The Hungover Games: A True Story

by Sophie Heawood

This "funny, dark, and true" (Caitlin Moran) memoir is Bridget Jones's Diary for the Fleabag What happens when you have an unplanned baby on your own in your mid-thirties before you've worked out how to look after yourself, let alone a child?

 

This is the story of one woman's adventures in single motherhood. It's about what happens when Mr. Right isn't around so you have a baby with Mr. Wrong, a touring musician who tells you halfway through your pregnancy that he's met someone else, just after you've given up your LA life and moved back to England to attempt some kind of modern family life with him.

 

So now you're six months along, sleeping on a friend's sofa in London, and waking up in the morning to a room full of taxidermied animals who seem to be staring at you. The Hungover Games about what it's like raising a baby on your own when you're more at home on the dance floor than in the kitchen. It's about how to invent the concept of the two-person family when you grew up in a traditional nuclear unit of four, and your kid's friends all have happily married parents too, and you are definitely not, in any way, ticking off the days until all those lovely couples get divorced.

 

Unflinchingly honest, emotionally raw, and surprisingly sweet, The Hungover Games is the true story of what happens if you've been looking for love your whole life and finally find it where you least expect it.

A Sunday Times Bestseller (UK)

Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir, Audiobook, Humor, Autobiography, Contemporary, Biography

272 pages, Hardcover

First published July 7, 2020

Reviews

[Heidi Wiechert · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Hungover Games is an amusing and poignant glimpse into the world of a woman who didn't mean to become a mother, but who found her life's path when she got there.

"It had all happened by accident. I hadn't meant to have a baby at all. I hadn't meant not to have a baby either, by which I mean I always thought I'd have children one day."

Sophie Heawood was barely scraping by, living from paycheck to paycheck as a journalist in Hollywood. After a misadventure in Mexico, which had nothing to do with her reproductive health, she discovers in a round-about way that if she ever does decide to have children, it may be impossible without fertility treatments.

"In my life, it was as if I was the captain of a magnificent ship but was somehow, always, at this moment, just this one perpetual moment, in a dinghy buffeted about in the ship's wake, always about to catch up with myself. Up ahead on the magnificent ship, I was organised and sober and slim and shiny-haired, all of which was always coming soon, like a trailer in the multiplex that ran in my head twenty-four hours a day."

But she never seemed to get there.

And then, after a one-night stand with the man she had been one-night-standing with for years, Heawood becomes pregnant. What happens next, her journey into parenthood but also the adjustment of dreams she held her entire life, is a fantastic story.

I think part of what I enjoyed so much about this book is the nature of Heawood's job. In the short time I spent as a reporter, I loved talking to people, learning what they had to teach me about life, and seeing who they really were behind whatever public persona they were projecting.

Heawood had the opportunity to interview Hollywood A-listers and she gives you an inside view of what that was like. Goldie Hawn, Jodie Foster, and Amy Adams are a few of the names who pop up in the memoir.

In addition to the peek behind the curtain into the mystical world of Hollywood fame, Heawood doesn't shy away from faithfully recording the sometimes harsh reality of becoming a parent.

"My introduction to being a mother involves being told off by other women, again and again. Told that I am not doing it right, that there are rules. ... When I do get home, it only takes me a couple of weeks to recover from the surgery, but it takes me about a year to recover from the few days in the hospital when I was supposed to be recovering, and to regain the caring instincts to protect this tiny creature, the ones that were crushed before they had even dared to begin."

She faces difficulties not just with the newness of being a parent, but from her path as a single mother. Heawood has trouble finding housing as a single mother and going to prenatal classes alone. In this life transition that can be difficult at the best of times, she faces it on her own.

But her attitude is not woe-is-me. Heawood keeps the positive and empowered spin up throughout most of her challenges and, when she can't manage it, she still appreciates the gift she has been given through her relationship with her daughter.

I enjoyed this memoir very much and read it in about two sittings. Recommended for readers who enjoy humorous memoirs about parenthood, Hollywood, dating, night-clubbing and the inevitable spiritual evolution that comes from finding the place in life that you were always meant to be.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a free advance reader copy of this book. The brief quotations cited in this review may change or be omitted in the final print version.

[Turkeyphant · Rating 2 out of 5]

Tries hard to pretend otherwise in a sort of Gwyneth Paltrow meets Bridget Jones way, but when's all said and done, it's just dumbed down tabloid idiot fodder. Not even a hint of literary merit, just that overused jolly attempt at self-deprecating humour and wacky/tedious we've-all-been-there-haven't-we-gals pregnancy humour that turns out to be only as witty as a fart joke (it actually is a fart joke).

The author simultaneously attempts to be above the vacuous z-lister insta influencer Coachella wannabes she obliquely mocks by leveraging her kooky British angle, but ultimately belies her complicity and inability to offer any depth.

An easy read but not a good one.

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved The Hungover Games! I requested it because it was billed as funny, which it is--to the point where I laughed out loud multiple times (and I rarely find books tagged humorous to be that funny)-- but it's also a deeply heartfelt and honest book about being a parent.

The author, Sophie Heawood, became pregnant after being told she was infertile while working as a freelance journalist for British publications in L.A. She paints a very accurate (and very funny) portrait of L.A. in the early aughts, and then another accurate and but this time deeply fond (with savage grace) portrait of London.

Heawood's insights into parenting are savagely honest, deeply true, and written with a mix of love and snark. I came away from The Hungover Games very impressed with her writing, her love for her daughter, and her ability to make even the grimmest of moments gleam with humor and hope.

Absolutely recommended, especially for those who remember the first (and frankly, best) book to feature Bridget Jones, as well as Fleabag fans.

[Claire · Rating 3 out of 5]

A funny memoir about finding yourself in a very adult role but not feeling very adult at all. Heawood really captures that sense that we’re all faking it and none of us really knows what we are doing, and this part of the story is likely to resonate with a lot of people. I felt this book danced around on the surface of this idea, and missed some opportunities to explore these experiences more deeply. Entertaining, but not revelatory.

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

Rather underwhelming. Picked up after reading an excerpt in a newspaper - it worked much better as a longer article than brief chapters. Parts are fluidly written - such as the paternity test- but loses a lot of steam towards the end with repeated short chapters demonstrated an unlikeable childishness. There is very little characterisation other than herself. Disappointed.

[Isobel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Significantly less about hangovers than I expected. Really grabs you quite tightly by the heart in places.

[Laura · Rating 1 out of 5]

I felt that Sophie Heawood told some stories about her pregnancy journey at a dinner party. All her friends laughed. Then they started encouraging her to write a book. This is the end result.

It's not great. The book constantly sighs under a fake smile mumbling;"you had to be there." It felt disjointed and didn't really portray what it was selling - a single woman's unexpected pregnancy. Instead it was trying desperately to be funny and falling flat. It was described as a personal account but read somewhat evasive. For example, when her baby's dad didn't want anything to do with her it was awkwardly swept under the carpet with a "not my story to tell." No, it might not be but its affect on you is! I suppose there wasn't much hype about this book when released and covid aside, I can understand why.

[Andreea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Devoured this so quickly - hilarious and delicious. Sophie is a bit of a hot mess express and I love her. The storyline feels a bit disjointed at times but the writing is so easy to read it doesn't matter; it's more like having a chat with a friend who is telling you crazy things that have been happening to her lately and I'm here for it. Very honest, personal and poignant.

[Eilish · Rating 2 out of 5]

I hated this book, I couldn’t wait for it to end! I ended up skipping through the last few chapters because I wanted it to be over. I was just not into the storyline whatsoever, I couldn’t get into the character. I felt like she was trying way too hard to be relevant, it was boring and there was not actually much to gain from the plot.

[Annaliseygirl (BuddStreetBooks) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. What a cracking book. Like a bucket of cold water to the face.

Heawood is a master of the pithy comment. The memoir is carefully structured, beautifully written and bloody hilarious.

Would I have had the same reading experience in my early twenties? perhaps not. But now that I am 160 days away from turning 30 (and have been devoid of any sensory excess for almost two years), the stars have aligned.

Her daughter is lucky to have her 💃

[BTB · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not at all what I was expecting… but a very funny and witty read.

[Janina · Rating 2 out of 5]

If I liked the rest of the book as much as chapter 33, 34 and 35, I would give this 4 stars. I didn't, though. It's not a bad book at all - it has honesty, it has authenticity and sometimes it writes some profound things - but the way it's written is so different from what I like; it's funny in an I-can-probably-write-amazing-tweets kind of way, it's raunchy, and horny, and lost in a Fleabag-on the nose-breaking the fourth wall for you to see inside of me-kind of way, it's both too short and too long, and I think the book would have probably worked for me better in vignettes or something; the passages alone were good, but followed by another one, it could get a little much. I don't really know how to describe it??

[Gail O'Connor · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Hungover Games about a single pregnant woman had an easy style of writing but it just couldn't keep my interest. I just needed a faster paced story.

[Kirsten · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an enjoyable and very relatable read that I finished in a single sitting. Heawood makes a big deal about her unpreparedness for parenthood but I think we’re all quite unprepared in our own particular ways, even when the pregnancy is not a surprise.

3.5/5

[Kate Broadley · Rating 4 out of 5]

The witty British humour you expect from the Dolly Aldertons and Pandora Sykes of the world, except a lot more cynical and a lot less filtered. Definitely entertaining.

[Monica Veno | imprettybooked · Rating 4 out of 5]

This felt so much like a continuation of Dolly Alderton’s memoir, which I thoroughly enjoyed. It’s witty and dry humor are engaging and brash at times, which I appreciate so much. I also love Sophie’s untraditional motherhood / single parenting journey. This isn’t the world of the typical 1950s homemakers, although it’s systems and social constructs often treat it as such. Really liked it!

[Ciera · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars rounded up.

↓ About the book⁣
Mr. Right never showed up for Sophie Heawood, so instead, she has a baby with Mr. Wrong who tells her halfway through her pregnancy that he’s met someone else…while she was in the process of moving back to the UK to be closer to him. Sophie’s memoir tells the story of her wild pregnancy experience as a single mother attempting to navigate her unconventional life.⁣
⁣
↓ My thoughts⁣
This very real and vivid memoir is hilarious. It’s definitely a bit graphic, but the English humor is phenomenal if you’re into that type of thing. The book reads like one long diary entry of Sophie’s life. I found myself laughing along with Sophie at her darkest moments, which she somehow makes comical, and her highest. ⁣
⁣
While I don’t share the same experiences as Sophie, I enjoyed her reflective writing that highlights the adventure of pregnancy, and later, caring for a child as a single mother. I wouldn’t say this book is revolutionary, but it was well-written and gave me a few laughs and a bit of perspective.⁣

[Madeline Prebble · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. I thought this was funny, honest and lighthearted even if I fell outside the target market. A great read for young mothers.

[Grace Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short, sweet, and so funny.

[Catherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

i really loved this book!!! it was sweet and short and i adored the author and her style of writing, it felt like a letter from a friend <3 i spent many pages of the book just wanting to reach inside of it and give her a hug and tell her that it will all be alright, despite having no child or much life experience of my own lmfao

[Emer Tannam · Rating 3 out of 5]

The writer has a very light, breezy, humorous, self-deprecating style, which is easy to read and to engage with, but at times it felt too glib. It didn’t feel true. For example, when she talks about attending an ante-natal class as the only single person, and the alienation she felt, but she says that it was resolved when one of the dads stopped coming.

But as the book went on, it started to feel more honest, more vulnerable, and more real. Her description of failing to connect with the father of her child immediately after she’s given birth is harrowing.

She said a couple of things I really related to, for example, “It’s odd when people say that giving birth was the single best day of their life. Looking back on what was to happen to me after that, I can safely say that giving birth was, with literally no close competition from any other days, the absolute, hands-down, single worst day of my life.”

And she talks about the tension between idolizing motherhood at the expense of the mother herself. “then there’s the classic, ‘My wife has never left our baby to cry for more than a second because we didn’t want to traumatise him,’ which means ‘Subtly anti-feminist propaganda has convinced me that a woman’s sanity isn’t the point.’”

So overall, I enjoyed it a lot, but at times the tone of the book didn’t ring true.

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Hungover Games - Sophie Heawood

The synopsis was perfectly clear that this book was about the author's experience of falling pregnant by accident and becoming a single mother while balancing a precarious career as a freelance journalist. However, I was really underwhelmed. For a basis of unplanned pregnancy and single motherhood, there wasn't much substance to the writing. Many details or experiences were skimmed over with the majority of the narrative focusing on self-depreciating humour and critical take-downs of contemporary culture, which when appropriate worked very well but when it becomes the entire book it's somewhat tiring.

Ultimately I wanted to know why, why Sophie, why this single mother, why this unplanned pregnancy, because there are so many similar stories out there and Sophie largely talks about her reckless antics and job cockups - her baby is just along for the ride. It felt like an uber-long magazine article or social media post, and I would have thoroughly enjoyed her writing at those lengths but a book feels stretched. I have to wonder if why Sophie is because either she knew someone in the publishing biz or managed to pitch her book as someone relatively established on the London writing scene.

[Molly · Rating 3 out of 5]

The premise of THE HUNGOVER GAMES caught my eye immediately. This book was referred to as FLEABAG meets BRIDGET JONES DIARY, so naturally I envisioned Phoebe Waller-Bridge in each and every scenario (not complaining!)

Sophie, a Hollywood journalist finds herself unexpectedly pregnant after a one night stand. What follows are reflections about pregnancy and motherhood with some definite laugh out loud moments. Ultimately, while I wanted to really like it, I found it a little boring.

Each chapter is its own short vignette and as it often goes, some were more entertaining than others. And despite the title being fun, it doesn't match the story. It's far more about parenthood than it is about the hangover/partying aspects of one's life.

Overall a sweet story that I think mothers may appreciate more than I did. Thanks Little Brown and Netgalley for the chance to read/review in exchange for an honest review.

2.5 stars rounded up to 3.

[emma · Rating 2 out of 5]

i don’t know what possessed me to buy this book. never before have i ever felt such anger towards a person so i suppose she did good in that regard. i truly did not like this book and could not find one thing i relate to or sympathize with. not that i would want to relate to this woman. x

[Alice Cunniffe · Rating 5 out of 5]

there is something about this type of writing i just lap up. this was so fun and also tender in some places, just overall very good read, sad its over

[Frances Thompson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Halfway through this book I really thought this was going to be my first "bad" review of the year because it was ranging from "meh" to "I can't be bothered with this" (so 2 - 1 stars), and I couldn't really put my finger on why, although with hindsight I suspect it had something to do with it falling into the "modern memoirs of young white women in very privileged positions who spent most of their spare time drunk and shagging unsuitable men" and believe me when I say I know this area of life experience only too well, so I will fully admit it was my trigger and I own that! But it did pull me in a little closer once the author had had her baby, and I am glad I read it to the end because it had some lovely tender moments in it and some very astute and accurate observations about modern motherhood, particularly from the narrative of a single mother, something we still have problems with in our society.

Would I read another book by the author, probably not. Would I recommend to some of my friends (like the ones who are also white women in very privileged positions who once upon a time spent most of their spare time drunk and shagging unsuitable men)? Probably, yes!

[Maureen · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's funny how you can have common ground with someone you never have met how your lives can uncannily parallel each other in the name of motherhood. Sophie Heawood had a relationship that went caput early in her pregnancy she was abandoned by her musician boyfriend.Who found another woman to spend time with. Couch surfing at 6 mos pregnant is no picnic in the park but Sophie resiliently pushes through and has a daughter and discovers how to be a family of two when she was part of a nuclear family growing up. And her friends are married with children so it proves to be a challenge to go and be an award winning columnist and a single mother and have a good solid support system Five stars from me. Thank you to Little Brown for an early copy of Hungover Games to read and review!
.

[Victoria Bowmer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I listened to the audiobook and Sophie has a posh lovely voice. I felt the tone was patchy. Some funny anecdotes and observations. A lot of stuff that seemed to be saying ‘I am cool and so is my lifestyle’ without directly saying it (because that isn’t cool). I can recognise humblebrag even when it’s trying to be disguised by a clever journalist ( writing it in a book tends to give it away). I think it needed more ooomff .. it’s quite a slight story. Quite good to listen to when doing jobs. Not taxing.

[Dominique Malinowska · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book! Despite it being very much pregnancy focused (and trust me i have zero interest in these topics or babies, i actually dislike children), she turned it around in such a funny and human way. I found her approach to life quite unique and real (and can’t quite see the comparison other reviewers have been making to idk was it Bridget Jones?). Yes, i found the fart jokes funny & yes i loved the at time inappropriate sarcasms. Took off 1 star because there were pages which I found tough to read, repetitive and slightly boring.

[María Prieto · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hay algo hermoso en leer a mujeres que - por edad, por trabajo, porque van a ser madres... - "deberían" haber resuelto ya su vida y comportarse como adultas, pero son capaces de reconocer y hablar de sus fallos, de sus miedos, de lo desastres que son... Sophie Heawood lo hace además con gracia.
Si alguna vez me quedara embarazada, preferiría leer más libros honestos como éste y menos libros como "Qué esperar cuando estás esperando"..