Really Good, Actually is one of the most hotly anticipated, hilarious and addictive debut novels coming in 2023, from Schitt’s Creek screenwriter and electric new voice in fiction, Monica Heisey.

‘One of the most hilarious and barbed accounts of unexpectedly starting over I’ve ever read … If you’ve ever felt lost and hoped that it was leading towards wisdom, Really Good, Actually is your novel.’ – Stephanie Danler, New York Times bestselling author of Sweetbitter

‘Wildly funny and almost alarmingly relatable’ – Marian Keyes, author of Again, Rachel

‘Hilarious, heart-warming, wise’ – Paula Hawkins, author of The Girl on the Train

Maggie’s marriage has ended just 608 days after it started, but she’s fine – she’s doing really good, actually. Sure, she’s alone for the first time in her life, can’t afford her rent and her obscure PhD is going nowhere … but at the age of twenty-nine, Maggie is determined to embrace her new status as a Surprisingly Young Divorcee (TM).

Soon she’s taking up ‘sadness hobbies’ and getting back out there, sex-wise, oversharing in the group chat and drinking with her high-intensity new divorced friend Amy. As Maggie throws herself headlong into the chaos of her first year of divorce, she finds herself questioning everything, including: Why do we still get married? Did I fail before I even got started? How many Night Burgers until I’m happy?

Laugh-out-loud funny, razor sharp and painfully relatable, Really Good, Actually is an irresistible debut novel about the uncertainties of modern love, friendship and happiness from a stunning new voice in fiction, Monica Heisey.

I feel like when you get a divorce everyone’s wondering how you ruined it all, what made you so unbearable to be with. If your husband dies, at least people feel bad for you.

About the author

Monica Heisey is an author and television writer from Toronto, now based in London, UK. Her writing has been published in The New Yorker, the New York Times, The Cut, Vogue, the Guardian, VICE, and elsewhere. She was previously an Editor at Large at Broadly. Her first book, an acerbic collection of essays called I Can’t Believe It’s Not Better, was published in Canada by indie Red Deer Press. She has written on shows including Schitt’s Creek, Workin’ Moms, Baroness von Sketch Show and Gary and his Demons.

Categories Fiction International

Tags Jonathan Ball Publishers Monica Heisey New books New releases Really Good Actually