Everything I Know About Love

Synopsis

TIKTOK BOOK AWARDS WINNER 2023

Read and loved it? Gift it to a friend this festive season!

"Nearly everything I know about love, I've learnt from my long-term friendships with women."

I know that love can be loud and jubilant. It can be dancing in the swampy mud and the pouring rain at a festival and shouting "YOU ARE AMAZING" over the band. It's laughing until you wheeze. It's walking along the street together on a Saturday night and feeling an entire city is yours.

I also know that love is a pretty quiet thing. It's lying on the sofa together drinking coffee, talking about where you're going to go that morning to drink more coffee. It's folding down pages of books you think they'd find interesting.

I know that love happens under the splendour of fireworks and sunsets, but also happens when you're lying on blow-up airbeds in a childhood bedroom, sitting in A&E or in the queue for a passport.

Everything I Know About Love is a celebration of our female friendships, of our messy years, and of growing up together. Glittering with wit, heart, and humour, it's a book to share with every woman you've ever been lucky enough to call a friend.

*****

WHAT READERS ARE SAYING:

'A book every girl in her 20s needs to read'

'I'll never stop recommending this book'

'This is my comfort book! I LOOOOVE THIS BOOK TO MY CORE'

'I wish I could read it for the first time again'

A Sunday Times bestseller, September 2022
TikTok Book Awards Winner, August 2023

Summary

Chapter 1: Getting Started

* Explores the early stages of love, from first encounters to the initial spark.
* Real Example: Dolly Alderton meets Farly when they are both students at university. They connect over their shared love of music and movies.

Chapter 2: Love and Friendship

* Discusses the blurred lines between romantic love and friendship.
* Real Example: Dolly and Farly remain close friends after their romantic relationship ends. They continue to support and confide in each other.

Chapter 3: First Loves

* Recalls the transformative power and heartbreak of first love.
* Real Example: Dolly has her first heartbreak in her early 20s when her boyfriend, Matthew, breaks up with her. She feels devastated and lost.

Chapter 4: The One

* Examines the concept of "the one" and the search for a soul mate.
* Real Example: Dolly meets Jamie at a party and they fall deeply in love. She believes he is the one for her.

Chapter 5: The End of Love

* Explores the complexities and pain of breakups.
* Real Example: Dolly and Jamie's relationship ends after five years. She struggles to cope with the loss and feels like a failure.

Chapter 6: Moving On

* Discusses the process of healing and finding love again after a breakup.
* Real Example: Dolly eventually rebounds with a new boyfriend, Joe. She learns to let go of the past and embrace the present.

Chapter 7: Other Loves

* Examines the importance of non-romantic relationships in our lives.
* Real Example: Dolly values her close friendships with her female friends, who provide her with love, support, and understanding.

Chapter 8: Happy Ever After

* Explores the complexities of long-term relationships and the challenges of maintaining love over time.
* Real Example: Dolly and Joe face their own obstacles as a couple, but they learn to work through them together.

Chapter 9: Love in the Time of Social Media

* Discusses the impact of social media on our relationships and the ways in which it can both enhance and complicate love.
* Real Example: Dolly struggles with feelings of inadequacy as she compares herself to idealized representations of relationships on social media.

Chapter 10: The Future of Love

* Speculates on the future of love in a rapidly changing world.
* Real Example: Dolly reflects on the ways in which technology and societal norms continue to shape our experiences of love and relationships.