One Good Thing: From the bestselling author of Confessions of a 40 something F##k Up

Product Information

One Good Thing is a story of grief, moving on, getting out of your comfort zone,navigating different relationships, family dynamics and accepting help from others. If you’ve ever cried at a John Lewis Christmas ad then you need this book in your life. It is a beautifully sentimental tale of one woman transforming her new home and with it her life and herself and how a scruffy dog called Harry will show her the way. All four are at different, but equally difficult, crossroads in their lives. They make an unlikely bunch, but brought together by Harry, the four of them forge a beautiful alliance that sees them finding a shared path forward. And the icing on the cake? A delicious and unexpected romance for Liv.

I really connected with this on a personal level, grief and dementia are both things I’ve struggled to deal with in life with family members and I just felt SO connected to these characters and felt as though I was going through the heartbreak with them. What I loved most was the happy and uplifting moments that would always follow. That one good thing. Can we also talk Harry, oh my what a beautiful dog, a rescue dog which makes it more of a loving story for me, I am all for adopting and helping animals. Having rescued four cats myself. Harry was just so friendly and it is surprising how a dog can impact on so many different people and bring them through their struggles. I have pictured my cat Alfie with the book because he reminded me of Harry in the way he is so friendly and will always be at my front door to welcome people. Each of the characters Liv meets along the way have all lost something or someone in their life and the story is of a coming together of community, of helping each other along lonely paths, that really needn’t be lonely if only people can accept others’ offers of help. I don’t want to write this review. Because then I have to admit I’ve actually finished this book, and have finished reading the intertwined stories of Liv, Ben, Valentine, Stanley and Maya. Oh and Harry! Who could forget Harry! I really loved just how interconnected each of the characters were and how their friendship ultimately unites them all at the crossroads of their lives and together find their happiness, and in some cases their true calling. It gave me all the feels watching this rag tag group slowly but surely find their paths after struggling for soo long, plus the found family aspect was pure joy to explore.The characters were brilliant, all of them, not only the main ones but also the supporting ones as well. The author was able to brilliantly capture all of their feelings and emotions, bringing them to life and easily making us care for them and keeping everything crossed for them. What was also absolutely great was the fact that Harry the dog was a character of his own, so important, being this "one good thing" that brough all of them together, saving them, and he was so well captured and described, I loved it. Liv ist geschieden und muß erst wieder Fuß fassen, daher zieht sie in ein kleines Dörfchen in Yorkshire. Um ihrer Einsamkeit zu entgehen, adoptiert sie Harry einen älteren Hund aus dem Tierheim. Auf ihren Spaziergängen lernen sie die neue Nachbarschaft kennen. Stanley ist Autist und fürchtet sich vor allem Neuen, Valentin ist ebenfalls sehr einsam, seine Frau ist an Alzheimer erkrankt und er besucht sie täglich im Heim. Maya ist ein aufmüpfiger Teenager und kann sich momentan selbst nicht leiden. Valentine is such a lovely guy, watching life go by through his window feeling lost and afraid. His story will feel familiar to people, his wife suffering with dementia and not knowing who he is anymore. It was a struggle to read, but Liv and Harry come along - the friendship bond between them is beautiful and it was truly amazing to see the impact they had on him. Make no mistake: Someone Great isn’t earth-shattering cinema. It’s not even the best rom-com to come out of the past couple of years. But it is a soothing, easy film to return to when pandemic life feels a little too daunting. Je to príbeh, v ktorom si každý môže niečo nájsť. Je to príbeh, ktorý môžete čítať vtedy, keď cítite beznádej zo života a potrebujete povzbudiť, pretože toto je proste krásne a heartwarming. Tak trochu mi to pripomínalo Oveho tým, ako spája spolu rôznorodých ľudí, ktorí navonok spolu nič spoločné nemajú.

I loved every character we encounter but Valentine, Ben, Stanley, Maya and Liv were my absolute faves and I loved that we encounter POV chapters for four of them, which really added much needed insight into their emotions and thought processes. Though I have to admit, the star was definitely old Harry who’s presence really managed to light up the entire village. The chapters are short and snappy, which I liked very much, and alternate between Liv and other characters. I've never felt confused by them and their stories, even if there were plenty of them - because those stories were so interesting and truly tugging at the heart - strings.The latter plotline is what makes Someone Great the perfect late ( or early, depending on who you ask) pandemic watch. If I had to guess, we’re all emerging from these last 17 months a little worse for wear. Co-quarantining killed relationships we thought would last forever, and the routine of work-sleep-repeat has us leaving careers we thought we’d have forever. In other words, life probably still feels shitty and uncertain to most people, and it’s reassuring to watch someone fictional come to terms with that as imperfectly as the rest of us. He wasn’t the only one I fell in love with either, there was Valentine who is feeling lonely now his wife has succumbed to Alzheimer’s and gone into care. He reminded me so much of my grandad that every time he appeared I was either smiling with fondness or crying my heart out. Then there was little Stanley, his dad Ben the builder and misunderstood teenager Maya. I loved them all and I am bereft to have left them now I have finished the book. I don’t think my words can’t really do justice to this wholesome, emotional and utterly endearing contemporary romance. So, if your looking for something sweet and uplifting for your next read then look no further, you won’t be disappointed! Die Charaktere habe ich tatsächlich fast alle ins Herz geschlossen, etwas was ich nach dem Klappentext gar nicht gedacht hätte. Besonders toll ist natürlich Harry, der es eigentlich war, der sie alle zusammengeführt hat. Ein Hoch auf tolle tierische Begleiter in Büchern (und natürlich auch im echten Leben). Liv wird nach und nach klar, was sie eigentlich möchte und schafft es nach und nach auch wieder andern Mitmenschen mehr zu vertrauen. Valentine... oh man, sehr emotionale Geschichte. Über Ben habe ich gerne gelesen - vielleicht hätte ich sogar gerne noch mehr über ihn gelesen. Und dann wären da natürlich auch noch all die anderen Personen im Dorf, die doch irgendwie alle eine wichtige Rolle gespielt haben.

Das war mein erstes Buch von Alexandra Potter und ich habe mich sofort in ihren wundervollen Schreibstil verliebt, der mir ganz besonders schöne Lesestunden beschert hat. Je to úžasný príbeh o láske v rôznych podobách, o priateľstve, o strate, o živote. O tom, ako žiť ďalej, keď sa vám rozpadne život. O tom, že niekedy stačí jedna dobrá vec, aby vám spravila deň krásnym. O veľkej podpore v komunite. Olivia's world changes when she adopts an old abandoned dog and through him she connects with other people in the community and learns, through Harry, to leave the hurt of the past behind and live for the moment. But Liv soon discovers she isn’t the only one in need of a new beginning. On their daily walks around the village, they meet Valentine, an old man who suffers from loneliness who sits by the window and Stanley, a little boy who is scared of everyone, hides behind the garden gate and Maya, a teenager who is angry at everyone and everything. But slowly things start to change… Told through numerous points of view there is bound to be a character everyone will find relatable. I was eager to see how each of the characters would connect with the main character Olivia.Liv the protagonist was wonderfully relatable as I have been in her position and it’s not easy but as mentioned in the prologue “life happens at the edge of your comfort zone”. The story revolves around Liv, a middle-aged divorcée, who abandons her home and teaching career in London, and heads off to the Yorkshire Dales to reinvent herself. Liv is bruised, lonely and adrift, and struggling to adjust to her new circumstances, when she adopts aging rescue dog, Harry. And it’s Harry that turns out to be her ‘one good thing’.

One Good Thing is a highly engaging and heartwarming story of starting over, finding that 'one good thing' in your life that keeps you going everyday. That reason to get out of bed and face each new day. If you’re looking for a book to lift you up and make you realise there are good people in the world (even if they are fictitious) then this is the book for you. It’s full of warmth and humour revolving around some of the residents in a Yorkshire village where Liv (Olivia) has arrived. Lost and feeling rejected after her divorce, she’s decided to return to the place where she grew up many years ago in an attempt to make a new life for herself. One Good Thing is an uplifting, engaging tale that takes you to the Yorkshire Dales and into the lives of many, including Liv Brooks, who is still trying to come to grips with her cheating ex, relocation to a cottage in need of TLC, and adoption of a loyal, four-legged friend named Harry; Valentine, an elderly man struggling with the slow decline of the woman he’s loved for sixty years; Maya, a teenager discontent with almost everything in her life; and Stanley, a young boy who prefers routine and the safety of his own home. One Good Thing is the new heartwarming, hilarious alternative love story, from the author of Confessions of a Forty-Something F**k Up, Alexandra Potter Overall, One Good Thing is a beautifully written novel that made my heart fill with joy and break with heartache. It’s a sentimental, comforting, compelling tale by Potter that ultimately reminds you that kindness is incredibly powerful and life is truly what you make it.I loved how such a mish mash of characters all ended up becoming so important to one another. A divorced woman, a single dad, a child on the spectrum, a wayward teenager, and a grumpy old man. It was just the perfect mix of characters, and it melted my heart how they all got their happiness in the end, with a few bumps in the road, but they all got there. I really feel like this book needs a sequel. (Please?!) It tied up in the end, but I really want to know what happens to them all. I got so invested in this story, I got tears at the sad parts, I got tears at the happy parts. I know it sounds silly to be so ‘into’ a book, but I really was. The fact that it was also set in the beautiful Yorkshire countryside, I loved too, as it’s one of my favourite parts of the world to be in! Someone Great is best watched casually, perhaps with a pile of laundry at your feet or while you complete some other mundane house chore. Like Set It Up and the rest of the Netflix rom-com set, it’s compulsively watchable, with a plot that gets better the less you think about it. Jenny, Blair, and Erin’s chemistry is breezy, and the film is at its best when it relies on their friendship for cheap laughs. Case in point: The clothing montage — a staple of early aughts rom-coms — feels like a natural extension of a night out as the trio takes shots and swaps outfits while rapping along to “The Jump Off” by Lil’ Kim. Both Liv and Harry have been abandoned, finding solace in each other they slowly but surely start to reach out to the wider world and it opens up new connections and possibilities. I’m not even a dog person, cats are more my bag but if you don’t fall in love with Harry then there’s clearly something wrong with you.