Really Good, Actually cover art

Really Good, Actually

A Novel

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Really Good, Actually

Written by: Monica Heisey
Narrated by: Julia Whelan
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About this listen

“Hilarious, heart-warming, wise.”—Paula Hawkins

A hilarious and painfully relatable debut novel about one woman’s messy search for joy and meaning in the wake of an unexpected breakup, from comedian, essayist, and award-winning screenwriter Monica Heisey

Maggie is fine. She’s doing really good, actually. Sure, she’s broke, her graduate thesis on something obscure is going nowhere, and her marriage only lasted 608 days, but at the ripe old age of twenty-nine, Maggie is determined to embrace her new life as a Surprisingly Young Divorcée™.

Now she has time to take up nine hobbies, eat hamburgers at 4 am, and “get back out there” sex-wise. With the support of her tough-loving academic advisor, Merris; her newly divorced friend, Amy; and her group chat (naturally), Maggie barrels through her first year of single life, intermittently dating, occasionally waking up on the floor and asking herself tough questions along the way.

Laugh-out-loud funny and filled with sharp observations, Really Good, Actually is a tender and bittersweet comedy that lays bare the uncertainties of modern love, friendship, and our search for that thing we like to call “happiness”. This is a remarkable debut from an unforgettable new voice in fiction.

©2023 Monica Heisey (P)2023 HarperCollins Publishers
Fiction Genre Fiction Literature & Fiction Women's Fiction Funny Witty Comedy Heartfelt Divorce
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What listeners say about Really Good, Actually

Average Customer Ratings
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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Just an Ok read...

This book follows the story of Maggie Mason processing a divorce.
Appreciate that the author takes a very sensitive, raw, Chaotic and life-changing difficult moment and brings in so much insight on the ups and downs. Maggie is trying to convince herself and those around her that she is fine and everything is good on the surface. When you journey through the emotional waters with her character, you realize just how much deeper its bubbling over.
The grief, the starting over, the fear of being alone, the change of lifestyle, feeling disconnected with family and friends, feeling vulnerable, anger, depression, addictions, therapy... It does get very repetitive and hard to continue at times because as much as you can empathize with the character you also want things to move forward and hope she finally pulls herself together. I stuck through to see where it all leads to and it just fizzled. Yes it did bring some humour and dramatic moments . I loved that it was set in Toronto and many of the neighbourhoods are very familiar to my childhood. overall an ok read. 3stars

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Couldn’t get enough

I could not get enough of this book. I laughed out loud so many times, and couldn’t wait to tell my husband hilarious lines I’d just listened to. Also one of my fav audiobook narraters. I’d listen to anything she read!

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Loved the narrator

It reads like how someone realistically goes through the ups and downs in life after divorce. I love the narrator!

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Excellent

Loved both the story and the storytelling. Original, quirky, humourous, and touching. Highly recommend.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Laugh out loud funny

One of the funniest things I’ve read/listened to in a while. The narrator was absolutely perfect for the writing style. Hilarious and so relatable start to finish.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Excellent

I loved it! And, Julia reading it was the icing on the cake. It would make a great film, too!

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Quirky and heartwarming

Julia Whelan delivers every time! Looking forward to more from this author too! Thumbs up

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Hilarious and smart

I loved this novel. It was a great blend of hysterically funny and deeply sad and was brilliantly written. Although the novel is aboy4 grieving a marriage, it's written in a way that is relatable to anyone grieving a way of or an imagined life. It was also very Toronto, which I loved - Schitts Creek meets Sort Of (but not as good as/whiter than Sort Of).

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

If you haven’t been through it, you won’t get it.

I did enjoy the message the book conveys, however a lot of the context is lost if you have not been through a divorce or break up like this. Nothing really happens, but at the same time a lot does.

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Julia 2, Story 1

This one really tested the limits of my love for Julia Whelan. The story was pretty cliche - woman goes through divorce. Poorly. The woman here is throughly unlikeable and her friends inexplicably stood by (enabled?) her longer than they should have. It was a slog. But the ending was better than anticipated.

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