The actress offers a really refreshing autobiography that is written with warmth and honesty.
It really is rare to read an autobiography that is so refreshingly honest but at the same time filled with plenty of laughs and warmth that it keeps the reader thoroughly engaged from start to finish.
Concisely written, Joanna Page takes readers through her childhood in Swansea, to her time at RADA and motherhood (don’t worry her time on Gavin and Stacey is not forgotten!). What is also wonderful about this book is the way in which you can clearly hear her voice in every word that is used.
But it also never holds back in detail either as some of the more graphic (yet amusing) stories are told – yet there is also still plenty to shock here. Her time at RADA makes for uncomfortable reading as well as some more shocking events that have occured throughout her life.
What Page makes explicitly clear throughout is that life is messy and complicated and we should all just go with the flow and use each experience to find out who we are. By my saying this I’m making it sound like a self-help book but it doesn’t come across as preachy due to the warmth in the way it has been written it is actually rather comforting – particularly when she discusses adapting to motherhood and the shocks along the way.
As well as discovering how warm and funny she is as a person, the reader discovers that Page has a wonderful confidence that has developed as she deals with each twist and turn in her life — without ever making herself out to be perfect.
But as well as her personal life, we are given wonderful insights on what it was like working on sets with the likes of Johnny Depp, Richard E. Grant and of course James Cordon and Ruth Jones. There is real affection on display for the love of the work that she does but also the love that she has for taking a step back and enjoying motherhood.
Perhaps it could be said on certain stories there is a sense that she is holding back slightly that can make it feel slightly abrupt in places. This being said that is completely within her rights to keep certain experiences and thoughts to herself.
Overall, Lush! is a really wonderful, honest read that will please those who adored her performance in Gavin and Stacey but also those who need a bit of comforting whenn life doesn’t go quite according to plan.
Rating: ❤️❤️❤️❤️