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Proof of Progress: A Novel
From the author of the Good Morning America Book Club pick Save What’s Left comes a witty and sharp-tongued novel about an actress whose manuscript is thirty-seven years overdue—and the life moments that led to its delay.
Maria Astorini, once popular character actress and late-night talk show darling, is having a moment. The B-list actress has survived deaths, divorces, a famous mother, a Hollywood blacklist, a string of public embarrassments, an aging face, financial ruin, an empty nest, a difficult best friend, and a worldwide pandemic. Now, she’s back and bigger than ever. A small, unexpected role has heightened her celebrity status and propelled her, at age sixty-five, into the limelight. And then, along comes the call Maria has spent decades avoiding. It’s her publisher asking, “Where is that book?”
Maria knows the world doesn’t need another celebrity memoir. To finally fulfill her contract, Maria writes, or attempts to write, or, at the very least, sends a pile of pages meant to vaguely resemble the book she promised to deliver nearly four decades earlier.
In a series of bite-sized anecdotes, she candidly recalls her past, chronicling the significant, and insignificant moments of her full, funny, and extraordinarily unpredictable life.
Maria hasn’t been able to write a book about her life—she’s been too busy living it.
Maria Astorini, once popular character actress and late-night talk show darling, is having a moment. The B-list actress has survived deaths, divorces, a famous mother, a Hollywood blacklist, a string of public embarrassments, an aging face, financial ruin, an empty nest, a difficult best friend, and a worldwide pandemic. Now, she’s back and bigger than ever. A small, unexpected role has heightened her celebrity status and propelled her, at age sixty-five, into the limelight. And then, along comes the call Maria has spent decades avoiding. It’s her publisher asking, “Where is that book?”
Maria knows the world doesn’t need another celebrity memoir. To finally fulfill her contract, Maria writes, or attempts to write, or, at the very least, sends a pile of pages meant to vaguely resemble the book she promised to deliver nearly four decades earlier.
In a series of bite-sized anecdotes, she candidly recalls her past, chronicling the significant, and insignificant moments of her full, funny, and extraordinarily unpredictable life.
Maria hasn’t been able to write a book about her life—she’s been too busy living it.
240 pages, Hardcover
Published September 15, 2026
About the author
Elizabeth Castellano
3 books212 followersElizabeth Castellano lives in New York, and is the author of Save What’s Left and Proof of Progress.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 74 reviews
September 26, 2026
Proof of Progress is a snapshot novel, a look back on a life, told in moments. The premise is funny, if silly, but it’s a springboard, nothing more: an aging actress has an unexpected second round of fame, causing a major publisher to demand she makes good on a memoir contracted almost 40 years ago. Then the publishing house fades into the mist. We’re on to the trajectory of actress Maria Astorini’s life, laid out in order, from childhood through adolescence, young adulthood, and then a roller coaster of success>failure>success, husband>divorce>husband and so on. I was enjoying the ride well enough before the roller coaster started up. Then I wanted off.
While I didn’t find much of the first third of the novel believable, I enjoyed it a lot more than what followed. Maria’s memories of growing up with her unconventional mother, being hauled from one unlikely business-as-home to another, are recounted in a voice that shifts from a youthful jittery anxiety to the acceptance that comes with age. Her early years reminded me a bit of the wonderful novel Beautyland, the story of a peculiar, sweet girl who, unknown to anyone, is actually an alien from another planet. Maria is also an outsider, an awkward (though pretty) duckling before her transformation into swan. She and her mother have to walk across rooftops to get into the run down building Mom purchased with the intent of turning it into a hotel. It would be impossible to explain her home life to anyone at school.
Maria’s mother becomes a self-help-for-the-ladies guru, and something of a celebrity. This might have made Maria’s life easier, if only her mother had retained any interest in her. Instead, she becomes a shadow, flitting in and out of the remaining pages. From very young. Maria is alone, and markedly different in some way that never quite gels on the page. Leaving home, an early job at Bloomingdale’s ends with her being fired: If you could go before the holidays, they say, that would be a big help. That made me laugh, and ache a little.
But as Maria’s life unfolds, as her acting career takes off, I liked her less and less, irritated with her irritability, the number of people she rolls her eyes over. It’s possible hers is a fair representation of someone permanently separated from others by becoming that most unlikely thing, a successful, popular actress. But less than halfway through, the novel gets a bad case of the strays. The primary characters in her orbit take over a chapter and then vanish until many chapters later, leaving barely a mark on Maria, or on us. Just as her mother fades in and out, Maria’s husbands come and go, one tragically, but those that follow are almost outlines rather than flesh and blood. A second marriage where the biggest ongoing vexation is this husband can’t or won’t learn how to make coffee. A third marriage is this easy, almost a shrug:
Very tall and very handsome and very rich … and he asks me to marry him. I say yes! I don’t see any reason to say no.
She becomes wildly wealthy. She doesn’t know where her (3rd?) husband’s very valuable art collection is stored. A man comes to their apt regularly to rotate the paintings hung on their walls. She tells us, I don’t even have to look at the same Picasso for 2 weeks. At a different point, she describes herself as a victim of financial ruin, fretting that she can only get 450k for selling her mother’s property and obviously doesn’t want to touch her investments. Anyways, it always works out; first the aging sisters across the hall sell her their larger apartment when they move out, then her long time sort-of-friend sells Maria her bungalow on Shelter Island. No home searching, no realtor’s fees, that’s just how her life is. Money, husbands, property, fame, everything comes and goes. She has a child, a girl, whom she does seem to love. But her daughter disappears. From the book, I mean, like everyone else.
It hit me finally that perhaps this fictional snippet memoir is really about the after effects of watching your father die of a heart attack right in front of you when you’re only 9 years old. It’s like Maria’s heart stops working then. Nothing adds up to very much. She gives an incredibly condescending speech near the end, at a college commencement where she’s the guest speaker, her unlikability radar zinging off the charts.
Then it seems we’re being offered an after dinner mint, a sweet finale, with the mending of a long troubled relationship. Gotcha! Instead, there’s a sudden, bizarre slap-in-the-face, and boom, we’re done. I think it was meant to be funny, but as with the rest of Proof of Progress, I just felt puzzled.
While I didn’t find much of the first third of the novel believable, I enjoyed it a lot more than what followed. Maria’s memories of growing up with her unconventional mother, being hauled from one unlikely business-as-home to another, are recounted in a voice that shifts from a youthful jittery anxiety to the acceptance that comes with age. Her early years reminded me a bit of the wonderful novel Beautyland, the story of a peculiar, sweet girl who, unknown to anyone, is actually an alien from another planet. Maria is also an outsider, an awkward (though pretty) duckling before her transformation into swan. She and her mother have to walk across rooftops to get into the run down building Mom purchased with the intent of turning it into a hotel. It would be impossible to explain her home life to anyone at school.
Maria’s mother becomes a self-help-for-the-ladies guru, and something of a celebrity. This might have made Maria’s life easier, if only her mother had retained any interest in her. Instead, she becomes a shadow, flitting in and out of the remaining pages. From very young. Maria is alone, and markedly different in some way that never quite gels on the page. Leaving home, an early job at Bloomingdale’s ends with her being fired: If you could go before the holidays, they say, that would be a big help. That made me laugh, and ache a little.
But as Maria’s life unfolds, as her acting career takes off, I liked her less and less, irritated with her irritability, the number of people she rolls her eyes over. It’s possible hers is a fair representation of someone permanently separated from others by becoming that most unlikely thing, a successful, popular actress. But less than halfway through, the novel gets a bad case of the strays. The primary characters in her orbit take over a chapter and then vanish until many chapters later, leaving barely a mark on Maria, or on us. Just as her mother fades in and out, Maria’s husbands come and go, one tragically, but those that follow are almost outlines rather than flesh and blood. A second marriage where the biggest ongoing vexation is this husband can’t or won’t learn how to make coffee. A third marriage is this easy, almost a shrug:
Very tall and very handsome and very rich … and he asks me to marry him. I say yes! I don’t see any reason to say no.
She becomes wildly wealthy. She doesn’t know where her (3rd?) husband’s very valuable art collection is stored. A man comes to their apt regularly to rotate the paintings hung on their walls. She tells us, I don’t even have to look at the same Picasso for 2 weeks. At a different point, she describes herself as a victim of financial ruin, fretting that she can only get 450k for selling her mother’s property and obviously doesn’t want to touch her investments. Anyways, it always works out; first the aging sisters across the hall sell her their larger apartment when they move out, then her long time sort-of-friend sells Maria her bungalow on Shelter Island. No home searching, no realtor’s fees, that’s just how her life is. Money, husbands, property, fame, everything comes and goes. She has a child, a girl, whom she does seem to love. But her daughter disappears. From the book, I mean, like everyone else.
It hit me finally that perhaps this fictional snippet memoir is really about the after effects of watching your father die of a heart attack right in front of you when you’re only 9 years old. It’s like Maria’s heart stops working then. Nothing adds up to very much. She gives an incredibly condescending speech near the end, at a college commencement where she’s the guest speaker, her unlikability radar zinging off the charts.
Then it seems we’re being offered an after dinner mint, a sweet finale, with the mending of a long troubled relationship. Gotcha! Instead, there’s a sudden, bizarre slap-in-the-face, and boom, we’re done. I think it was meant to be funny, but as with the rest of Proof of Progress, I just felt puzzled.
September 15, 2026
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.25 | 4.25 stars rounded down
I loved this book! It's witty, sardonic, and heartfelt.
The structure is fantastic and really lends itself to being a sharp and snappy read. It epitomizes the idea that an entire life is comprised of many quick moments, and I had the best time living Maria's moments alongside her.
Thank you so much to Harper Books for the ARC!
I loved this book! It's witty, sardonic, and heartfelt.
The structure is fantastic and really lends itself to being a sharp and snappy read. It epitomizes the idea that an entire life is comprised of many quick moments, and I had the best time living Maria's moments alongside her.
Thank you so much to Harper Books for the ARC!
October 12, 2026
Maria Astorini should look familiar to you. She’s been in the public eye for decades, first as the daughter of a famous mother, then as an actress, frequent talk show guest, author, and occasional object of scandal.
She recently landed a new role that has put attention on her again. But when a throwaway comment about a book she was contracted to write 37 years ago somehow gets back to her publisher, they finally start asking about it. They’d be more than happy for her to pay the advance back (but compound interest after 37 years is pretty staggering), or she can write the book.
She really doesn’t think the world needs another celebrity memoir, but she’s not paying the publisher back. So in order to provide proof of progress, she sends the publisher anecdotes of different times in her life.
Maria touches on her father’s sudden death when she was young, which was accompanied by a freak injury to her tongue (44 stitches needed). She talks about her on-again, off-again relationship with a college friend, who is both her closest confidante and her biggest nemesis. She discusses her marriages, her children, her relationship with her mother (who became a famous motivational speaker and author), her financial ruin, and her career.
I found this to be an amusing story but because it’s told in anecdotes, nothing felt complete. Maria is a mess, but she’s surprisingly loyal to her friends (to a point), and her life is never free of drama and challenging people. It was a fun, lightweight read.
See all of my reviews at itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com.
Follow me on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/getbookedwithlarry/.
She recently landed a new role that has put attention on her again. But when a throwaway comment about a book she was contracted to write 37 years ago somehow gets back to her publisher, they finally start asking about it. They’d be more than happy for her to pay the advance back (but compound interest after 37 years is pretty staggering), or she can write the book.
She really doesn’t think the world needs another celebrity memoir, but she’s not paying the publisher back. So in order to provide proof of progress, she sends the publisher anecdotes of different times in her life.
Maria touches on her father’s sudden death when she was young, which was accompanied by a freak injury to her tongue (44 stitches needed). She talks about her on-again, off-again relationship with a college friend, who is both her closest confidante and her biggest nemesis. She discusses her marriages, her children, her relationship with her mother (who became a famous motivational speaker and author), her financial ruin, and her career.
I found this to be an amusing story but because it’s told in anecdotes, nothing felt complete. Maria is a mess, but she’s surprisingly loyal to her friends (to a point), and her life is never free of drama and challenging people. It was a fun, lightweight read.
See all of my reviews at itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com.
Follow me on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/getbookedwithlarry/.
October 30, 2026
Thank you Harper Books for the #gifted copy in exchange for an honest review! #HarperBooksPartner
Maria Astorini was formerly a fan favorite actress and late-night talk show darling. She’s aging gracefully, but not without life’s trials and tribulation. She has survived divorces, financial ruin, even a worldwide pandemic. A small unexpected role has propelled her back into the limelight at age 65, so now the industry is asking: “Where’s that book?” But she’s too busy living life to write about it, so instead of another celebrity memoir, she’s writing a series of anecdotes from her unpredictable life.
I was intrigued by this fictional autobiography, particularly because it profiles the life of an actress getting her second wind. At some points, it felt like I was reading a comparable life story of Debrah Vance from Hacks, with some genuinely funny anecdotes and awkward situations. At 240 pages, it’s a relatively quick read, but despite being a (fictional) life story I’m not quite sure what the progression actually was. It’s witty and irreverent, and honestly great writing within the pages itself. I get that the series of anecdotes without a clear arc is kind of the point (i.e. that this book is the proof of progress, not the final product), but it still left me wanting more.
Reviewed as part of an #ARC from the publisher.
Read this book if you:
💎 give your unwavering support to Deborah Vance on Hacks
☕️ have strong opinions on who makes the coffee at home
🧑⚖️ love the quirky people you meet on Jury duty
Follow me on Instagram for more book reviews!
Maria Astorini was formerly a fan favorite actress and late-night talk show darling. She’s aging gracefully, but not without life’s trials and tribulation. She has survived divorces, financial ruin, even a worldwide pandemic. A small unexpected role has propelled her back into the limelight at age 65, so now the industry is asking: “Where’s that book?” But she’s too busy living life to write about it, so instead of another celebrity memoir, she’s writing a series of anecdotes from her unpredictable life.
I was intrigued by this fictional autobiography, particularly because it profiles the life of an actress getting her second wind. At some points, it felt like I was reading a comparable life story of Debrah Vance from Hacks, with some genuinely funny anecdotes and awkward situations. At 240 pages, it’s a relatively quick read, but despite being a (fictional) life story I’m not quite sure what the progression actually was. It’s witty and irreverent, and honestly great writing within the pages itself. I get that the series of anecdotes without a clear arc is kind of the point (i.e. that this book is the proof of progress, not the final product), but it still left me wanting more.
Reviewed as part of an #ARC from the publisher.
Read this book if you:
💎 give your unwavering support to Deborah Vance on Hacks
☕️ have strong opinions on who makes the coffee at home
🧑⚖️ love the quirky people you meet on Jury duty
Follow me on Instagram for more book reviews!
September 17, 2026
Proof of Progress is a short novel that chronicles the life of fictional actress and comedian Maria Astorini. The story begins when Maria faces a manuscript that is thirty years overdue, prompting her to jot down anecdotes and tales from her past. The narrative structure, which uses one-to-three-page passages, moves the story forward in an engaging way; rather than feeling like a typical, information-heavy memoir, it reads more like a series of vivid scenes from a life.
Advanced copy provided by Harper Publishers. All opinions are my own.
Advanced copy provided by Harper Publishers. All opinions are my own.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Now in her 60s, actress Maria Astorini is back in the spotlight. And it's time to deliver to her publisher the memoir she had contracted to write 37 years ago. Maria's life has been quite a ride, so she has a lot of ground to cover. There's a famous mother, a messy love life, and challenging friendships, alongside a career marked by triumphs and many setbacks. Told with lots of humor and heart, Maria is finally on her way to delivering the one project she has long avoided.
Proof of Progress by Elizabeth Castellano is a fast-paced book featuring a main character who is hilarious as she reflects on her journey from a young woman to her later years. While Maria's story is filled with many disappointments, her spirit remains unbreakable. She is a unique, witty character who, while often irreverent, is never mean. This book is a delight. I was sad when it ended.
Many thanks to Harper for the gifted advance.
4.5 stars.
Review to be posted on MicheleReader.com.
Proof of Progress by Elizabeth Castellano is a fast-paced book featuring a main character who is hilarious as she reflects on her journey from a young woman to her later years. While Maria's story is filled with many disappointments, her spirit remains unbreakable. She is a unique, witty character who, while often irreverent, is never mean. This book is a delight. I was sad when it ended.
Many thanks to Harper for the gifted advance.
4.5 stars.
Review to be posted on MicheleReader.com.
October 18, 2026
This little book is an absolute delight. I laughed out loud so many times.
September 13, 2026
Elizabeth Castellano’s Proof of Progress was exactly the kind of book I needed with my coffee this week—short chapters, dry humor, and a sixty-five-year-old woman looking back at her life with absolutely no interest in pretending she always had it together. Thank you to Harper for the gifted copy. Have you ever put something off so long that eventually avoiding it becomes its own full-time job? Because Maria Astorini has you beat: thirty-seven years.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Maria is a B-list actress whose career is suddenly having another moment when her publisher comes calling about that tiny unfinished piece of business—the memoir she was paid to write nearly four decades ago. Apparently, “I’ve been busy living my life” is not enough for accounting. Especially when returning the advance now comes with interest.
So Maria writes.
Sort of.
What follows is less a polished celebrity memoir and more Maria handing us pieces of her life exactly as she remembers them. Three marriages, motherhood, career highs and spectacular lows, financial disasters, grief, friendship, aging, fame, her complicated relationship with her famous mother, and plenty of choices that seemed like a good idea at the time. You know…life.
Maria completely made this book for me. She’s opinionated, impulsive, occasionally ridiculous, and wonderfully funny without feeling like she’s trying to deliver a punchline on every page. Her observations can be downright sharp, and more than once I laughed because she said the thing most people would politely keep to themselves.
But underneath all that sarcasm is something unexpectedly tender. The older Maria gets, the more those little stories start adding up to something bigger. Some memories are important. Others seem completely insignificant until you realize those ordinary moments are actually the stuff a life is made of.
And I loved seeing a sixty-five-year-old woman at the center of the story who is still messy, ambitious, funny, making mistakes, and beginning again. Maria hasn’t finished becoming herself simply because she reached a certain age. Thank goodness.
By the end, the title Proof of Progress felt especially fitting. Maybe progress isn’t having everything figured out. Maybe sometimes the proof is simply that you kept living, laughing, screwing things up, loving people, and showing up for whatever came next.
What’s something you’ve been putting off that has officially reached “Maria and her 37-year-old manuscript” territory?
#ProofOfProgress #ElizabethCastellano #HarperBooks #Bookstagram #BookReview #WomensFiction #ContemporaryFiction #BookRecommendations
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Maria is a B-list actress whose career is suddenly having another moment when her publisher comes calling about that tiny unfinished piece of business—the memoir she was paid to write nearly four decades ago. Apparently, “I’ve been busy living my life” is not enough for accounting. Especially when returning the advance now comes with interest.
So Maria writes.
Sort of.
What follows is less a polished celebrity memoir and more Maria handing us pieces of her life exactly as she remembers them. Three marriages, motherhood, career highs and spectacular lows, financial disasters, grief, friendship, aging, fame, her complicated relationship with her famous mother, and plenty of choices that seemed like a good idea at the time. You know…life.
Maria completely made this book for me. She’s opinionated, impulsive, occasionally ridiculous, and wonderfully funny without feeling like she’s trying to deliver a punchline on every page. Her observations can be downright sharp, and more than once I laughed because she said the thing most people would politely keep to themselves.
But underneath all that sarcasm is something unexpectedly tender. The older Maria gets, the more those little stories start adding up to something bigger. Some memories are important. Others seem completely insignificant until you realize those ordinary moments are actually the stuff a life is made of.
And I loved seeing a sixty-five-year-old woman at the center of the story who is still messy, ambitious, funny, making mistakes, and beginning again. Maria hasn’t finished becoming herself simply because she reached a certain age. Thank goodness.
By the end, the title Proof of Progress felt especially fitting. Maybe progress isn’t having everything figured out. Maybe sometimes the proof is simply that you kept living, laughing, screwing things up, loving people, and showing up for whatever came next.
What’s something you’ve been putting off that has officially reached “Maria and her 37-year-old manuscript” territory?
#ProofOfProgress #ElizabethCastellano #HarperBooks #Bookstagram #BookReview #WomensFiction #ContemporaryFiction #BookRecommendations
September 29, 2026
Elite social satire! This was such a random pick for me since I don’t read a lot of contemporary fiction but it was fun! Thank you Harper books for the gifted copy.
Maria was a popular actress and this book is her life story she promised to write decades ago. We finally get the book with some self and social criticism delivered immaculately!
The coolest thing about how this book is presented is how the author’s note is the actual author’s note from Maria. I thought that was very neat! It’s as if we are the audience for her book. Think it as we are the readers of this book’s protagonist’s book. The chapters are also super short - the shortest I’ve read. But the social satire woven across including self criticism is so powerful.
At a glance this story looks like comedy, dry humor and making fun of oneself and the society but everything is very relatable to the current world and situations. I found myself laughing hard because there was so sugar coating, rose tinted glasses, and rose petals, the author gives the blows directly where needed and does so acutely and without flaunt.
Maria’s life includes ups, downs, losses, gains, mistakes, lessons learnt, lessons unlearned and relearned and much more. I thought this entire story though short and bite size was a very comedic yet real depiction of life and what it’s like to be human.
Recommend as a short read for contemporary fiction fans. All thoughts my own.
Maria was a popular actress and this book is her life story she promised to write decades ago. We finally get the book with some self and social criticism delivered immaculately!
The coolest thing about how this book is presented is how the author’s note is the actual author’s note from Maria. I thought that was very neat! It’s as if we are the audience for her book. Think it as we are the readers of this book’s protagonist’s book. The chapters are also super short - the shortest I’ve read. But the social satire woven across including self criticism is so powerful.
At a glance this story looks like comedy, dry humor and making fun of oneself and the society but everything is very relatable to the current world and situations. I found myself laughing hard because there was so sugar coating, rose tinted glasses, and rose petals, the author gives the blows directly where needed and does so acutely and without flaunt.
Maria’s life includes ups, downs, losses, gains, mistakes, lessons learnt, lessons unlearned and relearned and much more. I thought this entire story though short and bite size was a very comedic yet real depiction of life and what it’s like to be human.
Recommend as a short read for contemporary fiction fans. All thoughts my own.
October 22, 2026
"That's pretty much everything you need to know about life. It is one hiccup after another. Careful planning and perfect days may reap rewards, but the series of failures and left turns and chance encounters will determine the course of your life."
This line, given by our main character Maria in a college commencement speech, perfectly sums up the message of this delightful book. This novel was absolutely nothing like I expected, and it was a fun surprise! Proof of Progress is written almost as a series of journal articles that make up the draft of a book- a book that is over 35 years overdue for the author's publisher. The humor here fantastic, bordering a little on the absurd, but it frequently made me lol. Unusual structures sometimes work for me and sometimes don't, but this one did. It does make it difficult to become emotionally invested in the characters, but I'm not sure that's really what the author is going for here anyway. If you are looking for a quick, fun, creative read, this is great choice, and the audio was great. I hope more people pick this up!
This line, given by our main character Maria in a college commencement speech, perfectly sums up the message of this delightful book. This novel was absolutely nothing like I expected, and it was a fun surprise! Proof of Progress is written almost as a series of journal articles that make up the draft of a book- a book that is over 35 years overdue for the author's publisher. The humor here fantastic, bordering a little on the absurd, but it frequently made me lol. Unusual structures sometimes work for me and sometimes don't, but this one did. It does make it difficult to become emotionally invested in the characters, but I'm not sure that's really what the author is going for here anyway. If you are looking for a quick, fun, creative read, this is great choice, and the audio was great. I hope more people pick this up!
October 27, 2026
This was one of the quickest books I"ve read in a long time. It's a running tally of memories for Maria Astorini. She's a celebrity who had promised a book to her editor and it's been a few decades so she finally gives in. Each chapter is a slice of life from age 9 to the present; it covers her dad passing at an early age and what she and her mother do to deal with. Her mother becomes a celebrity in a motivational speaker type of way. It also goes through Maria's marriages and becoming a mother in middle age. I kept imagining a Lucy Ricardo like character. She is a comedian and a lot of her stories are just silly but it's light and fun and moves very fast. I'm so glad I read this. The style was cute and it got me out of my head for a few hours.
October 13, 2026
I really like this book! The chapters are short, snappy and humorous. I really enjoyed seeing Maria go from 9 to 64, my biggest take away from this book is the roundness of life. Something or someone happens in the beginning and then comes back by the end. Its a reminder that life is a circle and you never know when you'll cross path with someone again. What a delight!
October 20, 2026
I don't know what this book is but I am here for it.
September 6, 2026
I finished this book in one day and what a unique book it was! The main character is an aging actress. She started writing a memoir years ago and gave up on it. Well, if she doesn’t deliver the book, she has to give back all the money and a huge amount of interest. So here is the book you are reading…..her memoir. I love that parts are underdeveloped and not clear. Because even at the age of 46 I honestly was trying to think if I could remember parts about my life. Such a unique book!
Thank you Harper books for a gifted copy!
Thank you Harper books for a gifted copy!
September 7, 2026
This is one of those books that are fun, quirky, witty and stick with you. Marie is an actress who was contracted to write a memoir 37 years ago. Suddenly her publisher has remembered this and is asking her for a manuscript. Through a series of vignettes, Marie’s life story unfolds. From growing up with a famous mother, a couple of ex-husband to an acting career and then being blacklisted I couldn’t put the book down. I loved how both Marie and her mother were strong women and ahead of its time. I enjoyed the unique way of story telling. An overall quick read and I was left wanting more.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
Maria Astorini, “B” list actress and regular talk show invitee, receives an advance for a book about her life. 37 years later, Maria is in her 60s and still hasn’t gotten around to writing her memoir, and now the publisher is following her up.
So begins short, sharp, and sassy diary entries, detailing her daily life. Her dramas, divorces, financial difficulties, death of friends, and experiences with her outspoken mother, also famous in her own right, for her advice giving.
With candid humour, it is a journal of all the significant events in her life whilst also capturing the insignificant.
A short book with a lot of heart, this one reads like a memoir of a real person. It is at times sad, but always smart and witty. It is a quirky and enjoyable read.
4 ⭐️'s
Thank you to @simonschusterau for my copy to read and review.
So begins short, sharp, and sassy diary entries, detailing her daily life. Her dramas, divorces, financial difficulties, death of friends, and experiences with her outspoken mother, also famous in her own right, for her advice giving.
With candid humour, it is a journal of all the significant events in her life whilst also capturing the insignificant.
A short book with a lot of heart, this one reads like a memoir of a real person. It is at times sad, but always smart and witty. It is a quirky and enjoyable read.
4 ⭐️'s
Thank you to @simonschusterau for my copy to read and review.
August 24, 2026
3.5 stars rounded up
September 27, 2026
I received an ARC of this book and I was extremely excited for it. Unfortunately, it did not live up to my expectations. I don’t know if it was the writing style or the content, but it truly left me unsatisfied from beginning to end.
August 18, 2026
A fun little book, short sentences, short chapters, numerous good laughs. Would recommend.
I won this ARC in a giveaway, my thanks to Goodreads and the publisher.
I won this ARC in a giveaway, my thanks to Goodreads and the publisher.
August 14, 2026
A really entertaining and easy read. A story of dry humoured anecdotes, Marie writes about her life in the book she has avoided for majority of her life. A celebrity and actress she has been too busy living until that one fateful day she mentions that book she owes her publisher. Her story has a lot of heart, is sad and happy and inconvenient all at once. It was a lovely read. I really enjoyed the ending.
Thank you Simon & Schuster for gifting me the ARC for my honest review.
Thank you Simon & Schuster for gifting me the ARC for my honest review.
August 3, 2026
Thank you to Simon & Schuster Australia for sending me this ARC ✨
This book came at the most perfect time for me, I was in a reading slump & Proof of Progress grabbed me by the ear and pulled me straight out of it.
This book made me literally lol 4 different times, like out loud laughing.
With only 240 pages & short chapters it’s fast paced and an easy 24hr read.
Our FMC Maria is funny, witty & charming - hearing her life unfold was so entertaining. 👏🏼
This book came at the most perfect time for me, I was in a reading slump & Proof of Progress grabbed me by the ear and pulled me straight out of it.
This book made me literally lol 4 different times, like out loud laughing.
With only 240 pages & short chapters it’s fast paced and an easy 24hr read.
Our FMC Maria is funny, witty & charming - hearing her life unfold was so entertaining. 👏🏼
July 18, 2026
4.5 stars rounded up. Great belly laughs. Sharp, deadpan wit. This is the much funnier, more chaotic version of The Correspondent… and I loved it.
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November 7, 2026Proof of Progress is a quirky, often funny sometimes sad little book.
The beginning of the story, the first chapter named Author's Note, confused me because authors usually note at the end of a book. I didn't realize it was the beginning and I nearly quit the book. I'm glad I didn't.
The main character, Maria Astorini, is 37 years late in producing a book for which she had been paid. As the chapters roll on, we find how the publisher discovers the book they forgot.
Proof of Progress is the life of Maria Astorini written in chronological order of her life with fearless honesty. She spent her early childhood in the shadow of her famous then infamous Mother. She too became famous enough to be recognized by strangers.
She met her best friend, Annie Papadopoulos, in boarding school. Annie Papadopoulos is also her worst enemy. Their orbits continually overlap throughout their lifetime as Annie stops speaking to her, then as time has passes, they are thrown together and they forgive each other in an ongoing lifetime of 'wash, rinse, repeat’ cycle.
My favorite chapter is "Identifying the Problem (2)".
4 Stars for Proof of Progress.
The beginning of the story, the first chapter named Author's Note, confused me because authors usually note at the end of a book. I didn't realize it was the beginning and I nearly quit the book. I'm glad I didn't.
The main character, Maria Astorini, is 37 years late in producing a book for which she had been paid. As the chapters roll on, we find how the publisher discovers the book they forgot.
Proof of Progress is the life of Maria Astorini written in chronological order of her life with fearless honesty. She spent her early childhood in the shadow of her famous then infamous Mother. She too became famous enough to be recognized by strangers.
She met her best friend, Annie Papadopoulos, in boarding school. Annie Papadopoulos is also her worst enemy. Their orbits continually overlap throughout their lifetime as Annie stops speaking to her, then as time has passes, they are thrown together and they forgive each other in an ongoing lifetime of 'wash, rinse, repeat’ cycle.
My favorite chapter is "Identifying the Problem (2)".
"The doctor walks in. We can't read his expression. We can't tell if I'm dying or not. "Have you had any issues with your nose in the past? the doctor asks as he gingerly pokes my face."Really, my only problem is with the publisher of Proof of Progress who had it printed in the smallest font he could find. Paper and ink aren't that expensive. Harper can afford it. Older folks of a certain age would enjoy Proof of Progress, but alas ...
"My nose? No," I say confidently.
"Are you sure?" he asks. I hesitate. I think about it. Did I have my issues with your nose in the past? He has a little smirk on his face that seems to suggest that he knows that I have had issues with my nose in the past.
"Oh," I say when the memory comes back. In 1970, a year or so after my father died, I may or may not have shoved nearly an entire pillow up my nose. Each night, while I drifted off to sleep in my lilac bed, I would peel away a little stuffing from a hole in the corner of my pillow and stick it up my nose as a form of self-soothing or stress relief or who knows what. Eventually, I got the flu and my mother replaced all my bedding and I sneezed most of the pillow out of my nose. "No," I say to the doctor. "I can't think of anything."
The doctor waits. He looks at me. "Maria, just tell." George says, thinking that I'm withholding information about a secret nose job. So I tell. I close my eyes and tell the pillow-up-the-nose story, and I end it like this: "I did that until the pillow disappeared."
"And it's still there," the doctors says.
... Pain. I won't go into all the details. But I will say that large metal forceps are involved. We have identified the problem. I have been walking around with a thirty-year-old pillow in my face.
4 Stars for Proof of Progress.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
When actress Maria Astorini is in her twenties and doing well, she accepts an advance from a publisher. The book is to be a memoir. Years pass and when the publisher stops reminding her, Maria gets on with her life and hopes that all is forgotten. It’s not, of course, and 37 years later she has to choose between delivering the manuscript or returning her advance (with interest). Maria’s fortunes have fluctuated over her life so she needs to write the book. This quirky set up mirrors Maria’s own situation – full of the unlikely and unexpected.
I loved it all. I’ll listen to the audio as well as I’m keen to hear a narrator capture that very knowing New York accent that flows off the page. Maria is opinionated, impulsive, occasionally smug and very funny. She’s hungry for love, success, adventure and certainty. The book moves quickly, so both the good times and the really hard stuff fly by in dry observations and short chapters.
New York plays a huge role in Maria’s life – apartments, villages, neighbours are all on the page. She leaves the city in times of upheaval but always returns.
Maria marries three times and has a daughter she adores, but somehow the most important relationships in her life are with her more-famous mother and her best friend Annie. For all of their talk of men, and pursuit of husbands, this books feels like a celebration of the feminine.
While I wouldn’t want Maria’s life, I do love her energy!
Proof of Progress is a quick and immersive read with snippets and vignettes that together create the picture of an eventful life. The takeaway message for me was to 'do the thing' – whatever it is, as there won’t be much to reflect on if you always make cautious choices.
Thank you so much Elizabeth Castellano and Simon & Schuster Australia for the ARC. Opinions are my own.
I loved it all. I’ll listen to the audio as well as I’m keen to hear a narrator capture that very knowing New York accent that flows off the page. Maria is opinionated, impulsive, occasionally smug and very funny. She’s hungry for love, success, adventure and certainty. The book moves quickly, so both the good times and the really hard stuff fly by in dry observations and short chapters.
New York plays a huge role in Maria’s life – apartments, villages, neighbours are all on the page. She leaves the city in times of upheaval but always returns.
Maria marries three times and has a daughter she adores, but somehow the most important relationships in her life are with her more-famous mother and her best friend Annie. For all of their talk of men, and pursuit of husbands, this books feels like a celebration of the feminine.
While I wouldn’t want Maria’s life, I do love her energy!
Proof of Progress is a quick and immersive read with snippets and vignettes that together create the picture of an eventful life. The takeaway message for me was to 'do the thing' – whatever it is, as there won’t be much to reflect on if you always make cautious choices.
Thank you so much Elizabeth Castellano and Simon & Schuster Australia for the ARC. Opinions are my own.
October 24, 2026
The conceit of this novel, as laid out in the fictitious “author’s note” at the beginning, is that it’s the start of a memoir by B list character actress Maria, who is now in her 60s. 28 years ago she signed a contract to write a memoir and seemingly everyone forgot about it, including her - but now her publisher says she needs to deliver it or pay back her long ago advance with 28 years of compounding interest - so this book that we’re reading is her “proof of progress” - basically her memoir in draft form. It’s a quick book at 240 pages, with each of the very short chapters basically just a little sketch of an anecdote in chronological order from her childhood to now, adding up to an indelible portrait of her life.
And this book was truly just such a delight to read! Maria is a quirky one, but so deadpan funny and so real-seeming despite her colorful life, with so many snarky asides, and a real New York sensibility. The book has a bit of a zany, screwball feel that reminds me very much of Elinor Lipman and Nora Ephron - charming and funny, an easy read but a smart one. A great choice if you need a light and fast book between heavier books.
Thanks to Harper for my e-ARC; all opinions are my own.
And this book was truly just such a delight to read! Maria is a quirky one, but so deadpan funny and so real-seeming despite her colorful life, with so many snarky asides, and a real New York sensibility. The book has a bit of a zany, screwball feel that reminds me very much of Elinor Lipman and Nora Ephron - charming and funny, an easy read but a smart one. A great choice if you need a light and fast book between heavier books.
Thanks to Harper for my e-ARC; all opinions are my own.
Review of advance copy received from Edelweiss+
Thanks to Harper, Elizabeth Castellano, and Edelweiss for the digital review copy of Proof of Progress. Their generosity did not influence my review.
This book is exactly the kind of grown-person fiction that I adore. Maria is an actress everyone knows, although she has never been a massive star. At the age of 65, her publisher remembers that she owes them a manuscript and demands proof of progress. Annie provides this hilarious yet touching series of short vignettes that chronicles Maria's life from childhood to the present. There is nothing earth-shattering or mind-blowing here, but somehow it manages to be both.
Because real life is the messy stuff. We all start out with these grand ideas, goals, plans, and an award-winning script, but living is actually about learning how to navigate the last-minute changes. The director will cut important characters and promote other actors you absolutely hate. With a smile on your face and a cliché mantra in your heart, you just have to try to get through it. Use a Kleenex if you need to wipe your eyes, phone a friend if you need support, but keep improvising your way to the next season finale. 4.75 stars
This book is exactly the kind of grown-person fiction that I adore. Maria is an actress everyone knows, although she has never been a massive star. At the age of 65, her publisher remembers that she owes them a manuscript and demands proof of progress. Annie provides this hilarious yet touching series of short vignettes that chronicles Maria's life from childhood to the present. There is nothing earth-shattering or mind-blowing here, but somehow it manages to be both.
Because real life is the messy stuff. We all start out with these grand ideas, goals, plans, and an award-winning script, but living is actually about learning how to navigate the last-minute changes. The director will cut important characters and promote other actors you absolutely hate. With a smile on your face and a cliché mantra in your heart, you just have to try to get through it. Use a Kleenex if you need to wipe your eyes, phone a friend if you need support, but keep improvising your way to the next season finale. 4.75 stars
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
Thank you to Simon & Schuster for the advanced reader’s copy of Proof of Progress.
This book was brilliant. Witty, funny, sad and thought provoking, often all at the same time.
Through short, bite sized chapters, Castellano manages to capture an entire life, with all the messy, mundane, heartbreaking and hilarious moments that make it up. I loved this format. Each chapter feels like a small snapshot, but together they build such a vivid picture of a woman looking back at the life she has actually lived rather than the one she might have imagined for herself.
It is raw, honest and wonderfully authentic, particularly in its reflections on ageing, relationships, motherhood, friendship, career and the passing of time. There were moments that made me laugh and others that quietly stopped me in my tracks.
Funny without losing its emotional depth and poignant without ever becoming overly sentimental, I found this completely gripping.
This book was brilliant. Witty, funny, sad and thought provoking, often all at the same time.
Through short, bite sized chapters, Castellano manages to capture an entire life, with all the messy, mundane, heartbreaking and hilarious moments that make it up. I loved this format. Each chapter feels like a small snapshot, but together they build such a vivid picture of a woman looking back at the life she has actually lived rather than the one she might have imagined for herself.
It is raw, honest and wonderfully authentic, particularly in its reflections on ageing, relationships, motherhood, friendship, career and the passing of time. There were moments that made me laugh and others that quietly stopped me in my tracks.
Funny without losing its emotional depth and poignant without ever becoming overly sentimental, I found this completely gripping.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
* thanks to Harper Audio for the NetGalley audiobook (pub date: September 15, 2026)
In bite-sized anecdotes (1-5 pages each), Maria Astorini, a charmingly acerbic and hilarious (but equally emotionally vulnerable) narrator tells the story of her life and career as a B-list character actress and the MANY reasons why it's taken her 37 years to get around to writing this memoir.
LOVED! Proof of Progress was a fantastic audiobook (Jane Oppenheimer never disappoints) and the short chapters made it fly by. This would be a great book club pick as it covers all the big things -- marriage, divorce, parenthood, grief, lifelong friendships and frenemy-ships, career highs and lows, the fickle nature of fame -- this has it all!
In bite-sized anecdotes (1-5 pages each), Maria Astorini, a charmingly acerbic and hilarious (but equally emotionally vulnerable) narrator tells the story of her life and career as a B-list character actress and the MANY reasons why it's taken her 37 years to get around to writing this memoir.
LOVED! Proof of Progress was a fantastic audiobook (Jane Oppenheimer never disappoints) and the short chapters made it fly by. This would be a great book club pick as it covers all the big things -- marriage, divorce, parenthood, grief, lifelong friendships and frenemy-ships, career highs and lows, the fickle nature of fame -- this has it all!
October 5, 2026
If you enjoy the humor, wit, and snarky style of Nora Ephron and Anne Garvin, you’ll love this book as much as I did. I had to keep reminding myself it was fiction as it’s written in an authentic first-person style of a journal (or even like a good friend sharing her life over a glass of wine). The bite-sized chapters document the (fictional) life of Maria Astorini, a once popular B-list actress, late-night talk show guest, friend, mother, divorcee, and author – still trying to finish her second novel some 36 years after the deadline!
It’s a hilarious, cynical, brilliant, (fictional) memoir that you’ll want to share with your friends, so you can laugh together. This would make a great gift for a friend.
It’s a hilarious, cynical, brilliant, (fictional) memoir that you’ll want to share with your friends, so you can laugh together. This would make a great gift for a friend.
Review of advance copy received from Goodreads Giveaways
Proof of Progress will be available for purchase mid September 2026. Thanks go to Goodreads Giveaways, Elizabeth Castellano and Harper Publishing for the ARC.
My first impression of Proof of Progress was not good. I thought, for sure, that it was going to be a DNF. The more I read, the more I enjoyed this quirky novel that made me laugh out loud. At only 223 pages, it is a very quick read. If you are looking for entertaining fiction with the shortest chapters ever, give Proof of Progress a try.
My first impression of Proof of Progress was not good. I thought, for sure, that it was going to be a DNF. The more I read, the more I enjoyed this quirky novel that made me laugh out loud. At only 223 pages, it is a very quick read. If you are looking for entertaining fiction with the shortest chapters ever, give Proof of Progress a try.
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