After Elizabeth Passarella and her husband finally decided that it was time to sell their two-bedroom apartment in Manhattan, she found herself wondering, Is there a proper technique for skinning a couch? The couch in question was a beloved hand-me-down from her father--who had recently passed away--and she was surprisingly reluctant to let the nine-foot, plaid, velour-covered piece of furniture go. So, out came the scissors. She kept the fabric and tossed the couch.

We've all had to make decisions in our lives about what to keep and what to toss--habits, attitudes, friends, even homes. In this new collection of essays, Elizabeth explores the ups and downs of moving forward--both emotionally and logistically--with her welcome candor and sense of humor that readers have come to love. She enters into a remarkable (and strange) relationship with an elderly neighbor whose apartment she hopes to buy, examines her own stubborn stances on motherhood and therapy, and tries to come to terms with a family health crisis that brings more questions than answers. Along the way Elizabeth reminds readers that when they feel stuck or their load feels heavy, there is always light breaking in somewhere.

To be honest, I chose this book because of the title, but I really enjoyed this one. It is a series of essays by Elizabeth Passarella, a Southern Living columnist who I was not familiar with. I enjoyed the various essays with the one from the title the most. There are some dealing with health issues that are serious but could be funny after the fact. Throughout the book there are interactions (phone calls, cards and letters) with the widow of the doctor who owned an apartment in the building that he used as his office. They want to buy it as their place is too small for their growing family. That ongoing link to the various essays ties this book together and had me respecting her patience, I never would have been able to do what she did. She explores motherhood, friendships and more in this book and I found myself laughing often. I enjoyed this frank, but humorous look at life, changes and moving forward. If you enjoy a light hearted look at life, then I recommend this one to you.

I really liked this book! So much fun - such lovely writing. As a former new yorker, I totally understood the turmoil she went through for the perfect apartment. Loved it.

The stories deals with what life throws at you and in this case a nine foot monstrosity of a couch which Elizabeth hadn’t the heart to throw away. She kept the fabric. She threw out the couch.

Not a very easy read, the stories highlight the choices one has to make throughout your life. There is a slight religious overtone which did not offend me, but it may others. The importance of letting go highlighted here, the very insidious attachment that one develops to inanimate objects too. There was manipulation too in trying to get the coveted larger apartment in NYC which was not very nice reading too!

I really loved Elizabeth Passarella's humor and approach to real every day life in her first book of essays, Good Apple, so I was very excited to get this one and it did not disappoint.

Reading this is like curling up on a rooftop next to a girlfriend you haven't connect with in a while and talking over drinks and snacks way past when you intended to. But the stories and company are too good for you to even consider going to bed. You dive into every topic and they weave in and out of the story they started to tell, as you chase rabbit trails of topics as you catch up on the time since you were last together. But you keep returning ng to that one crazy story because you can't get enough of the details.

So if you want those friend catch up vibes and if you like to read about the topics below, pick this one up!
-life in NYC
-short essays
-faith
-stories about grief, health issues, family, and friendship
-biographies and memoirs
-unlikely friends
-community
-pandemic contemplations
-slice of life stories
-reminiscing and nostalgic musings
-motherhood reflections

Thanks to Libro.fm and Thomas Nelson for the gifted book. I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Loved this one. A great mix of storytelling, humor, and life lessons. Although I am not a religious person I didn't mind the religious parts Elizabeth mentions in her life. I enjoyed reading and sympathizing with the struggles of being a mom and actually opened my eyes to some of the different struggles other moms may have that I don't necessarily deal with. For instance, the basics of doing school drop offs differ from someone who lives in NYC to those who live in smaller more rural areas. It was a very relatable and highly suggest you give it a read.

I'm certainly a generation older than Elizabeth, so when she's talking about saving her dad's couch I'm really impressed! Most of the stuff my mother/mother-in-law had I didn't want and donated, and ditto for what my kids are (not) taking off my hands. She even had total responsibility for the the previous owners' stuff to unload before she moved in. And I really liked how she ended the book saying about how you try to hang onto something small as a keepsake.

There's a lot that's not (currently) in my wheelhouse now, such as raising kids, school issues and early onsets of aging. But once I read how she doesn't like open kitchens and wants to shoo people out when she's cooking--well, me too, me too. Who wants to look at dirty dishes when you're eating at Thanksgiving? And ditto about letting kids have total control over deciding where to go to college and being a nondog person. (She writes about a dog sitting at a bar during the busiest time of the year in NYC, while people are standing.)

There's some Bible verses quoted here, which surprised me. Not a problem, just not expecting it. I've been watching "Seeking Sister Wife" where Garrick says it's God's plan that he have five wives, so whenever I hear "It's God's plan" I automatically smirk. But Elizabeth certainly seems to be in the "God helps those who helps themselves" camp. She urges everyone, but especially younger people, to attend weddings and funerals as much as they can...but I wonder if having her faith puts a stronger reason for it for her.

This was an advanced reader copy from Netgalley and Nelson Books.

As a Southern girl who is intrigued by all things NYC, this was such a fun read (listen). Written in essay form, the author describes her family's journey to get the perfect condo in the city. Along the way, there are tales of motherhood, setbacks, friendships, and growth. I also loved how the author added aspects of her faith into the story. The perfect amount of heart and humor. Thank you Netgalley for the ARC.

This book felt more like a personal novel, like looking into someone's personal life. The challenges of COVID, selling and purchasing a home, and dealing with children. Experiences not unique to the author, but she was unique in the way she wrote about her experiences.

Wow! I loved this book so much! It is not my normal genre but I'm glad I branched out! I was hooked right away! I love the real-life stories with raw authenticity and honesty.
One of my favorite take-aways was about her kiddos being a part of their community and loving them and seeing them by going to public schools instead of private/homeschool. Could not agree more.
It was rough reading about her thoughts on parenthood because I LOVE having kids and can't imagine a better life without them but her honesty is so refreshing!
Great read! Thank you Netgalley for the ARC!

Essayist Elizabeth Passarella has written her second collection of essays, and they are well worth the read. ‘It Was an Ugly Couch Anyway” is an eye catching title, and the essays are thoughtful, humorous and very entertaining. (Her first essay collection was “Good Apples”, which I have not read. Yet.)

Author Passarella was born in Memphis, and has lived in NYC since she finished college. She has one husband, three children, parents and in-laws, and many friends. So this “slice of life” writer has plenty of ammunition: humor and understanding prevail. We read about her husband’s medical problems, raising young children, getting to know her mother-in-law, the benefit of “girl trips”, and that you should go to every wedding you are invited to. One of her words of wisdom, “God has to be in the middle of it. We cannot save ourselves.”

My favorite essay was about losing her six year old in Times Square. Ms. Passarella had prepared him for this possibility by instructing him to find a mom, tell her his phone number and have her call his mom. But he got confused about explaining that he needed help. Ms. Passarella eventually found him in the crowd. Here’s what Ms. Passarella learned from this, “I don’t have to get the message right. Because Jesus is on the crowded sidewalk looking for me.”. Oh, that started my tears!

Highly recommend. Thanks to Net Galley for a digital review copy. This is my honest review.

what a quick, lovely, easy to read essay collection. i’ve come out of this with a new respect for women from the south moving to new york, magazine journalists, water skiing, and mothers homeschooling during 2020. passarella’s essays read like letters from an old friend, and her tone is delightfully light. i really did enjoy these.

some said they were slight put off by the religious undertones that were not mentioned in the collection’s blurb. although they were there, i will say they didn’t hinder my enjoyment of the essays in any way.

in all: a pleasant read, and such a nice change from my usually much more depressing non-fiction choices.

i received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review :)

Very well written, but I didn't connect emotionally with it and found it a little bit too repetitive. I am also in my early 30s and so it was not necessarily super relatable to me. I would still recommend it though if the description sounds interesting to you.

A fun collection of essays in which I related to her on many of them (especially since I think we probably live within blocks of each other). She talks about teaching her kids her cell phone number in case they get lost (and other urban survival skills) - my husband made our information into a song for our kids while we walked around the city (“my parents name is… we live at…”) in case they got lost. I related completely when she talked about losing focus on a kid in Central Park and other parenting mishaps.

I fully enjoyed the humor in her essays and laughed out loud while reading it. It was interesting to hear her perspective on living in New York City- she’s a southern transplant who has now lived in NYC for years. Like many others who have read this, I felt like we were sitting having coffee on the UWS and chatting.

This was a super enjoyable read (and listen) and reminded me why I like humorous essay collections.

4.25 Stars

Thank you for the opportunity to review this ARC

This book is packed with many short stories of the author’s life. Some I found really interesting. Others, not so much. Overall it was well written and easy to read.

This was my first collection of essays that I’ve read, and I’m not sure this genre is for me. I liked the author’s tone and her sense of humor, but I kept finding my mind wandering the longer I read. Her stories were entertaining but, for the most part, didn’t seem to fit the “moving forward” premise of the subtitle.

First, I don’t give away stars super easy so I don’t want anyone to see this and pass. This book was sweet and an easy read. A great start to my 2024 readying challenge. Elizabeth writes in a way that you feel so connected to her, almost like a best friend. The entire book is conversational in a way that makes it so lovely. I did find some of the stories a bit tedious but I don’t typically read this style book.

The book description says “honest and hilarious” - I wouldn’t say hilarious. I didn’t find myself smiling/laughing but I did this the stories were honest and refreshing.

I loved this book. I even followed her on Instagram and got to see the couch! I loved how the stories wove together and wish I could meet "Lois!" Funny and poignant, it was a great read all around.

This book has stories and explanations, but I couldn’t really dive into it or even get past the section that last caused me to put down the book. Description mad3 it sound like th3 book for me, but unfortunately, it was not.

"Little kids, little problems. Big kids, big problems. More kids, more problems."

This was a light-hearted, enjoyable memoir. It Was an Ugly Couch Anyway was an easy and quick read. There were funny parts, there were a few serious parts but overall it was cute. Life changes, life happens.

I appreciated her advice on dealing with in laws and middle schoolers, having a 6th grader myself!

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!