The Authenticity Project

“I loved The Authenticity Project. It’s a clever, uplifting book that entertains and makes you think.” —Sophie Kinsella, #1 New York Times bestselling author

One of:
USA Today‘s “5 books not to miss”
People Magazine‘s “Book of the Week”
New York Post’s “Best Books of the Week”
The Washington Post’s “15 feel-good books guaranteed to lift your spirits”
Good Housekeeping UK’s “14 of the best feel-good books”
Cosmopolitan UK’s “13 of the best new good books to read”
Her Magazine’s “20 feel good fiction novels”
The Globe and Mail‘s “Seven books to read or gift this Valentine’s Day”
Marie Claire (Australia’s) “Book Club: Must-Reads This April”
Bustle’s “Most Anticipated Books Of February 2020”
Global News’ “On The Radar: Our February entertainment picks”
Longlisted for The Guardian‘s “Not the Booker Prize”
Audible Canada’s Best Audiobooks of 2020
Barnes & Noble’s January 2021 Picks

“In a year that was challenging to say the least, this is the book we all needed… In a joyous read, we learn what it means to be real, to put aside the facade and reveal who we really are. A worthy winner.”
—Woman&Home‘s Best Feel-Good Fiction

“If this heartwarmer has a main character, it’s a humble green notebook. Left in a café by a lonely, old man (after he’s filled some of its pages with a brutally honest account of his life), it is written in by a cast of characters, each sharing the hopes, dreams, disappointments and secrets they’ve never confessed anywhere else. A ragtag group, they eventually find each other – a sort of epistolary Love, Actually that feels like an antidote to the isolation of modern life.”
—Globe and Mail

“It all feels like a warm hug.”
—The Washington Post

“If you enjoyed Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, you might just like The Authenticity Project…. A wonderfully warm, feel-good novel about the power of friendship and connection.”
—Cosmopolitan UK

“A well-suited subject for the Instagram era, this book makes you realize that no one’s life is what it seems.”
—Good Morning America

“a lovely read….A reminder of the importance of friendship and reaching out to others.”
—Good Housekeeping UK

“The perfect balance of warmth and wit, The Authenticity Project will make you laugh out loud in lots of places and feel all warm and fuzzy in others.”
—Marie Claire (Australia)

“Poignant and uplifting.”
―Daily Mail

“An enjoyable, cozy novel that touches on tough topics.”
—Kirkus Reviews

“[A] wistful, humorous tale. . . a beautiful and illuminating story of self-creation.”
—Publishers Weekly

“[Pooley] succeeds in persuasively conveying the daily texture of city life, and in creating appealing characters we want to see happy. . . .  [S]everal reversals and a neat twist mean that The Authenticity Project grows stronger toward its end: a rarity for novels. . . . The Authenticity Project is an enjoyable read that is cozy–or as its British characters would have it, cosy–in the best sense of the word.”
—USA Today, starred review

“The Authenticity Project cracks the facades that people present to the world and shows what happens when you’re willing to share your true self. This is a story of love, of community, of found family, and of forgiveness. A beautiful book with a poignant message, perfect for our time.”
—Jill Santopolo, New York Times bestselling author of The Light We Lost

“Insightful, timely, and utterly addictive, The Authenticity Project illuminates the importance of discovering – and honoring – our truest, most imperfect selves.”
—Georgia Hunter, New York Times bestselling author of We Were The Lucky Ones

“The Authenticity Project is a rich roast of great characters, even better relationships, wonderful entanglements, and a few surprises along the way. If Monica’s Cafe were a real place, I’d stop by every day.”
—Laurie Frankel, New York Times bestselling author of This Is How It Always Is

“The Authenticity Project reads like a gorgeous box of chocolates: sweet, surprising and impossible not to love.  I found myself cheering, cringing, laughing and crying as I read this book and – above all – remembering the true value of community and human connection.”
—Tara Conklin, New York Times bestselling author of The Last Romantics

“Fans of Fredrik Backman and Gail Honeyman—make room on your shelves for Clare Pooley. The Authenticity Project is a stunning debut and it left me inspired me to share more of myself with the world.”
—Steven Rowley, bestselling author of The Editor

“It’s full of life’s truths, funny, poignant and ultimately uplifting. I thoroughly enjoyed it.”
—Fanny Blake, author of A Summer Reunion

“One of the best books I’ve read in a long time. Original, engaging, and unforgettable.”
—Sarah Morgan, bestselling author of A Wedding in December

“It’s a joyous, funny read that leaves you all warm inside.”
—Beth Morrey, author of The Love Story of Missy Carmichael

“Beautifully written, thought provoking, and uplifting, The Authenticity Project is a warm and endearing tale about truth, friendship and the power of connection. Pooley’s characters will stay with you long after you turn the final page. It was a joy to read.”
—Mike Gayle, author of The Hope Family Calendar

“A heart-warming, feel-good story about love, loss and what it means to be human. Pooley’s debut is gloriously upbeat and gorgeously readable.”
—Annabel Abbs, author of The Joyce Girl

“A warm, charming tale about the rewards of revealing oneself. . .”
—People Magazine

“Online, everyone’s lives look happy and perfect, which makes Clare Pooley’s charmed novel, The Authenticity Project, a fresh, welcome and necessary change of pace.”
—Shelf Awareness

“. . . [A] charming commercial fiction début.”
—The Bookseller

“The central premise of [The Authenticity Project] is compelling and clever [and] her cast of characters is varied and relatable, as Pooley skillfully negotiates their interactions . . . [T]he narrative’s uplifting and heart-warming qualities are undeniable.”
—The Irish Times

“The Authenticity Project‘s cast of characters. . . .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. . . .[It] 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.”
―Book Of The Day .org

“It’s a heartwarming, laughter-and-tears story about the value of friendships and the importance of reaching out to each other.”
―Mail Online

“Heartwarming.”
—Real Simple

“A quirky cast of characters you can’t help but root for.”
—Woman & Home

CLARE POOLEY graduated from Cambridge University, and then spent twenty years in the heady world of advertising before becoming a full-time writer. Her debut novel, The Authenticity Project, was a New York Times bestseller, and has been translated into twenty-nine languages. Pooley lives in Fulham, London, with her husband, three children, and two border terriers. Iona Iverson’s Rules for Commuting is her second novel, and How to Age Disgracefully is her third novel.QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS…

1. Julian writes, “Everyone lies about their lives.” Is this true? Do you?

2. Julian calls his notebook The Authenticity Project. Do you think people are increasingly searching for authenticity in today’s world? If so, why? How do they go about it? How do you?

3. We are all connected via huge social media communities, but increased online interaction often comes at the expense of the type of local, real-life community provided by Monica’s Café and Julian’s Supper Club. What do these communities give us that virtual ones do not?

4. Most of the characters in the book are lonely, but in very different ways. What are the various forms of loneliness explored in The Authenticity Project?

5. The story is told from the perspectives of six main characters. Who did you relate to the most, and why? Which character is least like yourself?

6. Baz keeps the truth from his grandmother in order to spare her feelings. Julian avoids the truth to protect himself. Are there times when admitting the truth isn’t the right thing to do? Explain.

7. We all make snap judgements about each other, and often they’re wrong. What incorrect assumptions do The Authenticity Project characters make about each other, and what are the consequences?

8. There is a scene in the book where Monica and Alice first see each other through the café window, and both want what the other has. What does The Authenticity Project teach us about envy?

9. Riley is the only character in the novel who doesn’t have an obvious fatal flaw. Does this make him more loveable, or less? How does Riley act as a touchstone for the other characters?

10. If you found The Authenticity Project, what truth would you tell?

ABOUT THIS AUTHOR…

A Conversation with Clare Pooley

Q: What inspired you to write The Authenticity Project?
 
Back in 2015, anyone looking at my life would think I had it all – a happy marriage, three lovely children and a comfortable home. What they wouldn’t have seen is that I was struggling badly with an addiction to alcohol and, as a result, I was a terrible insomniac, anxious all the time, thirty pounds overweight, and was often impatient and shouty with my kids.
 
I finally plucked up the courage to quit drinking, but I was too ashamed to tell anyone what I was going through, so I started an anonymous blog that led, a year later, to a memoir – The Sober Diaries – which I published under my real name. Since then, I’ve had thousands of messages from people all over the world telling me that my decision to tell my authentic truth has transformed their lives.
 
All this made me think: Everyone lies about their lives. We all post the most flattering of our pictures on Facebook and Instagram, when the reality is far messier than we let on. Everyone is dealing with something – addiction, grief, bullying, anxiety, feelings of inadequacy. What would happen if, instead of pretending to be perfect, we shared the truth? What magic might happen then?
 
And that led to the idea of Julian’s little green notebook.
 
Q: The six main characters are diverse in age, gender, and nationality. Did you have any difficulty writing from so many different perspectives?

I’ve always used writing as a form of therapy. At the risk of sounding overly dramatic, my blog – Mummy was a Secret Drinker – saved my life. In the same way, I found creating and spending time with the characters in The Authenticity Project hugely therapeutic, because each of them taught me something about myself.
 
With the benefit of hindsight, I realized that each of the characters in my novel share something with me. Like Monica, I’ve struggled with balancing my innate feminism and ambition with the deep yearning for children and family. Hazard is my dark side and my inner addict; Julian shares my love of a good story and creativity – although his is expressed through art and mine through words. Like Alice, I found being a new mum really hard. (The flying Brussel sprout story is mine, although in my case it was a cauliflower.) Lizzie and I share a fascination with other people’s lives. The character I found most difficult to write was Riley, because he is so very different from me. He is the naturally happy, easygoing, and uncomplicated person who we all strive to be.
 
Q: The book shows that every person has hidden complexities and a unique story. Has writing this book affected the way you interact with strangers?
 
What a great question! I hadn’t thought about this before, but yes it has. When you start to realize that everyone has their own hidden struggles, you become much more forgiving and compassionate. Now if someone yells at me for no apparent reason, rather than getting angry, I’ll wonder what’s really going on in their lives.
 
Q: Most of your characters seem to struggle, in some way, with feelings of loneliness. Do you think that’s a truth of the modern world?
 
Yes, I do. We live in a world where we are increasingly connected to thousands of strangers through social media, and yet most of these connections are totally superficial and inauthentic. What many of us yearn for is a strong and supportive community, like our grandparents used to have, and like the neighborhood described by the older folks at Julian’s Supper Club. We all need a group of friends like Julian, Monica, Hazard, et al, and a hangout like Monica’s Café!
 
Q: Are the places described in the book all real?
 
Apart from Monica’s Café and Mummy’s Little Helper, yes. The novel is set in my ’hood, in South West London. In fact, Julian was inspired by my fascination with Chelsea Studios. Like Monica, I used to ride on the top deck of the number 14 bus down the Fulham Road, and I’d look over the wall at the extraordinary time warp of artist’s cottages on the other side. I started researching the history of the studios and stalking realtor’s details whenever one came up for sale. Then I started to wonder, imagine if an artist had been living there since the 1960s, staying just the same while the world around him changed. What might he be like?
 
The Brompton Cemetery also plays an important role in the novel. I walk my dogs through the cemetery every day. It’s an extraordinarily beautiful and peaceful place. Like Monica, I always stop by Emmeline Pankhurst’s grave to say a silent “thank you.”
 
Q: Would you ever start your own Authenticity Project? What do you think the world be like if we all showed our more authentic selves?
 
I’m hoping that publishing this novel will be the start of my own Authenticity Project. I would love it to encourage other people to think about what truth they might share.
 
If we all stopped making each other feel sad and inadequate by pretending to be perfect, and instead opened up about our struggles, we would all be much happier, and feel less alone.
 
C. S. Lewis said that “[f]riendship is born at that moment when one person says to another: ‘What! You too? I thought I was the only one.’” That’s what being authentic does – it creates deep connections and makes magic happen.US