Life Is Rosi: The hilarious and heart-warming memoir exploring family history, resilience and the importance of carrying hope through generations

by Jess Robinson

A fresh, funny family history following the lives of comedian Jess Robinson and her German Jewish grandmother Rosi

When Grandma Rosi was 23, she was expelled from Nazi Germany and interned as a refugee in Zbąszyń, Poland. She used her diary to document every detail of her experiences, from being deported by the Gestapo to stolen conversations with her first love.

When Jess was 23, she was living in London, struggling with a fledgling acting career, a failed love life and rock-bottom self-esteem. She used her diary to rant about her mum and track her daily calories. Well, it was the noughties…

Rapidly approaching her 40th birthday – and, honestly, wanting an EU passport to beat the airport queues – comedian and impressionist Jess Robinson finally digs into the archives of her German Jewish ancestry. With each freshly translated page of her grandmother’s wartime diaries, Jess sets out to discover who Grandma Rosi really was – and maybe learn a thing or two about herself. After all, it’s easy to forget who you really are when you spend every day pretending to be other people…

Bravely reopening her own diaries (which had been very securely locked away for nearly two decades), Jess follows the two young women as they navigate life at 23, finding a shared sense of identity despite their entirely different circumstances.

Exploring everything from lessons in resilience to the traits we inherit from our matriarchs – and not forgetting trying to make new friends at the German embassy – Life Is Rosi is a warm, witty and wise book that gets to the heart of who we are, wherever we are.

Genres: Memoir

345 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 29, 2026

Reviews

[Philippa Hunter · Rating 5 out of 5]

At its heart, this is a powerful portrayal of the complexities of female family relationships — particularly between sisters and mother/daughter— and how two children can be parented in profoundly different ways by the same mother. Jess captures, with such emotional precision, how those differences can quietly shape identity, create misunderstandings, and eventually form rifts that feel impossible to bridge. If you have a sibling relationship marked by love, resentment, comparison or silence, this book will resonate.

What makes the story especially compelling is the author’s journey of self-discovery and identity. It unfolds gently but confidently, allowing the reader to sit alongside her as she questions, unravels, and rebuilds her sense of self. There is vulnerability here, but also warmth and humour — the book genuinely makes you laugh and cry, often within the same chapter.

One of the most impactful elements is how Jess details Rosi’s lived experiences of the Holocaust and its legacy. Rather than retelling familiar narratives, she opens up perspectives you may not have encountered before via Rosi’s diary, showing how trauma echoes through generations in quiet, complex ways. It deepens your understanding without ever feeling heavy-handed.

The book also speaks powerfully to what it means to be a woman navigating a world where danger can come from men you are taught to trust, dismiss, or excuse. These moments are written carefully but with vulnerability and something I’m sure many women may have (unfortunately) experienced.

Life Is Rosi is thoughtful, funny, heartbreaking and brave. It’s a book about family, inheritance, identity, and survival — and it does all of this with compassion and honesty. An easy five stars for me, and one I would recommend to anyone interested in nuanced storytelling about women, memory, and the ties that bind us.

[Joanna Tilley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such an honest, heartwarming, fun and tender book. The fact Jess Robinson is a comedian is abundantly clear in the way she manages to weave wit and silliness through a memoir which in many ways shouldn't lend itself to humour. Life is Rosi makes you laugh, cry and also think about the strong and complicated connections woven through families and different generations - in particular female family members. I loved the bits with Jess and her family communicating through text - and the contrast between Jess's own diary and her grandmother's is so clever and unique. A similar age to Jess - 18 haha! - and also living in London - I could connect with her descriptions of the 1990s and the fashion, music and overdrinking of the time. Rosi's story really does make you think how grateful we should all be in many ways and how a Jewish woman living through Nazi rule managed to hold on to the light and her many musical talents. Children and music are so important - and much of the book is about that - and how friends, family and fun - can get us through almost anything. I whizzed through it and thoroughly recommend it.

[Katy Wheatley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a funny, touching double memoir. Comedian Jess Robinson compares her own diaries from when she was 23 with those of her maternal grandmother Rosi when she was the same age. Jess is struggling to carve a career for herself and find love and stability in her personal life. Rosi is living in a transit camp on the Polish border, a Jewish woman ejected from the life she loved teaching singing and drama to children, and having to cope with constant uncertainty and what might come next. Robinson's bridging material between entries introduces her loving, eccentric family and their desire to claim the citizenship Rosi was denied. This is a book that shouldn't really work, but does.

[Nic Harris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Life is Rosi is a really funny and genuinely enjoyable memoir, but it also covers some tough and emotional topics in a thoughtful way. Jess Robinson’s humour makes it an easy read, while still giving the more serious moments the weight they deserve.

I especially liked how the book compares the lives of two women in their early twenties living in very different times. Reading about Jess alongside her maternal grandmother’s experiences of living through the Holocaust was powerful and really interesting, and it added a lot of depth to the story.

I found this book both emotional and engaging, and it definitely stayed with me after I finished it. A great read overall.

[Finn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was really glad that I went to see Jess speak about this book because WHAT A BOOK. I laughed, I cried and I screamed with anger which is exactly what a memoir should do. It was a privilege getting to know Rosi and the remarkable (and somewhat scary) women she was. A worthwhile read and I learnt so much as well. 5 stars honestly doesn’t give this justice, I want to give it 10!

[Basia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely love this book! It’s such a clever juxtaposition of two diaries from two members of the same family born 75 years apart, in different countries, at very different times in history.
It’s also very funny and very, very moving…I was in tears more than once.
This is the book for you if you’re looking for something totally unique.

[mrsbookburnee Niamh Burnett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Happy publication day to ‘Life Is Rosi’ by @jessrobinsonofficial this book is all sorts of emotions rolled into one, it’s hilarious, endearing, empowering and informantive, this is one family chat you will want to belong to.

I loved the use of the different diaries and how they showed the differences between Jess and Rosi, both the events surrounding them and their different personalities. Rosi’s diaries were heartbreaking and informative, I loved reading about her strength and need to protect those around her.

Jessie’s diaries were just as dramatic, but for very different reasons, be on get me right back to the nineties where my main concerns were friends and Take That 🤣.

[Carlie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this audio book. Do yourself a favour and listen to Jess tell you her family story in her own voice.

[Staceywh_17 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Two twenty-three year old Jewish women. Their diary entries world's apart. Their connection, family.

Robinson's humour and hilarity coupled with her Grandmother Rosi's diary entries worked in ways I didn't think it would.

I was immediately drawn to Rosi's story as I find the Holocaust a terrible period in history, but such a compelling subject to learn about.

Jess's diaries transported me back to the noughties. I was twenty-three in '94, thus I found her entries relatable and reminiscent.

It's a heartwarming and immensely enjoyable story of survival.