Whats That Lady Doing? False starts and happy endings.

by Lou Sanders

This is a book about mistakes. And why we should de-flower shame in all its messy, complicated glory...

Hello!

It's Lou here...

I've poured my heart and guts on to the page and shared my soul in this book. This won't be for everyone but I hope it helps the people it does connect with. We all have stories and I think its useful to share them, I think it helps unite us and in some ways it helps us release some shame.

I've been alarmingly truthful and sincere, because I think society would be better if we could all be honest. I've of course used humour too, not as a way to cope (I've processed the darker things that have happened to me), but as a change in pace, some gorgeous light relief, because life is light and dark dancing together in the wind. And I love jokes.

If this is the sort of thing you're after, please pick me up and take me to bed (that's the book speaking so a little joke there).

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

288 pages, Hardcover

Published August 17, 2023

Reviews

[Laura F-W · Rating 5 out of 5]

A memoir with this much rape and alcoholism in it has absolutely no business being so funny. But it is fucking hilarious.

Not sure how well it'll translate if you're not already aware of Lou Sanders' special brand of manic new age twaddle, but if you've seen her stand up or heard her on a podcast (my favourite are her appearances on the Elis James and John Robins podcast when one of them is on holiday), you'll probably get a kick out of this.

I listened to the audiobook and would recommend.

[Michaela Anchan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Five stars from me but perhaps I’m biased. I bloody love Lou Sanders. Her Cuddle Club podcast has been an absolute balm the last couple of years. During dark covid times to have her gentle, silly, hilarious humour in my ears has been wonderful. This audiobook has felt like a continuation of that. Lou is vulnerable and brave and open and self deprecating through some pretty bleak times. We are a similar age and I found a lot of it very relatable. Love that she is on the road to health and healing and so happy to keep following her career and podcast.

[Leoniepeonie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yeah this was excellent. Lou is great and her life has been absolutely wild - it was really cool to see all that difficulty and pain as well as hilarious reckless abandon turned into something so bloody rich and great. She's a wise cookie and if you're going to read this I deffo recommend getting the audiobook because she makes lots of fun asides. A very raw, rich, silly, hilarious book. Wowee.

[Bethany · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having never really watched anything Lou Sanders has done and getting this on a whim from audible, I was completely blown away. I thought the way she articulated this was fantastic and really profound, whilst still being really funny, despite some of the darker topics. Would highly recommend, even if you’re not familiar with her stand-up/tv appearances.

[Han Preston · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very much enjoyed listening to the audiobook for this one. It amazes me how light and bright Lou Sanders manages to sound when she’s been through so much shit.

[Lizzie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Funny and frank maybe a bit too spiritual for me but honestly she weaved through the book with a wonderful narrative tone and soft love for everyone inside it. Just good fun in my opinion but then again I'm acquainted with a lot of the darker themes so!

[Meg · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a book. I powered through this one. It is honest and real and Lou tells it from such a humble and matter-of-fact place. She is so funny and that humour gets mixed it at the right times around tough topics like drug abuse and rape. By the end, i had the feeling that I knew her personally. Her story moved me and i'm so glad I got the chance to read her book.

'Life is long and we're all just borrowing each other for a bit.'

[Ria · Rating 4 out of 5]

The second book I snapped up after Last One Laughing (also Daisy May Cooper's), I loved Lou Sanders' performance on the show, she showed no mercy and I was curious to read her book. I had no clue about her battles with alcoholism and this book is brutally honest, at times it was hard to read because my heart kept breaking for her, 90s and 00s drinking culture was no joke. But it's equally delightful to read about her coming through the other side and finding peace. Funny, fearless and moving.

[Jules (Never enough time to read) · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really easy listen that felt like chatting to a friend but also didn’t shy away from some dark, tough and upsetting personal incidents.

I loved that the audiobook was narrated by Lou.

[Lucy · Rating 5 out of 5]

TW Rape, sexual assault, and substance abuse

This book has completely disarmed me. It has no business being funny when talking about some horrific things. Lou Sanders has such grace and is so forgiving to so many people who don’t always seem to deserve it.

A truly inspiring book that is easy to read even when discussing difficult topics.

[Chana · Rating 4 out of 5]

i couldn’t put this book down !! lou, as a person, a narrator, a character, makes such a strong connection with you as a reader through her casual tone that details trauma and life’s lows.

i really recommend this book and i’m not even someone who enjoys memoirs lol!!

[Aidan Greatrex · Rating 5 out of 5]

Truly a devastating, hilarious but most importantly, hopeful book.
I only recently found Lou Sanders, through watching her on tv but something clicked for me. Her dark, dead pan humour was me all over. So I wanted to give her book a go.

The dead pan is still there but what is more engaging is the sheer vulnerability she offers. I work in mental health and see the effects of alcohol, trauma, shame and more each day and seeing someone write about it, reflect on it and occasionally jokes about it felt right at home.

Lou offers stories of love, heartache, family feuds, drinking (lots of it) and looking at the world differently. These are all fantastic views and give the reader her view but room to think about your own.

Anyone who needs help overcoming addiction, trauma or shame needs to give this a read. It’s a perfect stepping stone to a positive step. I left this book feeling hopeful and informed. I salute anyone who is so vulnerable in writing but I also love how fucking funny Lou is!

[Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

She’s the flawed hero we all need. I listened to the audiobook and at first I thought she was a bit emotionless and then you could really hear the emotion in her voice when she talked about the rape by the nurse and I realised it was just hard for her to read aloud. Understandable. I love her and I do think she’s hilarious and vulnerable and silly and i knew this would be dark but not quite this dark. She deserves to be treated like a queen.

[Nikos Dunno · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I saw that Lou Sanders released a book I knew I had to go straight to the audiobook. Her way of telling stories is so enjoyable and effortlessly funny, and I still can't believe how a book that includes so much rape and bad fortune, reads so lightly. Despite the trigger warnings this will forever be one of the first recommendations I'll give from now on when I'm asked about any good autobiographies.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

There was so much I didn’t know about Lou Sanders and this book was really heavy at points. She’s been through a lot but you can tell she has managed to take something from every experience. I was also impressed by how much she uses her own experiences to help others.

Shout out to Jess for sending me her spare copy! ❤️

[Paul Devlin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bonkers, bleak and brilliantly entertaining.

[Niamh Stimpson]

An amazing read, I listened to the audiobook and found it quite revolutionary. :-)

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I only know Lou from her excellent showing on Taskmaster, but this made me want to seek out more of her work. Lots of dark stuff and she 'grew up fast' as one might say, but also very funny (audiobook recommended).

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Completely echo other reviews that a book with so much sadness has no business being so funny. Lou has handled heartbreaking topics and events with such delicacy. Thoroughly recommend as audiobook, read by Lou.

[Sian Lile-Pastore · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love Lou - and this book was fun and funny! But also about addiction and sexual assault and rape. Yep.

[Niamh · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.75

[Annie · Rating 5 out of 5]

There’s nothing I will defend and cherish more than the glorious plethora of memoirs written by fucking funny women that tackle their experiences of life head on, hands off the wheal and invite the reader to come along for the ride. For all the glorious gifts the patriarchy has bestowed upon women; I’m talking home ec classes, people holding the door open for you, getting onto a lifeboat first if you were on the Titanic (or just any other ship I guess), there was a quite major design flaw that slipped under the radar. By creating a society centred around men, anything that doesn’t fit into that definition of ‘man’ becomes an outsider, able to observe and take the piss out of the absolute stupidity of such a system. Women and anyone who doesn’t identify as a man, have always been comics and observers. Our words have been recited and applauded upon on stages for centuries. And I’m so very happy to add this memoir to my own snuggle of books that celebrate women and their legacy of laughter.

But, as some old fudger said (Brecht I think?) you must give your audience both the tickle and a slap. Well gosh darn if this book didn’t leave me a bit battered and bruised. Lou tackles violence against women, alcoholism and destructive behaviour with a flavour of honesty I haven’t seen before. It never felt like Lou was lamenting over her past, nor using her experiences as a moral guide on how not to live. These had been her choices and this is her life. I think we’re often encouraged not judge other people, but it is even harder not to judge ourselves and feel crippling shame about our own experiences. In this book, we are encouraged to do neither and that was really a comfort to me, an emotional cuddle if you will (shout out the cuddle club pod).

So yeah, I really loved this book! And can’t wait to lend it to my bestie and hear her thoughts about the clusterfuck that is human experience over a cocktail or two <3

[Benny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not usually a reader of biography, but Lou Sanders is funny as hell and handles the often very heavy events in her life with a humorous tenderness and it just works. Really enjoyed

[Anthony · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lou Sanders (2023) WHAT'S THAT LADY DOING? (AUDIOBOOK)
Audible - Bonnier Books UK

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5 out of 5 stars

Audible writes, "This is a book about mistakes. And why we should de-flower shame in all its messy, complicated glory...
Hello!
It's Lou here...
I've poured my heart and guts on to the page and shared my soul in this book. This won't be for everyone but I hope it helps the people it does connect with. We all have stories and I think its useful to share them, I think it helps unite us and in some ways it helps us release some shame.
I've been alarmingly truthful and sincere, because I think society would be better if we could all be honest. I've of course used humour too, not as a way to cope (I've processed the darker things that have happened to me), but as a change in pace, some gorgeous light relief, because life is light and dark dancing together in the wind. And I love jokes.
If this is the sort of thing you're after, please pick me up and take me to bed (that's the book speaking so a little joke there)."
=====
An absolute testament to a sense of self, sense of humour, tenacity, resilience, survival and unrelenting badassery. Lou Sanders is all this and just so fucking hilarious to boot. Cannot wait to see her show next year. Highly recommend this.

P.S. The audiobook has a really funny bonus interview at the end. Hashtag #justsaying
=====
#LouSanders #WhatsThatLadyDoing #Book #Books #Read #Reads #Reading #Review #Reviews #BookReview #BookReviews #GoodReads #Audiobook #Audiobooks #Audible

[Alex LB · Rating 5 out of 5]

Much like the author, this book is chaotic, silly, sometimes aggressive, sometimes sincere, and very entertaining. Lou is someone who has lived a life worth writing a story about. I’m not sure who will pick up this book without being a fan of British comedy, but anyone who is in the helping profession, who has a dysfunctional family, or who just likes some sassy feminist ranting, would find something here that is worthwhile. Nothing in this book is censored, and the corners are not rounded to make the stories more palatable or to give them a proper beginning, middle, and end. Someone looking for narrative flow or literary merit might find this book lacking. But from stories about gaslighting family members, violence against women, sobriety, heartbreak, and being yourself even when everyone is screaming at you to TONE IT DOWN, this book is full of both rage and healing (literally). Though quite a flawed book when you worry about things like narrative structure, I can’t give something this heart-wrenchingly and unflinchingly honest anything less than five stars for its bravery, and the author’s refusal to be anyone but herself.

[Lauren pavey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Now don’t get me wrong , I might be a little biased but what a great little surprise this was. When I saw that our narrator was raised in Thanet I was a little excited as I spent a few years of my teens living there too and could picture the settings of her stories so well.
Her memoir is not all seaside and sunshine though, there are some truly dark, raw and heartbreaking moments in our authors past and this is a no holds barred tale that will have you wanting to cry one minute and smiling the next .
Even though this books deals with some huge issues such as alcoholism , drug use, sexual assault and abuse the book is also full of wit, friendship, love and humour.
This book isn’t for everyone and could hold triggers for lots of readers but it’s real and raw and what more could you ever wish for from a memoir than that.
Thank you Lou for you bravery and honesty and I hope this book gets the attention it deserves.

[El_kiablo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lou Sanders is one of my all time favorite Taskmaster contestants because she was such an absolute whirlwind of chaos... And that's definitely the vibe you get from her memoir. And not always in a good way; I don't want to sound judgmental, but jeez, she comes off as kind of a mess here (particularly in the pre-sobriety chapters.)

But hey, at least this book does manage to live up to every part of it's title - this did have me going "what in the hell is she doing?" and it is, in fact, full of false starts and it does indeed have a happy ending. So while this could've been better - I don't think it's the funniest comedian's memoir that I've ever read - I also don't have a lot of major complaints because this basically did the job that it was supposed to do (ie, be energetic, be full of a lot of wild stories, and be reasonably entertaining)

[Wide Eyes, Big Ears! · Rating 4 out of 5]

UK comedian Lou Sanders takes us on a highly confessional journey which covers her wacky childhood, her relationship with her parents and stepfather, her struggles with alcoholism, and her multiple short-lived jobs before she began her career in comedy. Lou is often outrageous in her comedy and personal life and that’s well-reflected here. She owns her decisions and mistakes with an unapologetic honesty that’s often amusing or gut-wrenching and she demonstrates that therapies can help a lot when you’re struggling. This is not for delicate sensibilities, part of Lou’s shtick is her shock value. 🎧 I don’t think I would have enjoyed this half as much if I’d read it as opposed to listening to Lou narrate it herself. She made it funny, touching, and very personal.

[Hannah W · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm aiming to make the most of my Spotify subscription and listen to an audio book a month in 2025. Trouble is, I find them really hard to concentrate on, so I started with this - a memoir read by the author - as it didn't feel too different to a podcast. It's also not very long!

The book consists of very short chapters, and I think it would have been a 2.5 star book, but for an audiobook it worked better.

I didn't overly enjoy the parts of the book that were basically just "tales of outrageous (and often traumatic) nights" but the last third or so about how Lou got into comedy, and the more reflective chapters about recovery and spirituality were excellent.

[Sohxpie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sometimes a really great thing happens when you read a book like this, you can really imagine the author telling the story out loud. It's one of my favourite aspects of reading memoirs and biographies. I find comedians in particular excel at this and Lou Sanders is no different. Her tone and style are blunt but in a charismatic way, you can almost hear her laughing when you read certain lines and jokes. The extra little bits she adds in are so obviously her as well. It's kind of fun to imagine her narrating the story and performing it as a comedy gig. Not an easy read content wise but an enjoyable, engaging read that I would definitely recommend.