Calling all book lovers - the Joanie Book Club is back! This month, we're sitting down with Adelaide Faith, author of Happiness Forever...

Hi Adelaide! Thanks so much for chatting with us here at Joanie. Let’s start things off with a bit of background, can you tell our readers about yourself?

I grew up in Yorkshire – I went to school in Skipton – and moved to London to study English and try to work in publishing. After a few years working in an office, I retrained to be a vet nurse at Battersea Dogs and Cats Home, and I have worked with dogs and cats ever since.

Happiness Forever, your debut novel, centres around a woman trying to make sense of her life as she falls in love with her therapist. What inspired you to write this story?

I love stories about obsession – Ms Ice Sandwich by Mieko Kawakami and I Love Dick by Chris Kraus being two of my favourites – and I wanted to write a novel where a therapist is the object of obsession. A therapist can’t run away, and they have to/want to talk about it, so the obsession can be really dissected.

Do you have any general tips for aspiring writers? What helps you most when you’re sitting down to start writing?

My advice is not to worry too much, not to overthink it. Don’t agonise over your writing, just sit down and see what comes out. Never write what you think you should be writing… try to write exactly what you want. Sometimes, reading something you find you don’t like can weirdly help, because it makes you want to stop reading and do a better job.

We’re avid readers here at Joanie, and there’s nothing we love more than a good book recommendation. Tell us – what’s your favourite EVER book, and what book did you enjoy reading most in the last year?

My favourite ever book is always changing, but it’s usually a Sheila Heti book, and right now I would say it’s Pure Colour. In 2024, I think I enjoyed most the book my agent recommended to me when we first met: Paulina and Fran by Rachel B. Glaser.

Outside of work, what do you get up to in your spare time?

I live by the sea and spend a lot of time reading at the beach hut with my daughter. We recline our beach chairs and read our books, listening to the sea and gulls. And I like to go to London to Deleted Scenes, a reading series, or to get tattoos from Frith Street Tattoo.

Finally, which Joanie pieces are you loving most right now?

Like Sylvie in Happiness Forever, I always like to wear white socks and black shoes. I think Sylvie likes it because it reminds her of her school uniform. So, we like the Grenoble Leather T-Bar Brogues in black. I do like the tan ones, too, because they remind me of the shoes that some of the 'Mr Men' wear, and also my ex-boyfriend’s Trickers.