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A Complicated Woman

The Instant Sunday Times Bestseller by SELF ESTEEM

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About this listen

 'An oracle'
DOLLY ALDERTON

'Articulate[s] a universal, feminine wisdom with such ferocity it feels like she's slapping the reader around the face'
OBSERVER

'Equal parts self-lacerating, tender and witty'
GLAMOUR

'Furious, sharp, funny, honest'
iPAPER

On the Waterstones Best Books of 2025 List

Sometimes when I drink wine out of a globulous glass with the thinnest of rims, blocking out the fact it's billed at £14 a pop, I think of baby Becky.

Hair so blonde it's neon white, cheeks so chubby you can't see her eyes. What must she think right now? She must think she made it.

We're a great big adult person.

That was always the plan, right?

In her extraordinary debut, with her trademark lyricism and razor-sharp wit, Ivor Novello Award-winning musician and artist Rebecca Lucy Taylor (aka SELF ESTEEM) takes us on a journey through womanhood - whatever the hell that means.

Through the notes, lyrics and biting observational prose for which Taylor has become renowned, A Complicated Woman offers itself up as a subversive anti-Bible for any woman who has ever cracked under the weight of impossible expectation; who has done unto others the damage that has been wrought upon her; and who has discovered deep within herself a resilience that surprised her.

A Complicated Woman is a cathartic scream of a book that gets to the heart of being a woman in the world today, and cements Taylor as one of the most exciting voices of her generation.©2025 Rebecca Lucy Taylor Essays Gender Studies Social Sciences

Critic reviews

Articulate(s) a universal, feminine wisdom with such ferocity it feels like she's slapping the reader around the face.
All stars
Most relevant
Like a new 3 hour track - just utter perfection. This has redefined the audiobook forever!

Incredible, amazing!

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I’m 52 and still have as many questions and reactions and all that malarkey that goes into womanhood, with absolutely no good advice about pensions or what to do next. Just keep going up it.

Im still a bit funny about listening to books generally but this one should be heard. Rebecca’s narrative is astounding.

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Self Esteem completely encapsulates how it feels to be a women getting through her 20s and 30s. This is SUCH a great book and immediately one of my favourites. I'm going to buy the physical book for the bookshelf!

fantastic book, brilliantly performed

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I know the physical book i will be quoting and hilighting but I needed the audio copy aswell to hear the inflections , the pauses that say so much. the aching echos of little beckys voice coming through . a delight, a fright,a laugh, a deep sadness and continual death and rebirth of this complicated women. I disagree......you have plenty more come backs in you x

RLT can do no wrong! IDST

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I just listened to 3 hours of someone reciting 100s of dates and one liners.

I don't get it.

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