People Pleaser

Introducing the YA fiction debut from bestselling author and journalist Bryony Gordon in a modern twist on Rapunzel and one girl's quest to find a different sort of happy ever after. <BR><BR>Barb may have zero friends IRL, but online, she is popular. Like, several-hundred-thousand-followers popular. Or at least, her hair is popular. Because Barb's hair is glossy and beautiful. Which is why hairbrush manufacturers pay her stupid money for a 30-second clip. But most of the time Barb just wants to be a typical teenager, who has friends and a life. One who isn't confined to her bedroom on the 12th floor of the tower-block flat she shares with her aunt making content. One who can go about her business without everyone obsessing over the way she looks. Barb just needs to save up some money to make a new life for herself.<BR><BR>But it's soon clear something isn't right. Because when Barb runs her fingers over her scalp, she feels something smooth and different. She gets out her mirrors and combs for a video and sees it ... a bald patch the size of a ten pence coin, slap bang in the middle of her head.<BR><BR>Barb has alopecia.<BR><BR>In this stunning retelling of Rapunzel, Barb must learn that she is so much more than her hair and that there is no such thing as a happy ending ... just lots of complicated new beginnings.<BR><BR>'At its core is the message all teens need to read: you are good enough, and your looks are not your sum total as a person (neither is your social media following). It's a quick and engaging read we've been recommending far and wide.' Independent

'Bryony Gordon is a terrific, compassionate writer' Elizabeth Day<BR><BR>In the hotly anticipated follow-up to her SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER*, MAD GIRL, Bryony Gordon shares her experiences of binge eating disorder (the most common eating disorder in the UK), sobriety, perimenopause and OCD.<BR><BR>Ten years on from first writing about her own experiences of mental illness, Bryony still receives messages about the effect it has on people. Now perimenopausal and well into the next stage of her life, parenting an almost-adolescent, just what has that help - and that connection with other unwell people - taught Bryony about herself, and the society we live in? What has she learned, and why have her views on mental health changed so radically? After coming out the other side of the biggest trauma of our living memory - a global pandemic - existing in a state of perma-crisis has now become our new normal.<BR><BR>From burnout and binge eating, to living with fluctuating hormones and the endless battle to stay sober, Bryony begins to question whether she got mental illness wrong in the first place. Is it simply a chemical imbalance, or rather a normal response from your brain telling you that something isn't right? Mad Woman explores the most difficult of all the lessons she's learned over the last decade - that our notion of what makes a happy life is the very thing that's making us so sad.<BR><BR>Bestselling author Bryony Gordon is unafraid to write with her trademark blend of compassion, honesty and humour about her personal challenges and demons, which means her books and journalism have had profound impact on readers. She founded the mental health charity, Mental Health Mates, which has become a vast online community.<BR><BR>'A deeply reassuring essential read' Sunday Independent<BR><BR>'Visceral and honest' Telegraph<BR><BR>'Bryony writes with such entertaining and brazen candour about mental illness...she really helps people tackle their own stuff. Her writing has helped me before and this will be another hit' Matt Haig<BR><BR>'A startlingly candid book' Daily Mail<BR><BR>'Gordon injects lightness into the darkness as she recounts her relapse into OCD and subsequent steps to recovery' Red Magazine<BR><BR>*Bryony Gordon's Mad Woman was a Sunday Times bestseller on 18th Feb 2024.<BR>*Bryony Gordon's Mad Girl was a number one Sunday Times bestseller on 12th June 2016.

'Mental illness has led to some of the worst times of my life... but it has also led to some of the most brilliant. Bad things happen, but good things can come from them. And strange as it might sound, my mental health has been vastly improved by being mentally ill.'<BR><BR>From depression and anxiety to personality disorders, one in four of us experience mental health issues every year and, in these strange and unsettling times, more of us than ever are struggling to cope. In No Such Thing As Normal, Bryony offers sensible, practical advice, covering subjects such as sleep, addiction, worry, medication, self-image, boundary setting, therapy, learned behaviour, mindfulness and, of course - as the founder of Mental Health Mates - the power of walking and talking. She also strives to equip those in need of help with tools and information to get the best out of a poorly funded system that can be both frightening and overwhelming. The result is a lively, honest and direct guide to mental health that cuts through the Instagram-wellness bubble to talk about how each of us can feel stronger, better and just a little bit less alone.