
The Authenticity Project
A Novel
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Narrated by:
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Anna Cordell
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By:
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Clare Pooley
About this listen
A New York Times bestseller
A WASHINGTON POST “FEEL-GOOD BOOK guaranteed to lift your spirits”
“A warm, charming tale about the rewards of revealing oneself, warts and all.”—People
The story of a solitary green notebook that brings together six strangers and leads to unexpected friendship, and even love
Clare Pooley's next 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 listeners are clamoring for—and one they will take to their hearts and listen to with unabashed pleasure.
©2020 Clare Pooley (P)2020 Penguin AudioListeners also enjoyed...
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Critic reviews
“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
“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
"It all feels like a warm hug."—The Washington Post
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I laughed. I cried!
- By Marnie Osborne on 05-20-25
By: Lesley Crewe
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Where'd You Go, Bernadette
- A Novel
- By: Maria Semple
- Narrated by: Kathleen Wilhoite
- Length: 9 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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Bernadette Fox is notorious. To her Microsoft-guru husband, she's a fearlessly opinionated partner; to fellow private-school mothers in Seattle, she's a disgrace; to design mavens, she's a revolutionary architect, and to 15-year-old Bee, she is a best friend and, simply, Mom.
Then Bernadette disappears. It began when Bee aced her report card and claimed her promised reward: a family trip to Antarctica. But Bernadette's intensifying allergy to Seattle - and people in general - has made her so agoraphobic that a virtual assistant in India now runs her most basic errands.
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Misleading cover contains excellent novel
- By JillHen on 01-28-16
By: Maria Semple
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The Mostly True Story of Tanner & Louise
- By: Colleen Oakley
- Narrated by: Hillary Huber
- Length: 9 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
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Twenty-one-year-old Tanner Quimby needs a place to live. Preferably one where she can continue sitting around in sweatpants and playing video games nineteen hours a day. Since she has no credit or money to speak of, her options are limited, so when an opportunity to work as a live-in caregiver for an elderly woman falls into her lap, she takes it. The two start off their living arrangement happily ignoring each other until Tanner starts to notice things—weird things.
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This one’s a fun one!
- By NTexHiker on 04-01-23
By: Colleen Oakley
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The Art of Authenticity
- Tools to Become an Authentic Leader and Your Best Self
- By: Karissa Thacker
- Narrated by: Karen Saltus
- Length: 7 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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The Art of Authenticity is a guide to becoming a better leader by achieving your best self. All people bring different sides of themselves to various situations. This audiobook will show you how to broaden and deepen your effectiveness by presenting the most appropriate side of yourself.
By: Karissa Thacker
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How the Penguins Saved Veronica
- By: Hazel Prior
- Narrated by: Helen Lloyd, Andrew Fallaize, Mandy Williams
- Length: 10 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
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Eighty-five-year-old Veronica McCreedy is estranged from her family and wants to find a worthwhile cause to which to leave her fortune. When she sees a documentary about penguins being studied in Antarctica, she tells the scientists she's coming to visit - and won't take no for an answer. Shortly after arriving, she convinces the reluctant team to rescue an orphaned baby penguin. He becomes part of life at the base, and Veronica's closed heart starts to open.
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A mostly pleasant story
- By Kristyn Rose on 02-28-21
By: Hazel Prior
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The Lonely Life of Biddy Weir
- By: Lesley Allen
- Narrated by: Bríd Brennan
- Length: 10 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
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Biddy Weir is a quirky girl. Abandoned by her mother as a baby, and with a father who's not quite equipped for the challenges of modern parenting, Biddy lives in her own little world, happy to pass her time painting by the sea and watching the birds go by. That is, until she meets Alison Flemming. Because there are a few things about Biddy that aren't normal, you see. And Alison isn't afraid to point them out to the world. All of a sudden, Biddy's quiet life is thrown into turmoil. If only there was someone to convince her that, actually, everyone's a little bit weird....
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The Lonely Life Of Biddy Weir
- By George Criticos on 08-10-20
By: Lesley Allen
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Oona Out of Order
- A Novel
- By: Margarita Montimore
- Narrated by: Brittany Pressley
- Length: 11 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
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It’s New Year’s Eve 1982, and Oona Lockhart has her whole life before her. At the stroke of midnight she will turn 19, and the year ahead promises to be one of consequence. Should she go to London to study economics, or remain at home in Brooklyn to pursue her passion for music and be with her boyfriend? As the countdown to the New Year begins, Oona faints and awakens 32 years in the future in her 51-year-old body.
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Awful
- By M. Esposito on 03-02-20
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The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot
- A Novel
- By: Marianne Cronin
- Narrated by: Sheila Reid, Rebecca Benson
- Length: 10 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
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Seventeen-year-old Lenni Pettersson lives on the Terminal Ward at the Glasgow Princess Royal Hospital. Though the teenager has been told she’s dying, she still has plenty of living to do. Joining the hospital’s arts and crafts class, she meets the magnificent Margot, an 83-year-old, purple-pajama-wearing, fruitcake-eating rebel, who transforms Lenni in ways she never imagined. As their friendship blooms, a world of stories opens for these unlikely companions who, between them, have been alive for one hundred years.
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A Must Read (Listen)
- By Patricia on 06-03-21
By: Marianne Cronin
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The Lido
- By: Libby Page
- Narrated by: Clare Corbett
- Length: 9 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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Kate is a 26-year-old riddled with anxiety and panic attacks who works for a local paper in Brixton, London, covering forgettably small stories. When she's assigned to write about the closing of the local lido (an outdoor pool and recreation center), she meets Rosemary, an 86-year-old widow who has swum at the lido daily since it opened its doors when she was a child.
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Loved the characters and story
- By Laura Vidal on 07-26-18
By: Libby Page
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Who's That Girl?
- By: Mhairi McFarlane
- Narrated by: Cassie Bradley
- Length: 14 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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An achingly funny story from the author of the best-selling You Had Me at Hello. When Edie is caught in a compromising position at her colleagues' wedding, all the blame falls on her - turns out that personal popularity in the office is not that different from your school days. Shamed online and ostracised by everyone she knows, Edie's forced to take an extended sabbatical - ghostwriting an autobiography for hot new acting talent, Elliot Owen. Easy, right? Wrong.
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Very frustrating heroine, disappointing ending
- By Jennie L. Stumm on 09-23-20
By: Mhairi McFarlane
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The Guncle
- By: Steven Rowley
- Narrated by: Steven Rowley
- Length: 11 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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Patrick, or Gay Uncle Patrick (GUP, for short), has always loved his niece, Maisie, and nephew, Grant. That is, he loves spending time with them when they come out to Palm Springs for weeklong visits, or when he heads home to Connecticut for the holidays. But in terms of caretaking and relating to two children, no matter how adorable, Patrick is, honestly, overwhelmed. So when tragedy strikes and Maisie and Grant lose their mother and Patrick's brother has a health crisis of his own, Patrick finds himself suddenly taking on the role of primary guardian.
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In two words . . . Loved it!!
- By Donna Rauch Lanford on 06-05-21
By: Steven Rowley
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The Borrowed Life of Frederick Fife
- A Novel
- By: Anna Johnston
- Narrated by: Tim Carroll
- Length: 10 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
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Frederick Fife was born with an extra helping of kindness in his heart. If he borrowed your car, he’d return it washed with a full tank of gas. The problem is there’s nobody left in Fred’s life to borrow from. At eighty-two, he’s desperately lonely, broke, and on the brink of homelessness. But Fred’s luck changes when, in a bizarre case of mistaken identity, he takes the place of grumpy Bernard Greer at the local nursing home. Now he has warm meals in his belly and a roof over his head—as long as his poker face is in better shape than his prostate and that his look-alike never turns up.
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Somewhat engaging but predictable
- By RSNYC on 10-15-24
By: Anna Johnston
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Before I Do
- By: Sophie Cousens
- Narrated by: Emma Sidi
- Length: 10 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
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Head-in-the-stars Audrey is about to marry down-to-earth Josh. Though they are polar opposites, they have a healthy relationship; Josh is just what Audrey needs. But romance should be unpredictable and full of fireworks, and as the big day approaches, Audrey’s found herself wondering if Josh really is "The One." When Josh’s sister shows up to the rehearsal dinner with Fred, Audrey’s "What If? guy"—the man she met six years ago and had one amazing day with—Audrey finds herself torn. Surely Fred’s appearance the night before she is due to get married can’t be a coincidence.
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Light, happy rom-com
- By meagan on 10-13-22
By: Sophie Cousens
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The Rosie Project
- A Novel
- By: Graeme Simsion
- Narrated by: Dan O'Grady
- Length: 7 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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Story
Don Tillman, professor of genetics, has never been on a second date. So when an acquaintance informs him that he would make a "wonderful" husband, his first reaction is shock. Yet he must concede to the statistical probability that there is someone for everyone, and Don sets out to find the perfect partner. She will be punctual and logical - most definitely not a barmaid, a smoker, a drinker, or a late-arriver. Yet Rosie Jarman is all these things. She is also beguiling, fiery, intelligent - and on a quest of her own....
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Not a typical romance - so much more
- By Gretchen on 10-03-13
By: Graeme Simsion
I liked how the story conveyed a variety of points of view, different generations, different backgrounds, classes, etc without a ton of judgment as to which was the One Right Way to think, feel and BE. Obviously you got some impression of what the author's opinion was on certain social issues, but she let you like ALL of her characters. Rare in modern media, and very pleasant.
Interesting and engaging
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Masterful storytelling
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Fully Enjoyable
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Lovely story
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enjoyed the characters 👌
terrific lite & entertaining read. very good narr
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something foe everyone:)
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Great audiobook
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Smitten
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Sweet story that kept me engaged!
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Lovely story- perfect for book club
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