This was a fun book of essays by a talented NYC writer. I did get bored around 60% in. She has a very specific audience-middle aged, Christian women. She's pretty privileged, which she admits, but sometimes it rubbed me the wrong way. I found some of the essays better than the others, but still glad I read this!

While I thought the writing style was pretty great and enjoyed the author's wittiness, I don't think the structure of this collection made much sense. It was like a memoir out of order, we jumped around chronologically and plotwise and it didn't feel as cohesive as it could have.

I also did not realize this was a Christian imprint or that there would be so much talk of faith in the book. While I didn't mind it a lot, I would have liked to be aware beforehand that there would be talk of faith and the Bible. It would be simple to write in the blurb, add in that the author uses her faith as a learning tool, to understand herself, discusses her relationship to God, anything that signals that we will hear Bible stories and definitive stances about God and Christianity.

There truly is nothing like the camaraderie found in a women’s restroom.

This memoir is a collection of short stories. There are tales about meeting Anna Wintour, NYC doormen, the physical effects of childbirth, to name a few.

The first ~15% of the book is about her husband’s fainting episodes and them going to doctors to learn more. It’s pretty detailed, so if you have phobias surrounding medical descriptions, I’d skip chapter 2.

The rest of the book picks up from there. Admittedly, if I weren’t reading for the purpose of posting a review, I probably would have DNF’d after Chapter 2. I can see the loose connection that needing to apply for life insurance has with her fathers death. But it set a different tone for the book than I was expecting.

I was shocked to find that people once CALLED Southern Living magazine and receptionists would track down the recipes from old issues and mail them. That’s wild. In the height of my magazine subscription days, it never occurred to me to do that. So funny.

Note: there is a lot of religion/belief talk that gets dropped into the stories. I wasn’t expecting it from the book description, so it’s worth noting.

Another note: there are many details within the stories that make it known this author has risen in socioeconomic status. It’s somewhat subtle, until it isn’t. I think if you’re 40+ you might not even notice it woven in. Anyone else, it does stand out and kind of took me out of the storytelling a bit.

Thank you to the punisher & NetGalley for my digital copy!

This essay collection was funny, relatable and real. I really enjoyed the day to day details about parenthood in New York City especially during covid Now I really want to see the finished apartment they renovated in their building!

essay collections are quickly becoming one of my favorite forms of non-fiction to read and this book was no exception

This book was an interesting take on self help. I found the author to be relatable. This made it easier to relate to this book. I don't agree with every point but found some points to be very helpful.

Such a fun read. Elizabeth Passarella manages to make you think and laugh almost simultaneously. In our divisive world, she has a winsome way to invite someone to look at life through the lenses of grace and believing the best! This is an uplifting read about the power of place, valuing those different than us and both honoring our desires and yet not holding them too tightly.

I absolutely loved this quirky memoir! The relationships and tangents (squirrel moments) were incredibly relatable and it all tied together to be a beautiful story of growth and family and friendship!

This was a great essay collection. I loved the author’s candid and relatable stories and enjoyed her humor and wit and her storytelling. I really enjoyed the NYC setting and getting a glimpse into life and motherhood in the city. This collection centers around the author befriending an older lady who owns an apartment in her building as they go through the slow and complicated process of buying the apartment from the older lady. It’s about change and moving forward and life in the city. I will definitely read more from this author.

Thanks to NetGalley for the eARC.

I loved Elizabeth Passarella's Big Apple so I grabbed this one up on NetGalley!

This collection of essays is funny and real. She talks parenthood and New York and an apartment saga and just about life. Being from the south, I love how she references her southern roots while giving the reader such a taste of life in her beloved New York. She's so candid about her insecurities, her family, her faith and pretty much everything.

I gave this one ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. I love a great essay collection! I thought this one was a notch above Big Apple. I can't wait to read what she writes next!

Thank you to @nelsonbooks and @netgalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!

I loved this book about moving forward in life and how to do that in a way that preserves memories, but makes it okay to leave things behind both metaphorically and physically.

I absolutely loved this memoir in essays from Elizabeth Passarella. Her voice is so honest, funny and relatable, and her stories of motherhood, marriage and the impossible hunt for the perfect apartment in NYC are so delightful. There is so, so much warmth in her words, and she manages to find humor and levity even in the scariest of situations (a health scare or a global pandemic). I just loved this, and I’m so glad I read it. I think it would really resonate with our customer base at the bookstore!

I love the title. Who hasn’t had an ugly couch. And who hasn’t had to move that ugly couch to numerous places. This is a great collection of relatable stories.

I loved Elizabeth Passarella’s first book, and I was thrilled to see she had already written a second. After reading the description, my heart sank knowing that her father had passed. I loved reading about her relationship with her parents in the first book. Here, she has so gracefully navigated grief, and faith, and the changing of life’s seasons. It felt similar to the tender + bittersweet writing of Kelly Corrigan in The Middle Place. Passarella does a great job marrying humor and honesty.

What a fun read by Elizabeth Passarella . The book is about navigating change in our live. Should she keep the couch from her parents are put it in the trash. Her father recently passed away and she feels connected to the couch and him. Elizabeth helps us see that is is fine to move on and ahead. A great quick read.

I loved Passarella's first book. I didn't even make the connection until about a few chapters in and suddenly I realized it HAD to be the same person who wrote Good Apple. I am not a Christian and normally I would not read anything written by an evangelist Christian, but I would make an exception for Ms. Passerella any day of the week because 1) she's a great writer, 2) she is so funny you WILL laugh out loud, and 3) she's honest about her faith but doesn't demean others.
This book resonated with me and is likely to do so with those readers who have lost a parent, made a move, or tried to figure out their next step in life. And... you'll never forget the couch!

Thank you to NetGalley for an advance copy of this book. From a Jewish fan.

What do a hoarder's apartment, the best technique for skinning a couch, and losing your child in NYC have in common? You’ll have to pick up IT WAS AN UGLY COUCH ANYWAY: And Other Thoughts on Moving Forward.

Elizabeth Passarella uses a beloved couch long past its prime and an emotional roller coaster of a move into a former hoarder’s apartment as the foundation for this candid essay collection. I love the way she explores the nuances of motherhood, life in NYC and moving forward in the aftermath of grief and change.

Striking the perfect balance of humor and heart, Elizabeth’s words felt like grabbing coffee with a friend in the trenches who is also trying to survive and sometimes thrive too.

As with her debut, GOOD APPLE, Passarella’s words are a love letter to New York City. As someone who has never been (!!) I love the armchair travel and how she simultaneously captures the flaws and beauty of a community she loves.

You’ll laugh. You’ll Cry. You’ll wish you had more time spent in these pages.

READ IF:
The big apple holds a special place in your heart
A hearty laugh or a good cry is in order
You find stories of imperfection and vulnerability relatable

4 fun stars

It Was an Ugly Couch Anyway has many fun, interesting essays about living in New York City and raising a family, ”because parenting, lest you forget, is a contest.” Pasarella’s skills as an experienced journalist shine through. The style is chatty, like friends sharing a funny story together.

Some chapters were not interesting to me, especially the ones about beauty and being a magazine writer. “If I am being honest, I’m starting to get annoyed by it all.” Or the one about childhood memories of a car accident and learning to waterski. IMHO, the chapter on her other-in-law was good, not great, but I enjoyed that Pasarella admits she is not what her MIL imagined either.

I did like when she showed her faith in her essays. “The whole crux of the Christian faith is that we cannot save ourselves. This is meant to be good news, although for people like me, who pride ourselves on being supremely capable, it feels irritating at times.” I would have liked a bit more of this.

The essay on her childhood pets is funny and wise. “When my older two children bring up getting a dog, I remind them that I gave them a baby brother three years ago, and he’s more fun. He can play Jenga….A puppy is too much work for people who are still potty-training humans.” The chapter on public schools and middle school is both wise and funny. All in all, these essays, bound together with a cumbersome title, are a good diversion from the world’s bigger problems.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

To be honest I was expecting something more humorous, like Nora Ephron, and found it more reflection on changes and decide what to do.
It's not my cup of tea

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

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It Was an Ugly Couch Anyway
Author: Elizabeth Passarella
Source:  NetGalley - Nelson Books
Pub. Date: May 2, 2023

One of my new favorite genres would be short stories, essays, and memoirs. Who knew? But It Was An Ugly Couch Anyway by Elizabeth Passarella is a charming story of the fun and foibles of a Southern girl raising a family and a husband (jk) in New York City. Trying to find a bigger home for a family of 5 is a large part of this book, and I loved learning the extent to which folks will go to secure a place in the city for a reasonable price (which, to me, is not so reasonable). Elizabeth is funny and shares great stories about her Dad (I can relate) and his 9-foot sofa that was ugly as homemade sin but so comfortable that no one could take it to the curb. I loved this book, and I look forward to reading more from Elizabeth in the future. Great job with stories that are good-natured and witty. She does share about her faith which I don’t find offensive; in fact, it's life-affirming. Read this sweet book due out tomorrow!  #humor #nonfiction #satire #entertainment #adult #losingkidsintheCity #findingAHome #ElizabethPasserella #ItWasAnUglyCouchAnyway #honest @espassarella #Charming #readThisBook @nelsonbooks @netgalley
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I received a complimentary copy of this ARC. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own. Thank you to Nelson Books, and the author for the opportunity to read this book. Pub. Date: May 2, 2023.
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