Emily never thought she was anything special, but she never expected to be entirely average. But while watching a documentary about the average human - she sees herself reflected back at her. Everything - her hair colour, her diet, her blood type, her sexual history, her blood type. The only thing even remotely unique about is that she's a twin - but since she lost Claire when they were just children, she can't help but think Claire would be disappointed with how much she's wasted her life away being average.
Claire would've been much more. So now, Emily is going to be too.
She makes a commitment to herself - a list of things she needs to be and the things she'll do to get there.
Nothing will get in her way - especially not something so average as falling in love before you're 30, so you can get married at the average age. Emily is going to be extraordinary from now on.
"Because it's one thing feeling like you're going insane. It's quite another thing admitting it out loud."
This book is a blinding testament to the fact that life is quite simply extraordinary, and that wonder can be found in the most mundane of places - it's an ode to the utter absurdity of life and the beauty of true human connections.
Immediately from the start, the characters are brought to life - and the adventure begins to escalate and gain momentum, taking little moments to reflect and look back at the past without breaking the pace. Emily was undeniable as a main character - relatable, witty, determined and bold but vulnerable and sad. Underneath her zany plans and giant ambition is a sense of being lost, a tenderness that made me really connect with her. As a narrator, she speaks directly to us in a personable, quick voice, as though she's making all her plans directly with us, speaking to us like a friend. Her quiet explosion wasn't perfectly planned, it was gloriously chaotic and painfully real - she's a woman who has gone through life feeling like she's the supporting character and wants to finally reclaim her own story.
We laugh and cry along as she tries running, volunteering, bungee jumping, sex - throwing herself into increasingly absurd situations trying to find something that would make Claire proud, make everyone proud of her. But as each day passes, she starts to feel proud of herself for her achievements - and maybe that's the one approval she really needs. And of course, she learns the most important lesson that Greggs sausage rolls are an absolute miracle.
Anyone who's having a permanent crisis instead of a midlife one will find a little bit of catharsis in this observant and witty tale about life, love and loss. Ryan finds the hilarity and ridiculousness in just how strange life really is, and how overwhelmingly complicated it can get. Emily's story talks about family a lot; the expectations, hurt and connections that come along with it in the most tender and thoughtful way - as she looks back on her past, we get to know how the heartbreaks and happiness of her formative years have created who she is now. And honestly, the late 90's nostalgia had me missing the bygone days of dial-up and jelly shoes with an intense bittersweet familiarity - solid proof that we often see the past through rose-tinted lenses and our past isn't always what we built it up to be.
Sad, heartbreaking, joyful, uplifting, funny, observant - this one will make you feel every little thing. It's a story about self-worth, healing, romance, and so much more - and I adored the fact that even though the romantic elements of this story were swoon-worthy, they didn't totally overshadow everything else Emily did and magically solve everything.
My (extra)ordinary Life is both the serious talk about where your life is going and the warm hug to comfort you afterwards. Absolutely extraordinary.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
I was gifted a reviews copy of this title as part of the Tandem Collective Readalong.
cw: loss/death of a child, illness, sex, swearing, alcohol.
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