It’s a new year, and as everyone is settling into their resolutions (or giving up on them), it’s a great time to begin to learn to love yourself. I loved starting the year off reading a cute story about how I can love myself more!

When a British Indian woman’s life hits rock bottom, she decides to change her stars by falling in love…with herself–a hilarious, heartfelt story from outrageously funny novelist Radhika Sanghani.

Nina didn’t plan to spend her thirtieth birthday in jail, yet here she is in her pajamas, locked in a holding cell. There’s no Wi-Fi, no wine, no carbs–and no one to celebrate with.

Unfortunately, it gives Nina plenty of time to reflect on how screwed up her life is. She’s just broken up with her fiancé, and now has to move back into her childhood home to live with her depressed older brother and their uptight, traditional Indian mother. Her career as a freelance journalist isn’t going in the direction she wants, and all her friends are too busy being successful to hang out with her.

Just as Nina falls into despair, a book lands in her cell: How to Fix Your Shitty Life by Loving Yourself. It must be destiny. With literally nothing left to lose, Nina makes a life-changing decision to embark on a self-love journey. By her next birthday, she’s going to find thirty things she loves about herself.

Right off the bat, the book starts with the story of Nina being hauled off to jail, and it had me chuckling all the way through. While there, she is given a book that teaches her how to begin to love herself, which she steals! I was hooked from then on.

This is a fast read that packs a lot of feels in there. As Nina begins to write her list of things she loves about herself, a lot of things begin to change around her. Her career begins to take on a new direction she never planned. Her friendships, as they always do around your 30’s, begin to change. And since she is now single, she moves back home to live with her mom and brother, where she has to confront her view of her family and their reality.

CW/TW: depression and suicide are discussed. This was a heart pounding moment reading these parts, and I found myself needing to know what happened next.

All in all, this was a great way to begin to look at my own life to see where I could use a little more love.

Thank you to Berkley Publishing for an advanced copy!