A New York Times bestsellerA WASHINGTON POST “FEEL-GOOD BOOK guaranteed to lift your spirits” “A warm, charming tale about the rewards of revealing oneself, warts and all.”—PeopleThe story of a solitary green notebook that brings together six strangers and leads to unexpected friendship, and even loveClare Pooley’s next book, Iona Iverson’s Rules for Commuting, is forthcomingJulian Jessop, an … book, Iona Iverson’s Rules for Commuting, is forthcoming
Julian Jessop, an eccentric, lonely artist and septuagenarian believes that most people aren’t really honest with each other. But what if they were? And so he writes—in a plain, green journal—the truth about his own life and leaves it in his local café. It’s run by the incredibly tidy and efficient Monica, who furtively adds her own entry and leaves the book in the wine bar across the street. Before long, the others who find the green notebook add the truths about their own deepest selves—and soon find each other In Real Life at Monica’s Café.
The Authenticity Project’s cast of characters—including Hazard, the charming addict who makes a vow to get sober; Alice, the fabulous mommy Instagrammer whose real life is a lot less perfect than it looks online; and their other new friends—is by turns quirky and funny, heartbreakingly sad and painfully true-to-life. It’s a story about being brave and putting your real self forward—and finding out that it’s not as scary as it seems. In fact, it looks a lot like happiness.
The Authenticity Project is just the tonic for our times that readers are clamoring for—and one they will take to their hearts and read with unabashed pleasure.
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I loved The Authenticity Project. It has such an intriguing premise, wonderful characters and is utterly truthful about the lies that we all tell. It’s a clever, uplifting book that entertains and makes you think.
What a motley crew in this pay-it-forward book. I listened on audio and found this a very uplifting, enjoyable read with quite the ensemble cast. On the heels of a heavier read for book club, we chose this one. Clare Pooley pulls of the multiple POV (7+ viewpoints!) story with ease. I found each character well-done, with interesting backstories, quirks, and arcs. I found myself rooting for each one of them. Without giving anything away, I will say that the twist did surprise me. I usually can see most twists coming at me. As we dive deep into each character’s story in this engaging (no tissues needed) storyline we learn that authenticity is not exactly as easy as it seems.
What an interesting concept. Sort of a ‘pay it forward’ but with our personal stories– deliberately reminding us that people are far more complex than we seem– even to ourselves.
This story has plenty of surprise twists to carry us through to the end. It had me wondering what truths I’d write if I found such a book. Early on, my truths would have been as depressing as Monica’s, but by the end I acknowledged that my own story was far more multi-faceted than my initial sharing would have suggested.
What would I write that would accurately and authentically tell my story? A few paragraphs wouldn’t manage to convey truth, only bits of the truth just as the characters in the book learned. They also learned that our truths grow and change with us as we’re living our authentic lives. Failure to grow and change, to stagnate, leaves us stuck, thinking that that one truth is the only truth of our lives. We owe ourselves and those people we love more than that. To live authentically is to change and grow as Julian and many of the other characters learned during the story.
The best books teach us something about ourselves and how to ‘do’ life more thoughtfully and this book does just that.
It was a brilliant reader and I don’t know what else to say. It was clever, poignant, real and a beautiful read with some wonderfully varied characters. It doesn’t take much to build a tribe. I highly recommend.
This was a wonderful book about the truth or lack of it! I loved this whole book! The story had a welcoming atmosphere and the characters were all delightful in their own way. The storyline and the interactions of the characters made it heartwarming. The story starts with a journal where someone has written something honest about themselves in it. The journal gets passed around a bit and others write their own truths and perceptions in it. People who were before strangers meet and form new relationships. All of their lives change in so many ways.
Two words embody my overarching ambition, as both an author and human being: vulnerability and authenticity. Needless to say, the title of this novel pulled me inside its first page with compelling certainty.
As is the case with any good story that pays attention to character development, I saw a little piece of me in each point of view: Monica, Julian, Hazard, Riley, and Alice. It would be easy for me to say all the right things: how I experienced both their joy and pain alongside them, how I felt connected to their individual and shared plights. And I did. But it goes much deeper than that.
In the spirit of being authentically vulnerable, I relate to everything about this story and the characters in a painfully aware way. Yes, my goal in life (and perhaps it is the same for everyone) is to be authentic and vulnerable. But that first word is not always as simple to embrace as some make it seem. It is all too easy, like some of the characters in this novel prove, to bury the real you in the name of avoiding embarrassment, and to instead portray yourself in a light that is most favorably received by others. On social media and in-person.
And while I might fall off the wagon at times in the pursuit of my authenticity goals, it is stories such as this that lift me up. They help me realize we are all flawed. But we are also each perfectly imperfect. The objective is not to find our way to some mecca where every minute of each day is authentic. It is, however, an admiral goal to spend more minutes each day working toward that end.
This novel, while predictable at times, certainly had a few unexpected twists and turns that surprised me. And the manner in which the author completes this story, including her own thoughts and opinions after the final page of the fictional part, made me appreciate this novel and its impact on the reader in an even more profound way.
With a healthy dose of inspired reality embedded inside fiction, The Authenticity Project is the real deal.
I loved this book and read it in 3 days (no mean feat with Parents Evening over 2 nights). It made me want to leave my own notebook around and see what happens.
A dear friend said she had just read this wonderful book titled The Authenticity Project. I was in between books and found it at my local library. Wow, I read this book in 3 days. I loved the way the story unfolded and how you thought one thing only to see the truth was something altogether different. Just the book I needed right now!
One of the BEST books I’ve read in a long while. What an interesting premise. I may even try it myself, just to see what happens.
Loved this book. Have recommended it already
The storyline and outcome were predictable
Very enjoyable book, that looks at the interconnectedness of people and how being authentic, though scary, can lead to real growth and happiness.
Loved this book. Light hearted fun read.
Lovely novel that captures some hard truths about our time, as well as some perennial truths about relationships and about addiction. You know an author is talented when she keeps introducing new POV characters and you don’t mind because you know you can trust her to keep you engaged. A good read about a community formed from former strangers. Bonus points for some charming twists.
I could not put this book down. Missed a nights sleep because of it! Its delightful, original and the characters draw you into their lives in a way that makes you want the book to never end.
For an unknown reason, septuagenarian Julian, challenges his neighbors to write of their true selves in an anonymous journal. While all the characters who find the journal, approach the idea of adding their story with trepidation, they do eventually start writing. And with putting their truth to paper, they set in motion a chain of events that leads to new friends, neighbors who care, and a new lease on life.
The Authenticity Project shows its characters at their most raw and vulnerable, as well as their most charitable and hopeful. Their journal entries become life changing. The story reflects lies we tell ourselves as much as the hopes we think we are supposed to have.
The characters are wonderful. I loved the originality of the premise and the story layout. I was hooked by the anticipation of how the next journal writer would fit in with the rest of the characters. There is a shocking twist and an unexpected denouement. I thoroughly enjoyed this story about honesty, friendship and community.
Loved the whole idea of the Authenticity Project, how it developed, the people who became part of it, how they all come together. It is synchronicity at its best, and filled with honesty. One is left with the feeling that if we dare to expose the true self, and support the best in one another, what a more joyful place it would be.
5 Things that are fantastic about The Authenticity Project
1) It’s utterly engrossing. I was in this world from moment one.
2) It’s unexpected. If I tell you the premise—that someone creates a journal, The Authenticity Project, writes their real thoughts in it and then leaves it to be found and expanded on by others—your thoughts on who would do that and why aren’t what you get here, guaranteed.
3) The characters. No cardboard cutouts here. Everybody is fully dimensional and often surprising—even though they’re putting their thoughts right on the page. Because who really knows themselves?
4) A wee bit twisty. Things we want to happen sometimes happen. Sometimes other things happen.
5) Fun but not a romp. Don’t get me wrong. I love a good romp. But this is deeper fun. And deeply satisfying.
Just an easy and entertaining read. With everything going on in the world today this book with its lovable characters are a great escape.
I liked the way the characters came together on this book, and how it portrayed the human need for connections.