The Actual One: How I Tried, and Failed, to Avoid Adulthood Forever

Isy Suttie wakes up one day in her late twenties to discover that the deal she’d struck with her friends, to put off growing up for as long as possible, had been entirely in her head. Everyone around her is suddenly into mortgages, farmers’ markets, and going off the Pill, rather than running naked into the sea or getting hammered in a country pub with eighty-year-old men.

After a particularly crushing breakup precipitated by Isy’s gifting of a human-size papier-mâché penguin to her boyfriend, her dearest friend advises Isy not to worry: the next guy she meets will be The Actual One.

Heartened by this promise, Isy decides to keep delaying the onset of adulthood, whether that means standing on the side of a highway in nothing but an old fur coat and sneakers, dating a man who speaks only in rhyme, or conquering her fears of Alpine skiing by wildly overestimating her athletic ability. Insightful and laugh-out-loud funny, The Actual One is an ode to the confusing wilderness of your late twenties, alongside a quest for a genuinely good relationship . . . or at the very least, a good story to tell.

• Humorous Memoir: From gifting a human-size papier-mâché penguin to a boyfriend to running naked into the freezing sea, Isy Suttie’s quest to avoid adulthood is painfully relatable and hilarious.
• Dating Disasters: Join a series of misadventures in search of The One, including a memorable date with a man who speaks only in rhyme.
• Feeling Left Behind: A painfully honest look at that moment your friends are suddenly into mortgages and farmers’ markets, and you’re... not.
• Quintessentially British Humor: A witty, razor-sharp ode to the messy, confusing, and wonderful wilderness of your late twenties, perfect for fans of Caitlin Moran and Jenny Lawson.