The Last Time I Was Me
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The Last Time I Was Me

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3.97 of 5 stars 3.97  ·  rating details  ·  1,131 ratings  ·  281 reviews
I wrapped up my grandmother's tea cup collection and my mother's china, then grabbed a violin I'd hidden way back in my closet that made me cry, a gold necklace with a dolphin that my father gave me two weeks before he died of a heart attack when I was twelve and, at midnight, with that moon as bright as the blazes, I left Chicago. When Jeanne Stewart stops at The Opera ...more
Paperback, 404 pages
Published May 1st 2008 by Kensington Publishing Corporation
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Janelle
Janelle rated it 4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for: both feminist and conservative women
Shelves: 2010, chick-lit
Can't figure out how many stars to give this, perhaps by the end of this review I'll figure it out.

The main character, Jeanne Stewart, is a broken woman who has the most creative smart mouth but also the most shattered of broken hearts. She doesn't take crap from anyone but goes home alone and cries and drinks herself to oblivion every day.

Part of me really likes Jeanne Stewart, she's sassy, smart and not afraid to speak what's on her mind. But then she comes across as a...more
Rossy
Rossy rated it 5 of 5 stars  ·  review of another edition
Recommends it for: Those who enjoy a smarty pants heroine, who can also be vulnerable
Recommended to Rossy by: Tammy
The blurb makes you assume this will be a depressing book about a woman who was wronged, which is really not what this book is about. It's about a woman who has a lot grief and has never given herself the chance to do so. Her cheating boyfriend snapped her out of her numbness of it all though, and she now has to find herself. Here is the thing though, her journey is nothing but HILLARIOUS! Do not get me wrong, there are times where i felt her suffering almost as if it was my own. *Total kudos fo...more
Sheila
Sheila rated it 4 of 5 stars
Jeanne is a publicity agent who works long hours to maintain a beautiful home and a successful career. But is she really happy in her success or is she running away from something. When she discovers her boyfriend is cheating and suffering from the recent death of her mother, she retaliates with a revengeful act involving condoms and peanut oil with her boyfriend. She also has a breakdown in front of a huge audience of her coworkers telling them exactly what she thinks of them. As a result, she ...more
Tattered Cover Book Store
Jackie says:

Oh, the smart-a%% in me fell in LOVE with the main character Jeanne, a former creative director of an advertising firm who had a very public nervous breakdown during a presentation to 834 shallow advertising schmucks (which she actually called them, by the way). This is after she was brought up on assault charges for exacting a little revenge on her live-in, dead beat, VERY much cheating boyfriend (I'll only tell you that this attack involved a glue gun and a very embarra...more
Michelle
Frothy, cute book about a woman who suffers a “nervous breakdown” and tries to rebuild her life. I use the term “nervous breakdown” loosely as it’s really more a case of Jeanne getting really pissed and mouthing off to multiple people. Considering how often she does exactly this I didn’t really see how her actions during said breakdown were any different than her regular, everyday kind of activities.

Jeanne is super sassy and smart, in good ways and in bad. At times it’s a bit much an...more
Cathie
Cathie rated it 5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for: Pretty much anyone
Recommended to Cathie by: Beth
Great book!

After what felt like a slow start (it took me about 25 pages to get "hooked"), this turned out to be one of the most fun reads I've had all year.

What can you say about a woman with an anger problem? An anger problem brought on by the deaths of her husband and unborn child and, subsequently, by her beloved mother? Follow that anger problem with a cheating live-in boyfriend (upon whom she extracts sweet revenge) and you have a seriously unhinged wo...more
Ruth
Ruth rated it 2 of 5 stars
***Spoiler Alert!***

“It would make a good film!” To be honest, that is what this book immediately reminded me of – watching scenes at the movies that have been designed to visually titillate, shock, excite or provoke extreme reaction. The cynical part of me wondered if Ms Lamb secretly dreams of motion picture glory! To be fair, maybe it is just the first person narrative device she employs, where the reader experiences all events through Jeanne Stewart’s eyes, which makes the story se...more
Gail
Gail rated it 5 of 5 stars
This book is over the top, slightly implausible, uproariously funny and full of quirky, slightly unhinged characters. You root for a happy ending.

Jeanne is an angry, articulate, and in her own words, "slightly unhinged." She is full of grief and anger. She kills her high powered career in advertising with her honest words given at a conference. She sells her spiffy sports car and drives to Oregon. There she stays until she decides whether she would drive her new-old SU...more
Karalee
My mom recommended this book to me and was raving about how good it was to the point that I almost felt like it couldn't live up to the hype. Then I read it and it was SO GREAT. This book is about a woman, Jeanne Stewart, who has a number of bad things happen in her life over a long period of time. She continues to repress her emotions and anger about those things until ultimately she snaps and has a bit of a nervous breakdown (in a hilarious way). The book is about how she begins to put her...more
Sandy
Sandy added it
First book I have read by Cathy Lamb - won't be my last! This books is full of funny, if not troubled, characters who are trying to find their place in life. The main character, Jeanne, is an emotional tail spin and handles this point in her life in a most entertaining way. As I read the book, I asked myself a lot of times...how many others wish they could do this with their own lives but just don't have the courgage!!



I hight recommend this book - I laughed, laughed, laughed and even cried a ...more
Jodie
I can't believe how much I enjoyed this book. It looks somewhat deceiving in that it has that chick lit vibe going on (I tend to read more serious novels). It is however, at its core, quite serious. We have Jeanne who is whip smart but has a big smart ass mouth. You can't help but like her even before you know the devastating losses she has suffered, and once you know that as well, she simply MUST get some happiness in her life!

The ensemble characters are all, for the most part, beli...more
Liz
Liz rated it 1 of 5 stars
I did not like this book at all. I read it for my book club and the majority of them enjoyed it, but I thought for realistic fiction it wasn't very realistic. Can you really be involved in a murder plot as fantastical as that and no one gets caught? Or assault someone and have no repercussions? The anger management aspect of the book was strange to me also. Those characters were odd. I did not like the main character and maybe that is just because I could not relate to her experiences or ho...more
Muttering Mama
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
Sharon
Sharon rated it 3 of 5 stars
Thanks, Jaye, for this book. I found the story to be mostly engaging, with a nice variety of characters. I thought the anger management counselor was a rather weak attempt at a hippy-dippy type. Her dialog did not ring true. Also, the germaphobic landlady was a bit over the top. But otherwise, I enjoyed the people. The author also has a wonderful sense of the people and landscape of Oregon. A couple of jarring grammar mistakes: affect/effect (Come on, people! Is that really so difficult?...more
Rebecca
Rebecca rated it 4 of 5 stars
Shelves: loved-it
After reading Such a Pretty Face, which I loved, I decided to give some of Cathy Lamb's other books a read. The Last Time I Was Me is the story of Jeanne who after tragically losing her husband and unborn baby in a car wreck is now twelve years later dating a loser named Jared and working as an advertising rep. After learning of her boyfriend's infedelities, she gets back at him in a creative way and has a breakdown at work. So, she packs up all the things that she wants to keep, sells her sp...more
Alice
Thanks, Jaye, for this book. I found the story to be mostly engaging, with a nice variety of characters. I thought the anger management counselor was a rather weak attempt at a hippy-dippy type. Her dialog did not ring true. Also, the germaphobic landlady was a bit over the top. But otherwise, I enjoyed the people. The author also has a wonderful sense of the people and landscape of Oregon. A couple of jarring grammar mistakes: affect/effect (Come on, people! Is that really so difficult?) and a ...more
Carmen
After Jeanne Stewart finds out her live in boyfriend has been cheating on her, she takes matters into her own hands and deals out her own brand of punishment. The loss of her mother, her husband and a miscarriage adds to a mini meltdown where she then quits her high paying job and heads out for Oregon. She settles in the small town of Weltana, not too far from Portland on the Snake River. Reading the cover, you would think this is a serious book. It is full of quirky and crazy characters who run...more
Joyce
Joyce rated it 4 of 5 stars
When was the last time you had the guts to say exactly what you were thinking, feeling, or knew to be true. Jeanne had no problem doing just that which created more than a few very humorous points in this book. There is absolutely no way some things in this book could actually come to pass, but then again, who knows. The characters are delightful and each and every one of them could count among my friends. The town seemed magical, and the renovation to Jeanne's house made me wish I could do ...more
Sarahbeth Holdgate
A must read for any women having made change in her life! It made me cry, laugh and contemplate! There are many statements and comments that go right to your heart giving you strength and forgiveness. This is a funny and serious story of a woman sick of the relationship/career wars. She breaks down, runs for solace, finds a place to call home, meets interesting hometown neighbors and is involved in a murder. Her heart and soul are filled guiltless amounts of home made pancakes! I've read i...more
Joan
Joan rated it 4 of 5 stars
After I read the first few pages, I could not stop laughing. Other parts of the book had me wiping away tears. This is an excellent book about a woman who drops out of her life after great personal tragedy and an exhaustion with her day-today reality and how she starts over. Despite the premise, the characters are hilarious and the dialogue fantastic. If I had to pick a tiny flaw, I thought some of the characters' quirkiness's a bit forced, but immediately rushed to read Lamb's other books a...more
Amy
I liked this book. I have wondered (more than once) when the last time was that I was I me. I could totally relate to the main character as I have felt that I was having a nervous breakdown, and done crazy things because of it. However, I do not think that some of the stuff was necessary (like the murder) to make this book good. I wish that had not been included in the story. It would have been fabulous without it! I did love the sense of redemption and coming through it all to have a much...more
Amanda
I liked this book but I didn't love it the way I loved Julia's Chocolates. The quirkiness and the hope that I felt with Julia's was not there with this book. It was a fun read but it lacked the inspiration of Lamb's first book.
There were aspects of this book that bothered me so I want to get them out of the way before saying anything else. First off, there were elements of the plot that I found somewhat far fetched....murder??? without getting caught? It was a sideline story, a distraction...more
Dee
Dee rated it 4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for: Holly and Sue M.
I love Cathy Lamb's humor.
This book is filled with murder, mayhem, mirth and more mirth--some tongue in cheek.
Emmaline, the anger management instructor was wonderfully humorous. She had anger written all over her character. When she displayed her own anger, I was laughing out loud at this tiny person all dressed in white stomping down the sidewalk yelling, "Shi! Shi! Shiiiiiiiiiiii!" repeatedly at the top of her lungs.
I want more of Cathy Lamb's humor which reminde...more
Louise
Louise rated it 5 of 5 stars
What an absolutely amazing book! I want to move to Weltana and meet all of these people. Jeanne is a terrific heroine. She spent twelve years in stasis, until she finally made the move to change her life and begin it over again. The characters are so well-written and funny and you really want them in your life. This book was sweet, sad, poignant and hilariously funny. And I loved all of Jeanne's shoes!

And I really wanted to be at that trial! I don't know how everyone wasn't la...more
Dlnurmi
I decided on this book because one Goodreads reviewer compared Cathy Lamb to Sue Monk Kid. Let me assure you that Cathy Lamb is no Sue Monk Kidd - not based on this book.

One positive of this book is Ms Lambs sharp wit and constant humor. I laughed out loud more than once while reading this book. She also has an appreciation of nature, and uses her writing muscle to take her readers into a beautiful landscape - letting us smell, touch, and taste her settings.

Ultimately, fo...more
Erin
Erin rated it 5 of 5 stars
After finishing "Such a Pretty Face," I immediately searched out other books Cathy Lamb had written. "The Last Time I Was Me" did not disappoint!

It's the story of fierce, strong-willed Jeanne who hasn't been herself for the past 12 years. A few things, both large and small, sent her over the edge into a semi-humorous nervous breakdown. The novel travels along Jeanne's journey to heal, find herself, and find happiness again.

Cathy Lamb's writing is both t...more
Ellie Revert
Great story about many topics--some very difficult---and done in a very humorous heartfelt way. Jeanne is trying to restart her life, after losing her husband and daughter, 12 years before. She leaves Chicago, and goes to OR---a state I love and she ends up doing the same. She injured her live-in lover, when she discovers that he has been sleeping around with many other women--therefore subjecting her to the threat of an STD. Funny court case at the end of the book--well, I just thoroughly...more
JayeL
JayeL rated it 3 of 5 stars
Shelves: 2010
Reading this book has been an interesting journey. Having recently finished Julia's Chocolates, I had high expectations. I read the first part and was not impressed, but continued to read and suddenly became engaged. I like Julia's Chocolates better, but I am also enjoying this book.

I thought the events that happen to Jeanne were a little bit fantastic, as in "how can that possibly happen?" As the book wears on, I see the point (at least the point for me!), which is that li...more
CJ - You Carry On As If I Don't Love You
I love Cathy Lamb's books and have read all three of them. I believe that Jeanne Stewart is actually my favorite character as she is not only deeply flawed but she is also opinionated and has a great deal of 'sass'. Besides her mental breakdown (I've had a touch of the nervous breakdown before so I understand what motivated a lot of her actions), Jeanne is unemployed, an alcoholic, depressed and in anger management class for an 'assualt' on her treacherous philandering deadbeat boyfriend of two ...more
Elevenser
Elevenser rated it 5 of 5 stars
Recommended to Elevenser by: an anonymous bookstore customer
Despite my best intentions, I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

I work in a bookstore, and when a customer called to ask whether we had Cathy Lamb's first book, she Would. Not. Stop. talking about how much she enjoyed The Last Time I Was Me. As the line of customers approaching my register grew, the woman on the phone nearly pleaded for me to read this book. "You'll LOVE it!" She carried on for so long that I finally conceded. Sheesh.

Despite my best intentions to *...more
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Cathy Lamb was born in Newport Beach, California. As a child, she mastered the art of skateboarding, catching butterflies in bottles, and riding her bike with no hands. When she was 10, her parents moved her, two sisters, a brother, and two poorly behaved dogs to Oregon before she could fulfill her lifelong dream of becoming a surfer bum.

She then embarked on her notable academic car...more
More about Cathy Lamb...
Julia's Chocolates Henry's Sisters Such a Pretty Face The First day of the Rest of My Life Suzanna's Stockings

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