the relationship changed with her mother, to one where they finally 'get' each other, and be warned, you may need some tissue at the end! This is another Summer read you'll be sharing over and over!

A charming story of a woman who finds herself out of her element when her mother who suffers from Alzheimer's needs her help. I liked the characters in this book a lot. It was a fun read even with the sad undertones of Alzheimer's.

I loved this book! I thought Rachel Gibson did an outstanding job with the humor and conversation in the story. It wasn’t cheesy or dumb—just heartfelt, charming and funny.

I completely understood the stress Lou Ann felt in caring for her mom, and her determination to make the most of their time together. I enjoyed the dialog between Lou Ann and her Mom. Lindsay was a great support character and kept the situation from seeming too overwhelming. And Simon with his Cajun words, along with the talking bird, added the right amount of charm and friendship.

The only part of this book that I didn’t like was the beginning, when LouAnn and her mom were still in Seattle. They irritated me and I found the situation in the nursing home really dumb. But once they arrived in Louisiana, I practically read the rest of the book in one sitting. When I finished the book, it took me a good ten minutes to return to my real world! I was completely engrossed in Lou Ann and her family.

Thanks to the publishers at NetGalley for the advanced reader copy for review.

I received ah E-ARC through NetGalley.

I liked this story. Lou Ann and her mother had many funny moments that I could picture as a comedic movie. However, I wish I was able to connect more with the characters. By the time I felt a connection, and genuinely felt invested in what was happening I was more than half way through the novel. I enjoyed the story overall.

Really strong women's fiction read, which is hard to find. I would describe this novel as emotional, heartfelt, and humorous.

I have been reading Rachel Gibson's books for so many years that I lost count of how many I have actually read! Her books are addicting, fun, lighthearted, and delicious! This one is a bit different than her previous novels as it falls more in line with a woman's fiction read than romance, and I loved her for it! Rachel can clearly write in a myriad of genres and still grab AND keep her readers attention. I loved this one, and recommend it to those who like women's fiction novels that deal with mothers and daughters.

LouAnn leaves a job she loves to return to Sutton Hall to care for her mother. Patricia has been banned from several elder care homes because she like to spoon with the male residents. Patricia has Alzheimer's and is dying. With the help of a resident ghost who lives on the first floor, LouAnn starts to realize her mother wasn't all that bad when she was younger. Rachel Gibson has you laughing and crying all in one chapter and the in depth look at mother's and daughter's is beautiful. I received a copy of this ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

It seems like I am definitely in the minority on this one, but I just didn't love this book. I was intrigued by the premise of the mother-daughter relationship, but I found a lot of the dialogue to be kind of grating and just couldn't bring myself to get invested in the characters. By midway through, I was skimming sections to keep it moving. Glad to see others enjoyed it more than I did!

This book pulls at your heartstrings one moment and then makes you laugh out loud! Taking care of an aging parent is tough and when that parent has Alzheimer's it magnified. Lulu and her mom have a unique mother/daughter relationship. When her mom requests to return to her childhood home in Louisiana, Lulu isn't excited about the prospect, but her mother's plea is sincere so Lulu make all the arrangements. As the story develops there are moments of hilarity and moments of tenderness. Rachel Gibson balances the two with a deft hand to keep the reader turning the pages as quickly as possible.

How LuLu Lost Her Mind by Rachel Gibson was a fun, entertaining read. It was my first time reading anything by this author so I didn’t know what to expect. This was a story about the bond between a mother and daughter. In the story, LuLu’s mother Patricia is suffering from Alzheimer’s. It told of their daily ups and downs of getting along and then having little spats. There were parts to the story that were really funny and I found myself laughing out loud. Some of the sayings were hilarious too. The characters in the book were all very likable and there’s also a little romance involving LuLu and Simon, the house doctor, aka carpenter/repairman. The caregiver, Lindsey, being pregnant added a nice extra to the storyline. There was a part towards the end where I did get a little emotional but the ending is a happy one. Overall, it was a fun read and one I’d recommend. I’d like to thank Rachel Brenner, publicist for Gallery Books/Simon & Schuster for the invitation to read and review and NetGalley for the e-arc. I rate this at 4 stars.

Lulu may have a busy life but she makes sure to stop everything when her Mom needs her. In this case, her Alzheimer's is progressing at a high rate and Lulu wants to spend as much time as possible with her. They uproot to the Mom's childhood home where Lulu realizes what's important. The mom's caregiver Lindsey becomes one of the family's closest friends and together they help Mom lead a fulfilling life. Thank you to Netgalley for the copy of the book, all thoughts are my own.

An endearing mother/daughter story


Lou Ann Hunter, also known as Lulu the Love Guru, put her career on hold to care for her mother who has Alzheimer's. She never expected to find herself back in Louisiana and living in her ancestral home, Sutton Hall. But it was where her mother wanted to spend her final days.


As the story unfolds, Lou Ann finds herself discovering more about her mother and family which leads to some interesting tales embedded in the book. Lou Ann also discovers friendships, and even a love interest, that she never expected. Maybe moving to Louisiana wasn't such a bad idea after all.

I was pleasantly surprised by this book. I had a hard time putting it down. I need more of these characters. I wasn’t ready to say goodbye to them yet. What could have been a sad and complicated story about an Alzheimer’s patient became much more. It was emotional in some parts. There were witty parts, fun and joyful parts and so much more making this a memorable story.