A Pocketful of Happiness

by Richard E. Grant Narrated by Richard E. Grant

Overview

Academy Award-nominated actor Richard E. Grant's “genuine and compelling” (The New York Times), “moving and entertaining” (Publishers Weekly, starred review) memoir about finding happiness in even the darkest of days.

Richard E. Grant emigrated from Swaziland to London in 1982, with dreams of making it as an actor. Unexpectedly, he met and fell in love with a renowned dialect coach Joan Washington. Their relationship and marriage, navigating the highs and lows of Hollywood, parenthood, and loss, lasted almost forty years. When Joan died in 2021, her final challenge to him was to find a “pocketful of happiness in every day.”

This honest and frequently hilarious memoir is written in honor of that challenge-Richard has faithfully kept a diary since childhood, and in these entries, he shares raw details of everything he has experienced: both the pain of losing his beloved wife and the excitement of their life together, from the role that transformed his life overnight in Withnail and I to his thrilling Oscar Award nomination thirty years later for Can You Ever Forgive Me?.

In “one of the bravest, strongest, funniest memoirs I've ever read” (Bonnie Garmus, New York Times bestselling author of Lessons in Chemistry), A Pocketful of Happiness is a powerful, funny, and moving celebration of life's unexpected joys.

Editorial Reviews

AUGUST 2023 - AudioFile

Actor Richard E. Grant delivers his touching memoir with a combination of honesty, humor, and hope. Grant takes listeners into his long, loving relationship with his late wife, Joan Washington, from their first meeting through her treatment and eventual death from cancer. When he talks about his first meetings with Joan, a well-respected dialect coach, Grant sounds shy, impressed, and madly in love with the woman who changed his life. Talking about his career, we hear self-deprecating humor, and while he doesn't name-drop, he offers some surprising anecdotes about colleagues. Most moving are his remembrances of Joan, their daughter, and their time together after her cancer diagnosis. Grant's heartfelt exploration of love is devastating, funny, and not to be missed. S.J.H. © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine

From the Publisher

One of the bravest, strongest, funniest memoirs I’ve ever read.” –Bonnie Garmus, New York Times bestselling author of Lessons in Chemistry

“A gorgeously candid account of acting and show business. And an intimate and heartfelt story of love, loss and a life spent together. It is an honour to be invited in on these diaries. I cannot remember being so moved by a book.” –Dolly Alderton, international bestselling author of Everything I Know About Love

“An emotional rollercoaster - profoundly moving and wonderfully entertaining. A brilliant memoir about living, loving and losing.” –Bernardine Evaristo, winner of the Man Booker Prize and author of Girl, Woman, Other

“What a book! To put it one way, you could describe the lovely Richard E. Grant's A Pocketful of Happiness as love, death, and showbiz stories - and while accurate, that would be to miss out both its fierceness and tenderness.” –Nigella Lawson, bestselling cookbook author and Television host

“A Pocketful of Happiness documents the head and heart exploding overwhelm of grief ... brutal but necessary.”
– The Sunday Times

“Grant’s profoundly moving book, part love letter to his beloved wife, part gossipy memoir about his life and times, will resonate with anyone who ever lost a loved one.”
– Daily Express

“Richard E. Grant’s heartbreaking memoir recalls a long, happy marriage – and leaves us shattered for his loss.”
– The Spectator

“A touching account.”
– The Observer

“Incredibly moving.”
– The Daily Telegraph

AUGUST 2023 - AudioFile

Actor Richard E. Grant delivers his touching memoir with a combination of honesty, humor, and hope. Grant takes listeners into his long, loving relationship with his late wife, Joan Washington, from their first meeting through her treatment and eventual death from cancer. When he talks about his first meetings with Joan, a well-respected dialect coach, Grant sounds shy, impressed, and madly in love with the woman who changed his life. Talking about his career, we hear self-deprecating humor, and while he doesn't name-drop, he offers some surprising anecdotes about colleagues. Most moving are his remembrances of Joan, their daughter, and their time together after her cancer diagnosis. Grant's heartfelt exploration of love is devastating, funny, and not to be missed. S.J.H. © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine

Product Details

BN ID:	2940178152034
Publisher:	Simon & Schuster
Publication date:	08/01/2023
Edition description:	Unabridged

Videos