A Pocketful of Happiness, Richard E. Grant
A Pocketful of Happiness, Richard E. Grant
21 Rating(s)
List: $24.99 | Sale: $17.50
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A Pocketful of Happiness

Author: Richard E. Grant

Narrator: Richard E. Grant

Unabridged: 8 hr 13 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 08/01/2023


Synopsis

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.

About Richard E. Grant

Richard E. Grant was launched to fame in the 1987 cult classic Withnail and I. Since then, he has gone on to star in a wide variety of films, including his Oscar Award­–nominated performance in Can You Ever Forgive Me? in 2018. An avid reader, in 2021 he hosted the BBC’s literary travel series Write Around the World with Richard E. Grant. He married Joan Washington in 1986 and has a daughter, Olivia. You can find him on Twitter @RichardEGrant and Instagram at @Richard.E.Grant.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Sharon on November 29, 2023

Speechless. Poignant. Spellbinding. Could not put down. Richard E. Grant's wife, Joan, was diagnosed with lung cancer and brain lesions after they had spent almost 40 years together. Grant has kept a diary since he was 10 years old when he awoke in the backseat during a car ride to find his mom bonki......more

Goodreads review by *TUDOR^QUEEN* on July 06, 2023

4.5 Stars I first saw the actor Richard E. Grant in a movie called "Warlock" back in 1989 and was instantly smitten. More recently, I saw him portray the character of Bob Crachit in Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" starring Patrick Stewart as Scrooge. In both these roles Richard was tall, dark and handso......more

Goodreads review by Ali on December 10, 2022

I can only begin to imagine the emotional strength it must take to write, publish and promote a book within a year of the death of your life partner. And Richard E Grant’s love and admiration for his wife, Joan Washington, shines though every paragraph. The details of Joan’s diagnosis with lung cance......more

Goodreads review by Bill on July 09, 2023

Richard E Grant's memoir With Nails was an excellent read & I was really pleased to see that he had released another collection of his diaries. A Pocketful of Happiness is made up from diary entries leading up to the death of his beloved wife, as well as looking back to when they first met in the 198......more

Goodreads review by Jade on September 26, 2022

Was able to read this for work, was shocked to have to wipe away tears reading at my desk, so moving and amazingly written. My heart feels impacted for a lifetime by this book - I’ll have to revisit when I’m strong enough to go through the emotional parts more thoroughly.......more


Quotes

"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."