The Last Time I Was Me

Working yourself to the edge of madness, losing your anchor – a beloved mother, betrayed by a sleazy lover, putting up with so-called "social workers" who are sadistic and broken – these are not funny. These are the people on the path of Cathy Lamb's character, Jeanne, whose "perfect world" comes apart when she allows herself to "break down," feel everything, say what she is thinking, and push back even common sense, ignoring that the bottle is not her friend.

Once I decided to follow Jeanne's journey to relative wholeness, I embraced those quirky, selfish, weird characters in her new life. The anger management class is bizarre, unethical, and troubling ….. why did no one walk out? The new boyfriend, Governor of the state, is self-absorbed, but Jeanne needs to feed her loneliness, so she goes with the "charming fellow" act. But I surely did learn that plugging onward can change your life.

I like Cathy Lamb's view of an upside-down world where you cannot count on anyone but yourself, because that – ironically – is the key to healing. It's a story that is far too frequently lived out, and I'm glad I read this, and recommend it to people who would prefer an easy fix to a complicated life, who don't mind putting up with creeps and misfits, and who would prefer that the story not contain so many words! Which Cathy Lamb will I read next?

I did like this book, but also had some issues with it. Initially I thought Jeanne's dry, caustic humor and antics were funny, and I found myself laughing out loud at some parts, but after a while it wore on me. Grow the heck up! The book is a fun ride if it is read with tongue in cheek, not if the reader wants things to actually add up.( Many of Jeanne's actions are actually criminal, yet she never has to pay for them. Jeanne is selfish and immature and yet gets the greatest man in the state as her lover then husband. The author can't resist inserting her politics into the book although she is a complete hypocrite, which I found very bothersome and totally self serving.) I think, as a beach read or when you really don't care at all about decent character development and relationship development, it's a cute book thats an easy read.

Everyone should read this! Laughed and cried; lover every minute and will share with my BFF's.

I love this book. It’s funny, entertaining and just a great book. One to re-read.

love Cathy Lamb

I really enjoyed the beginning. When our main character gets into her Anger Management Class I lost interest. Lots of anger in this book. The epilogue was good. I didn't like this anywhere near her "Henry's Sisters". Now THAT was a good book!

What a great voice this storyteller has. Sharp, witty, and unflinchingly honest. I really enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more by Cathy Lamb!

Rarely does a book make me laugh, but this book had me laughing out loud. Excellent!

Great book

4.5 stars
The Last Time I Was Me by Cathy Lamb was not quite what I was expecting, however I loved it and read it any chance I had. This book covers a large number of important issues, but with such humour the reader does not ( or I didn't) become burdened by everything that has happened. I am not going to list all those issues, because to do so may give away some of the plot. There are a number of secrets, and by the end of the book I wasn't sure if we'd found them all out or not! Jeanne is a real character, Brigid Jones on steroids and then double it.

The story is revealed step by step, when we meet Jeanne she is moving to Oregon after having delivered a very impressive speech to her advertising colleagues and having also dealt to her cheating boyfriend. The treatment to the boyfriend has led to a pending civil court case, that is hanging over her. The speech has led to no longer having a job in advertising! While she relies on drinking to drown her sorrows, she is still a straight talking woman that I just had to take sides with the whole way through.

She has been told by the court she has to take an anger management course which she does when she settles down in Weltana. The facilitator is Emmaline and she takes quite an interesting approach to the group. In the group are two men and another woman, and their meetings and activities take a significant part of the story. As the book moved along I really came to care for these characters. They have all lost an important part of themselves and this group works towards helping them come back to their true selves. As they do this I had the feeling they were forming bonds of friendship that would last a long time.

Jeanne is a very intelligent, capable person and thanks to her brother Charlie she becomes the communications person on the Oregon Governor's team as they build their case for re-election. She handles all the speeches and press no problem, also the pest member of the team very ably. If you don't like her already, then her delight in wearing the right pair of shoes for the occasion might do it. As well there is a little romance thrown in that becomes a delightful addition.

Loved all most of the characters - so courageous, great writing, loads of funny dialogue, and some serious issues explored. In combination this made for compulsive reading.