It's Giving Life: A Guide to Surviving and Thriving

by GK Barry

Chaotic, reckless and 100% this is the hilarious world according to hugely popular social media star, TV star and podcaster GK Barry.

Before we jump in, I should probably tell you what this book isn’t. It’s not an autobiography (I’m still too fresh out the womb) or self-development guide (er, be real). Neither does it contain a magic formula that’s going to give you the solution to surviving every plot twist life decides to throw at you. None of my ‘advice’ – and I use the term in the loosest possible sense – should be taken as gospel. Or even at all.

I’m not an expert on anything except my own life and, therefore, my own fuck ups and that’s what I’m going to be sharing with you here in order to make all of you feel better about yourselves because we’re all trying to navigate our way through life and it is wild out there. I’m going to give you the tea on losing my virginity, STIs, pubic hair, hangxiety, sexuality and why I became a raging lez. We’ll delve into body image, dating disasters, the digital world, dealing with exes, getting revenge on the pricks who made your life hell at school and how to start caring less about the opinions of others.

Expect the following pages to be full of hypocrisy and contradictions because I’m very much a work in progress and still figuring all this out myself. I’m laying every last bit of personal trauma out there for the greater good of humanity which basically makes me a saint and you can thank me later.

GK Barry 2026 (P) Penguin Audio 2026

Genres: Nonfiction, Audiobook

Audible Audio

Published September 3, 2026

Reviews

[Bethany Ellis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book, I could not stop laughing and it was such an easy read!!

If you love GK BARRY you will love this book!

[Ailíse Byrne]

Yes this does count towards my reading goal thanks for asking

[Abbie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely love her!

[Gabbie Cooper · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved loved loved 🤍

[Allana · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love grace and really enjoyed this book a nice quick read

[Amber]

(Listened to audiobook)

[Melanie Owen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Starts brilliantly! The autobiographical element was engaging, relatable and genuinely laugh-out-loud funny. For me, the final third felt like a very random selection of unnecessary segments, as though the anecdotes had run dry but there was a word count to reach. In fairness, running out of stories to tell would be understandable for a memoir by someone so young. Someone who is an avid fan of GK Barry may however really enjoy these add-on bits! The first two thirds were fantastic though!

[whatnataliereads☁️ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Written for a younger audience imo but still a good time

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5⭐️

[Lorns · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely hilarious

[Chloe Nielson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such an enjoyable read from Grace. She's so funny, I was laughing out loud reading this and she is so candid in this book, she lets us in to see a different side of her. She is open and honest, and her self deprecating humour just really speaks to me. She's so real, an icon and a diva. Love her.

[Carl · Rating 5 out of 5]

This Is BRILLIANT!

GK Barry is currently co-presenting Big Brother's Group Chat on ITV2 and I've watched Big Brother from the very start and the spin-off shows have always disappointed but this is fantastic, in fact the only Big Brother spin-off show worth watching and to top it all off GK Barry with her excellent hosting skills.

I first came across GK Barry on her BBC Three documentary Toxic Gossip and thought she was amazing presenting that. So after seeing her on ITV's This Morning talking about her new book I gave it some thought and whilst watching Group Chat she's so funny and such an excellent host I bought the book without hesitation!

So before reading the book here's me thinking that GK Barry is new to the scene and I've seen all she's done, well how wrong was I she has done millions of things!

It's stated that this isn't an autobiography but I would say otherwise, this can easily be an autobiography, so if you're a GK Barry fan and want the autobiography then this is it with so much more!

This book is extremely smart and hilarious and written to perfection.

She reveals so much about her personal life and is very daring unafraid to talk about anything and doesn't care at all what anybody thinks about her, this is real 
no-holds-barred stuff!

I bought this on Audible which I always do with autobiographies and if I like them I'll also buy the physical copy, I highly recommend you listen on Audible so you can get the tone to appreciate the humour delivery as GK Barry narrates this herself.

There's some real laugh out loud stuff especially the section about trolling when someone told Grace that she wasn't funny her answer to that floored me as was her joke to the postman as he made his proof of delivery LOL!

Of course there are some very serious issues in this including her work experience ordeal.

It's just jam-packed with everything no fillers from start to finish I just couldn't stop listening to this, never have I come across such a funny book and so much that we can all relate to, especially HANGXIETY and I'm a middle aged male by the way, this is a book for all ages and gender.

A standout piece I can't recommend enough!

[Rachael Mason · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a funny, light hearted read. Really enjoyed this one and I feel like I can relate to a lot of things, defo recommend!

[Kelly Drain · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book, some good tips on life!

[Lola Gill · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVED this so funny loooooool my queen gk

[Lou · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's giving the gen z Gemma Collins and we love it x

[Izzy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Audiobook

Easy to start but just felt like a long podcast episode that could have been an hour.

[Katie Spencer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Listened as an Audiobook. As expected from GK - honest, open & funny. Aimed for a younger audience!

[Sarah Bradley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved every page! Very relatable in a lot of ways, funny and easy to read

[Paige Devine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don’t tend to read non fiction however I lurrrvvvv GK Barry so I just knew I had to read this and it didn’t disappoint!

Keep it up queen xoxox

[emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this, had some great laugh out loud moments and I listened to the audio book so it was just like listening to a really long podcast. Love a bit of GK xxx

[Amelia Davis · Rating 4.5 out of 5]

Such an easy read/listen. Highly recommend the audiobook to get that classic GkBarry voice with her hilarious stories.

[Eja🍜 · Rating 4.5 out of 5]

4.5⭐️ Such a funny and witty read, I LOVE this woman and she did not disappoint absolutely incredible