Happiness Forever
- Author Adelaide Faith
- Narrator Hanako Footman
- Publisher HarperCollins Publishers
- Publish Date 8 May 2025
- Run Time 5 hours and 53 minutes
- Format x-book®
- Genre Contemporary lifestyle fiction, Modern and contemporary fiction, Narrative theme: Interior life, Narrative theme: Love and relationships, Romantic suspense.
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What to expect
‘I wanted to pass it on to all my friends’ SHEILA HETI
‘Remarkable clarity and humour’ VOGUE
‘A book full of wisdom … clever and funny’ DAILY MAIL
‘Disarmingly sweet’ NICOLA DINAN
‘Funny and tender’ PANDORA SYKES
‘Had me hopelessly charmed’ AMY KEY
‘A fever dream’ SHARLENE TEO
‘Impossible to put down’ LISA OWENS
A tragicomic and utterly original debut novel following a woman trying to make sense of her life and herself as she falls in love with her therapist.
Sylvie is only happy when she is at therapy. This is because Sylvie is in love with her therapist. She wants to kiss her and roll around on the floor with her. She thinks about her every second they’re not together (roughly 167 hours and 10 minutes per week). She’s aware she has an obsession, but whether it is – as her therapist suggests – a case of extreme ‘erotic transference’, or a lost person’s need to connect, Sylvie isn’t sure.
Beyond therapy, Sylvie has what she considers to be a small life: a job as a veterinary nurse, her little brain-damaged dog, Curtains, and a new friend Chloe who she met on the beach. When the therapist delivers some devastating news, Sylvie has to imagine new and lasting ways of coping (that don’t include being adopted by the therapist). Her world has begun to open up, inching beyond the fear that has confined her until now, and she must decide whether she’s ready for a bravery of feeling.
In this stunning debut novel, Adelaide Faith encapsulates the great vulnerability, difficulty and joy of being alive.
‘I was mesmerized by Happiness Forever … It's a beautiful book about longing, and the feeling that one is not a self, and being hurt, and the vulnerability of simply being alive’ Sheila Heti, author of Pure Colour
‘A disarmingly sweet book, with a protagonist who speaks to those parts of us we often pretend aren’t there’ Nicola Dinan, author of Disappoint Me
‘Happiness Forever had me hopelessly charmed from its opening sentence … this novel is abundant with the complexities of being a person’ Amy Key, author of Arrangements in Blue
‘Happiness Forever reminds us that the most meaningful choices can be the small, everyday things that simply string a life together’ Pandora Sykes, author of How Do We Know We're Doing It Right?
‘A spare, associative novel of projection and self-acceptance’ New Yorker
‘A tragicomic portrait of a mind in the process of healing’ The Cut
‘Shows the aftermath of trauma, the process of trying to rebuild the self and live with ourselves, day after day’ AnOther
Readers love Happiness Forever ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐:
‘Utterly beguiling … a truly memorable read’
‘Quite honestly couldn’t put it down’
‘An utter joy to read! I loved it from start to finish. For fans of Big Swiss!’
‘A beautifully crafted debut, filled with heart, wit and a deep understanding of what it means to be human’
‘Humorous, bizarre and touching … A very strong debut!’
‘So charged and insightful and provocative … I recommend it highly’
Critics Review
n Praise for Happiness Forever:n
nn ‘A spare, associative novel of projection and self-acceptance’ n New Yorkern
n‘This accomplished debut tackles complex topics – obsession, grief, and abuse among them – with remarkable clarity and humour’ Vogue
nn ‘A tragicomic portrait of a mind in the process of healing’n The Cutn
nn ‘A book full of wisdom about desire and how difficult but life-changing vulnerability can be. Clever and funny’n Daily Mailn
nn ‘An unusual modern fable … lays out the bizarre nature of modern talk therapy’ n Interviewn
n‘A humorous portrait of trauma and obsession … shows the aftermath of trauma, the process of trying to rebuild the self and live with ourselves, day after day’ AnOther
n‘A story of an obsession, and the attempt to figure out one’s way through it … rendered with gentle humour, warmth, and yes, tenderness’ Electric Literature
n‘A book that leaves a strange, wonderful impact on its reader’ LitHub
n‘I was mesmerized by Happiness Forever … It's a beautiful book about longing, and the feeling that one is not a self, and being hurt, and the vulnerability of simply being alive’ Sheila Heti, author of Pure Colour
n‘Funny and tender and adorable … Happiness Forever reminds us that the most meaningful choices can be the small, everyday things that simply string a life together’ Pandora Sykes, author of How Do We Know We're Doing It Right?
n'My favourite kind of novel. As vulnerable as it is funny. As endearing as it is entrancing … I love Sylvie and Curtains!' Emma Gannon, author of Olive
n‘Had me hopelessly charmed from its opening sentence … this novel is abundant with the complexities of being a person … I loved it!’ Amy Key, author of Arrangements in Blue
n‘Faith examines that eternal gap between who we are and what we most wish for with lucidity and tender precision’ Elle Nash, author of Deliver Me
n‘A fever dream of a novel that captures contemporary isolation and therapy culture in a fresh and delirious voice’ Sharlene Teo, author of Ponti
nMore from the same
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