The Authenticity Project
The feel-good novel you need right now
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4.5 • 234 Ratings
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- £0.99
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- £0.99
Publisher Description
'A joyous, funny read that leaves you all warm inside' Beth Morrey, author of Saving Missy
'Feel-good...full of hope. A quirky cast of characters you can't help but root for' Woman & Home, Book of the Month
Read the warm, poignant and uplifting New York Times bestseller and Radio 2 Book Club pick, loved by readers.
Six strangers with one thing in common: their lives aren't always what they make them out to be.
What would happen if they told the truth instead?
Julian Jessop is tired of hiding the deep loneliness he feels. So he begins The Authenticity Project - a small green notebook containing the truth about his life.
Leaving the notebook on a table in his friendly neighbourhood café, Julian never expects Monica, the owner, to track him down after finding it. Or that she'll be inspired to write down her own story.
Little do they realize that such small acts of honesty hold the power to impact all those who discover the notebook and change their lives completely.
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Readers are falling in love with The Authenticity Project:
***** 'A charming, funny and uplifting story.'
***** 'Full of optimism . . . I defy anyone not to pick it up and be both transported and delighted.'
***** 'An absolute gem of a book . . . brings both honesty and the perfect level of escapism to give you a warm fuzzy glow inside.'
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
This wistful, humorous tale from Pooley (The Sober Diaries) follows the path of a confessional notebook that passes through the hands of several characters. When 79-year-old Julian Jessop, a withdrawn British painter, leaves a notebook in Monica's London Caf , the owner takes it upstairs to her flat. A few nights later, Monica is oppressed by chronic loneliness as she comes home to her empty apartment; she reads the opening entry of Julian's notebook, which laments the loss of his wife and envisions a model of honest public sharing, "not on the internet, but with those real people around you." Monica then contributes her own intimate entry, a chronicle of dissatisfaction about being 37 without a husband or children, and leaves the notebook for another stranger. Timothy Ford finds it and brings it on a trip to Thailand that he hopes will help him get sober. After reading Monica's entry, he decides to become her "secret matchmaker" by selecting an eligible bachelor among his fellow vacationers. He chooses Riley, a 30-year-old Australian planning to visit London, and leaves the notebook in Riley's rucksack with a note to look for her. Pooley maintains a quick, satisfying pace as the characters' simple, spontaneous acts affect each other's lives. This is a beautiful and illuminating story of self-creation.
Customer Reviews
Loved it
Brilliant book. If you love Ove and Eleanor you’ll love Monica and co.
The Authenticity Project
A extremely entertaining and enjoyable book, full of wise words, how I wish ‘real’ life was more like it!
The Authenticity Project
I’ve read some good books lately, but this one tops the lot.
Interesting, brave, terrific read and - not surprisingly - authentic itself.
Please, please, write another book quickly!
And thanks for writing this one.