Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

The Forgotten Guide to Happiness
The Forgotten Guide to Happiness
The Forgotten Guide to Happiness
Audiobook8 hours

The Forgotten Guide to Happiness

Written by Sophie Jenkins

Narrated by Beth Chalmers

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

3.5/5

()

About this audiobook

’WONDERFULLY UPLIFTING’ Trisha Ashley

Sometimes, happiness can be found where you least expect it…

'Absolutely and completely adorable, this all embracing story will break, mend, and fill hearts with warmth, humour and love' LOVEREADING

Twenty-eight-year-old Lana Green has never been good at making friends. She’s perfectly happy to be left alone with her books. Or at least, that’s what she tells herself.

Nancy Ellis Hall was once a celebrated writer. Now eighty, she lives alone in her North London house, and thinks she’s doing just fine. But dementia is loosening Nancy’s grip on the world.

When Lana and Nancy become unconventional house mates, their lives will change in ways they never expected. But can an unusual friendship rescue two women who don’t realise they need to be saved?

An irresistible story of love, memory and the power of friendship that readers of The Keeper of Lost Things and The Lido will adore.

Readers love The Forgotten Guide to Happiness

‘A warm, beautiful read … tender and inspiring’ Goodreads Reviewer

A truly delightful story about love, friendship and figuring out what matters the most. It wraps itself around you like a warm, comforting blanket and it made me chuckle, a little emotional at times but in the end, pretty happy’ Goodreads Reviewer

‘I wholeheartedly recommend this book to other readers. I can’t wait to see what comes next from this fantastic author. 5* out of 5*’ The Ginger Book Geek

‘An enchanting, thought-provoking read which left me with a massive smile on my face’ The Writing Garnet

Oh boy did this novel warm my heart from the top of my head to the tips of my toes … a different kind of love story and will definitely make you think about life, love, friendship, and what really matters in this world’ Goodreads reviewer

Endowed with one of the perfect endings, this uplifting book will make you happy irrespective of whether you forgot the feeling or not’ Goodreads reviewer

LanguageEnglish
Release dateAug 9, 2018
ISBN9780008281823
The Forgotten Guide to Happiness
Author

Sophie Jenkins

Sophie Jenkins is a serial joiner of writing groups and workshops and a prolific short story writer. To encourage her creativity she regularly enters half-marathons and trains by running from her home in North London to breakfast in the centre of town with a notepad. The character of Nancy in The Forgotten Guide to Happiness is based on her experiences with her own mother, who was diagnosed with dementia fifteen years ago.

Related to The Forgotten Guide to Happiness

Related audiobooks

Friendship Fiction For You

View More

Related articles

Related categories

Reviews for The Forgotten Guide to Happiness

Rating: 3.25 out of 5 stars
3.5/5

16 ratings4 reviews

What did you think?

Tap to rate

Review must be at least 10 words

  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Write what you know. It's the famous writing advice doled out to every aspiring writer there is. And there's a good reason for it but what happens when you don't want to write about what you know anymore, when you're having trouble finding anything in the creative well, and certainly not finding anything anyone else wants to read? In Sophie Jenkins' novel The Forgotten Guide to Happiness, one of the main characters is facing just this very crisis but life will soon present her with inspiration and understanding from unexpected quarters.Lana Green wrote a breakout novel based on her real life romance with live-in boyfriend Mark. She's under contract for another book in the same vein but she can't write the book her publisher is looking for because Mark has dumped her long distance and she's going to have to give up their once shared apartment, not having the money to continue to live there. Of course she can't write a book with a happy ending right now when her life is falling apart. Then she meets a man named Jack, who claims he's ready to be her next hero. And he is, sort of. Not only will he go on pretend dates with her to help her with her writing inspiration, it turns out that his step-mother, Nancy Ellis Hall, a well known but now retired feminist writer, is in her eighties and suffering from ever worsening dementia so she needs an in home caregiver. Excited about the proximity to such a well known writer, Lana is delighted to move in, help Nancy, and maybe pick up some valuable writing tips at the same time. She doesn't expect to learn about love and friendship too but she certainly does.Readers start off feeling sorry for Lana, who has clearly been completely blindsided and heartbroken by Mark's decision to leave. But Lana, similarly to the protagonist of her thinly veiled autobiographical novel, is rather weak and her wallowing and self-centeredness really starts to grate. She needs to write her own story, both figuratively and literally. Her unhappiness at having to take a job teaching a writing class and her impression of her students is dismissive and unkind, especially given her own writer's block. Thankfully her impressions do change and the writing class people teach her as much as or more than she teaches them. While she is good and understanding with Nancy, she continues to look for ways that Nancy can benefit her, from taking her to the writing class to wow her students to reading Nancy's journals in hopes of a kernel of an idea to write about. She is clearly a flawed and not always likable character but she is consistent until 2/3 of the way through the book when she abandons everything she's learned and becomes a character the reader doesn't even recognize, not just because she makes a dreadfully poor decision, but because this out of character interlude causes the story to sort of fall apart. Once she recognizes her mistake, about six seconds from the end of the book, the entire ending is scanty, rushed, and unearned. Nancy, in all of her quirkiness and with her failing memory, is delightful and step-son Jack is charming and forgiving in a way that makes the reader really root for this beta hero, even if he doesn't believe in love. That's okay though as this is not really a romance. Since the novel is told in the first person by Lana, the reader spends more time with her (and often times frustrated by her) than they do with Nancy and Jack. This short-changes Jack's character in terms of depth but Nancy's was still heart-warmingly fleshed out. Even inhabiting Lana's perspective, sometimes her reasoning for her choices is not always clear or well developed. Despite this maddening lack, it was genuinely nice to watch her interact with the other characters and learn the true meaning of caring for other people, wanting the best for them and for herself, both in love and in friendship. In the end, this is an easy, generally sweet read that didn't quite live up to my expectations.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    he cover of the book is what first caught my eye. I really enjoyed this book. It was a fun read with lots of interesting characters. Nancy and the students in Lara's Romantic Prose class were definitely entertaining. Lana happens to meet Jack on the same day the sequel to her bestselling novel was rejected by her publishers. They thought it was too sad. Of course it is, the hero from her first book is no longer in the picture. That hero also happens to be Lara's boyfriend, Mark. Mark doesn't return home after a work assignment and neglects to tell Lara until she's at the airport waiting for him. That's when Jack steps in to help with writer's block and provide a hero for Lara to write about. Lara ends up moving in with Nancy, Jack's eccentric stepmom who is a famous writer and also suffers from dementia. Mark reappears in Lara's life. Lara finally realizes what makes a true hero.I loved the story line, characters and writing style. It was a quick but fun read. When Lara sees Mark after all those months, I just knew she would forgive him. Nancy may have had dementia, but she could tell Mark was not the one for Lara. Mark pretty much just shows up and really doesn't give any explanation. I definitely recommend the book and look forward to reading more by the author. Thanks to NetGalley, Avon and the author, Sophie Jenkins, for a free electronic ARC of this novel.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Well now, this is one unusual and quirky sort of book. I loved the idea of the two women, from different generations, becoming unlikely housemates. Lana is a young woman, a writer with one book under her belt. But she has to write what she knows. Her first book, Love Crazy, was based on her relationship with Mark Bridges. Her second is called Heartbreak - perhaps you can see what might have happened. She's lost and lonely and broke. She has to give up her flat and needs somewhere to live and by chance ends up meeting Jack Buchanan, whose stepmother, Nancy, could do with a housemate to keep her on the straight and narrow. Nancy has dementia and is absolutely gloriously portrayed. Lana really takes to Nancy, even with all that comes with her illness, especially when she realises that she's Nancy Ellis Hall, a well known novelist.There's so much more to this book and I don't want to start giving away too much. It's not really like any other book I have read. There are sections that made me giggle, some where I could cheerfully have shaken Lana for the choices she made, and some that were sad. But it's the overall unusualness of the story, the characters and the way the whole story is written that really stands out.I loved the relationship between Lana and Nancy. Where most people would find Nancy too difficult to cope with, Lana completely embraces everything about her and delights in living with such a well known author. I also thought Jack was the most wonderful character, understated and kind and just an all round lovely man. Lana takes on a creative writing course and her students are an eclectic bunch too. The characterisations in this book are very well-drawn, I thought.This is a charming read, a delightful look at unusual friendships, love and loss. Sophie Jenkins has a warm and wry writing style, and with The Forgotten Guide to Happiness she's written a really rather delightful book.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    This was a refreshing read about Lana, a struggling author, who befriends an elderly famous author, Nancy, who’s dealing with dementia. It’s a surprisingly light read, perfect for the beach or by the fire if in colder weather. Although there is some romance, it’s not done traditionally and I liked that most of the time it was on the back burner. Lana’s character was both easy to like and get annoyed with simultaneously. She could be quite selfish, often thinking of only how things will help her, but she was also often very real and flawed in a way that was relatable. She also talked about the process of writing excessively and I could have done without that. After her boyfriend Mark left her she finds herself struggling to make ends meet but soon an opportunity to help with Nancy presents itself. Lana meets Jack, Nancy’s step-son, first and I really liked him. He was an amazing step-son and too good for Lana. The circumstances surrounding Nancy and his father’s relationship made him bitter toward love but he was still very sweet and “heroic.”Nancy’s character was both endearing and heartbreaking. Dementia has definitely had its effect on her but she still had a gregarious personality. You could sense other’s frustration when handling her but also their love. Even being an elderly lady suffering from dementia she still had so much to offer. I was really enjoying this story until about 65% through when Mark reappeared. Lana was angry and hurt earlier in the novel when her writing class had called her character (based on herself) weak and dependent. She thought of herself as brave and independent. Yet the second Mark walked back into her life (after breaking up with her over the phone and no contact for months), she’s ready to jump back into his arms. Near the end I got a little confused because Lana would mention something that happened and then talk about how she’d write it and I couldn't always tell which was real and what she was saying she wrote for a book. Overall this was a cute, quirky read with great side characters and a fun plot. ARC provided for honest feedback.