Perfect Bound: A memoir of trauma, heartbreak and recovery

by Lindsay Nicholson

An unforgettable memoir and manifesto for living, from the woman who redefined magazines for the 21st century‘Truly compelling.’ Cathy Rentzenbrink

‘Breathtaking … I loved it.’ Fern Britton

‘Courageous. Inspiring. Hopeful.’ Alastair Campbell

Having suffered the unimaginable loss of her first husband and child, Lindsay Nicholson rewrites her story to become Britain’s most successful lifestyle magazine editor. But when a would-be suicide runs in front of her car, the pages of her picture-perfect life fall apart once more.

In just one year, Lindsay loses her marriage, job and home, and is even arrested. Suicidal and suffering from profound PTSD, she tries medication, therapy and New Age courses – until she finds the answer in the pages of her former magazines. Life isn’t about being perfect; it’s friendship and laughter, stitched together with the little things that truly matter.

Deeply moving, inspiring and sharply funny, Perfect Bound is an unforgettable story about resilience, recovery and what really makes life worth living.

Genres: Nonfiction

322 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 18, 2024

Reviews

[Abbey Lavinia ꕥ · Rating 5 out of 5]

as someone who also struggles with PTSD but lives on quite the opposite end of the spectrum (lifestyle wise etc) I really enjoyed reading this 🫶🏻

[Ellie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I might be slightly biased as I do know Lindsay Nicholson; my mother used to work with her as part of that whirlwind of magazine publishing and they have stayed good friends (fun fact; both my parents are actually in the acknowledgements section which is kind of cool). I was at Lindsay's second marriage (although I was three years old, so I largely just remember the chocolate fountain), and whilst I have pieced together some of what she has gone through in her life over the years, I didn't know the full extent of it.

Whilst the language of this is very easy to read, like you're chatting to a friend on the sofa with a cup of tea, the topics are not. If this was a fiction book, you'd probably be thinking how unrealistic it is for all of these things to happen to one person. And yet it did, and Lindsay, and Hope, have come out of it the other side, not without difficulty, and rebuilt their own lives.

A very real and insightful exploration of grief and its lasting effects, as well as how people can disguise, consciously or not, their emotions and mental health, all wrapped up in the glamour of being a high-powered magazine editor.

cw// cancer, death, car accidents, infidelity, death of a child, suicidal ideation/attempts

[Diane Woodrow · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this so much it has encouraged me with writing my memoir of my chaotic childhood etc.
I loved the way at the beginning she is saying what a good mother she is to go back to work the week after her husband's funeral to at the end apologising to her daughter for going back to work after her husband's funeral. It wasn't morbid even though loads of awful things had happened to her. She used humor and just life stuff to tell a really wonderful learning curve story filled with hope

[Lucia Glynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heartbreaking, visceral, honest read.

[Josephine Olok · Rating 5 out of 5]

A heartbreaking, deeply moving and inspiring memoir.

[Anastasya Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’ve never read a book about grief and PTSD like this one before. She’s been through a lot. Almost makes me wonder how so many boomers (not the author though) manage to be elitist when they’ve had so many experiences that could have kept them empathetic and humble.

Some parts are so well written and appropriately descriptive that I could fly through them. Others were clunkier and required me to slow down, like any part mentioning the horses. Some parts get clipped. I wanted to read about the moment she was officially let go from her job.

It’s hard not to admire the author, despite whatever flaws the book may have. Rebirth after rebirth after rebirth.

Her only constant has been her daughter. I wish I could have read more about how the author cared for her daughter because otherwise it sounds like she just went to work.

There were parts of the book that felt like it was written by a “man”. Some male authors ignore the mental and emotional aspects of life, skirting over details and just narrating “and then this happened, then this happened, then this, and the divorce came out of nowhere”, focusing mainly on being “providers” to the detriment of all else. I don’t know if this was intention on the author’s part, but that’s what she sounded like.