Laura Burkett spent decades as a silent spectator to life’s chaos before finally putting her story into words. Her debut memoir, This Is Not My Life, has earned 4.8 stars from readers on Amazon.
Today she speaks to audiences about resilience, sisterhood, and reclaiming your voice, including as the keynote speaker at the Women Rising Summit. She lives outside of Pittsburgh with a mug that reads “Be careful or you’ll end up in my book.”
She still prefers an ordinary life, but the remarkable keeps finding her. The difference now? She’s no longer watching in silence.
News, events, and reader stories about This Is Not My Life.
Why This Is Not My Life makes a great book club pick
A short, emotional memoir of sisterhood, grief, and suspicion, with plenty for a group to talk about and a Kindle edition that is free with Kindle Unlimited.
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Looking for a memoir your book club will actually want to discuss? This Is Not My Life is a good fit for four reasons.
It fits any schedule. The paperback and hardcover run 244 pages, and the Kindle edition is 217 pages. Most groups finish it in a month.
Everyone can read it. It comes in paperback, hardcover, and Kindle, and Kindle Unlimited members can read it at no extra cost.
It gives a group plenty to discuss. Sisterhood, family silence, grief and suspicion, humor in hard times, and starting over all come up.
Readers want to talk about it. Reviewers describe it as honest, emotional, and hard to put down.
Ready to plan your meeting? See the book club section for ten spoiler-free discussion questions, or choose a format for your group.
Laura delivers the keynote at the Women Rising Summit
Laura took the stage at a sold-out women's summit in Ohio, with copies of This Is Not My Life available at the event.
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Laura Burkett gave the keynote at the Women Rising Summit in Ohio, speaking to a room of roughly 500 women at a sold-out event. The summit's theme was reclaiming your voice and reframing your story, and copies of This Is Not My Life were available at the event.
One attendee said Laura “showed up with raw honesty” and left the room captivated.
Missed it? You can still get the book and read the story behind the speech.
Hear Laura on The Seed podcast, episode 156
Laura joins The Seed to talk about resilience, sisterhood, and starting over. The host calls it one of her favorite episodes ever recorded.
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Laura sat down with The Seed, a podcast about growing your business, for episode 156: This Is Not My Life: Laura Burkett on Resilience, Sisterhood & Starting Over.
She shares her story of reinvention and why it is never too late to reclaim your voice. The host says it is one of her favorite episodes she has ever recorded.
Book club discussion questions for This Is Not My Life
Reading this memoir of sisterhood, grief, and suspicion with your book club? Here are ten spoiler-free questions to get the conversation going.
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Reading This Is Not My Life with your book club? These ten questions are spoiler-free, so they work whether your group has finished the book or is just getting started.
Laura admits her sister would be “making additions, omissions, or corrections” if she were here to read this. How does that admission affect how much you trust Laura as a narrator?
Laura describes her sister as living in “the land of wants” and herself in “the land of shoulds.” Which land do you live in, and what did each choice cost and give?
From age twelve, Laura is “the sister of the girl that…” What labels follow people in a small town, and how much of who we become is a reaction to them?
Laura calls inappropriate humor her “hiding place.” Did the humor help you stay with the hardest parts of this story, or did it complicate how you felt?
When Laura voices her suspicions, some friends tell her to “let it go.” What do we owe someone who is grieving and asking questions no one wants to hear?
A chapter title says that true friends “come out in their slippers.” Who showed up for Laura, who did not, and who has shown up in their slippers for you?
Laura’s father taught her “Swim or die.” Which lessons from your own parents did you only recognize years later, as a gift, a wound, or both?
Laura’s songs sit in a piano bench for years until her sister pushes her to open it. What dream have you put away, and who in your life pushes you to take it out?
Laura says grief can push us to “try to self-destruct” in more than one way. Which ways did you recognize in the book, and which in your own life?
“This is not my life” returns throughout the book. What do you think it means to Laura at the start, and what does it mean to you by the end?
Ordering for the whole group? Choose a format and pick up paperback, hardcover, or Kindle copies.
Welcome to the This Is Not My Life blog
News, events, and reader stories about the memoir This Is Not My Life will live here. Bookmark this page and check back.
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This is the home for updates about This Is Not My Life, a memoir of sisterhood, suspicion, and starting over by Laura Burkett.
This Is Not My Life is a memoir of sisterhood, grief, and suspicion with plenty for a group to discuss: family secrets, silence, loyalty, and starting over.
It fits any schedule
244 pages in print and 217 on Kindle. Most groups finish it in a month.
Everyone can read it
Paperback, hardcover, and Kindle. Kindle Unlimited members read it at no extra cost.
It gives a group plenty to discuss
Sisterhood, family silence, grief and suspicion, humor in hard times, and starting over.
Readers want to talk about it
Reviewers call it honest, emotional, and hard to put down.
Book club discussion questions
Ten spoiler-free questions, so they work whether your group has finished the book or is just getting started. Need a conversation starter? Tap for one.
All ten questions
Laura admits her sister would be “making additions, omissions, or corrections” if she were here to read this. How does that admission affect how much you trust Laura as a narrator?
Laura describes her sister as living in “the land of wants” and herself in “the land of shoulds.” Which land do you live in, and what did each choice cost and give?
From age twelve, Laura is “the sister of the girl that…” What labels follow people in a small town, and how much of who we become is a reaction to them?
Laura calls inappropriate humor her “hiding place.” Did the humor help you stay with the hardest parts of this story, or did it complicate how you felt?
When Laura voices her suspicions, some friends tell her to “let it go.” What do we owe someone who is grieving and asking questions no one wants to hear?
A chapter title says that true friends “come out in their slippers.” Who showed up for Laura, who did not, and who has shown up in their slippers for you?
Laura’s father taught her “Swim or die.” Which lessons from your own parents did you only recognize years later, as a gift, a wound, or both?
Laura’s songs sit in a piano bench for years until her sister pushes her to open it. What dream have you put away, and who in your life pushes you to take it out?
Laura says grief can push us to “try to self-destruct” in more than one way. Which ways did you recognize in the book, and which in your own life?
“This is not my life” returns throughout the book. What do you think it means to Laura at the start, and what does it mean to you by the end?
Planning your meeting
Most groups finish a 244-page memoir in about a month. If you would rather split it, read the first half for one meeting and the second half for the next, and use questions 1 to 5 and 6 to 10 to match.
To open the conversation, ask each member for one word that describes how the book left them feeling.
Get copies for your group
The paperback and hardcover are available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Walmart. Members who subscribe to Kindle Unlimited can read the Kindle edition at no extra cost.
Yes. It is a short, emotional memoir that readers describe as honest and hard to put down, with themes like sisterhood, silence, grief, and starting over that spark real conversation.
How long is the book?
The paperback and hardcover are 244 pages, and the Kindle edition is 217 pages. Most groups finish it in a month.
Are the discussion questions spoiler-free?
Yes. All ten questions on this page are spoiler-free, so members can use them before or after finishing the book.
Can everyone in my group read it for free?
Kindle Unlimited members can read the Kindle edition at no extra cost. Everyone else can buy the paperback, hardcover, or Kindle edition.
Is there a content note for my group?
Yes. The memoir deals with the sudden death of the author's sister and a friend, a suspicious death and a police investigation that ended without answers, an abusive marriage, mental illness, a brief moment of suicidal thinking, and an attempted sexual assault. It helps to mention that to your group ahead of time.
Yes. It is a memoir. Laura Burkett tells the story of her family, her sister, and the years after her sister’s death in her own words.
Who is it for?
Readers who like memoirs, true crime, and stories about family. If you have ever carried a story you could not tell, it may hit close to home.
Is it a heavy read?
It deals with the sudden death of the author’s sister and a friend, a suspicious death and a police investigation that ended without answers, an abusive marriage, mental illness, a brief moment of suicidal thinking, and an attempted sexual assault. It is also darkly funny, and readers describe it as honest and hard to put down.
Is it available on Kindle Unlimited?
Yes. The Kindle edition is free to read with Kindle Unlimited, and you can also buy it outright.
Which format should I get?
Paperback and hardcover are 244 pages. The Kindle edition is the fastest way to start reading today, and it is free with Kindle Unlimited.
Does the book solve the mystery?
It is a memoir, not a whodunit with a verdict. The family’s search for answers is at the heart of the story, and the book is honest about what stays uncertain. Many readers say that honesty is what stays with them.
Where can I leave a review?
Reviews on Amazon and Goodreads help other readers find the book. Both take about a minute.
Start reading tonight
Read it free with Kindle Unlimited, or order the paperback for your shelf.
Content note: this memoir deals with the sudden death of the author’s sister and a friend, a suspicious death and a police investigation that ended without answers, an abusive marriage, mental illness, a brief moment of suicidal thinking, and an attempted sexual assault. Please read with care.
