The Authenticity Project

The Authenticity Project was written by New York Times-bestselling author Clare Pooley and published in 2020. Pooley, a British novelist and blogger, has published two novels and a memoir. The Authenticity Project is a work of romantic fiction in which six strangers are brought together through serendipitous discovery of a shared notebook. The novel explores themes of authenticity, life purpose, and identity formation. The story is told through a series of 75 short chapters in one character’s perspective in the close third person.

Plot Summary

Julian, an older and once famous artist, feels lonely as a widow. He writes his feelings in a green notebook that he titles “The Authenticity Project.” In his entries, he tells his story and encourages his reader to be more vulnerable with others. He leaves the notebook in a café to be found, read, and passed on. Monica, the owner of the café, finds the notebook. She is moved by Julian’s journal entries and writes about her own struggle to find a husband and have a child. She leaves the notebook in a restaurant, where Hazard, who is recovering from an addiction, finds it.