Book Therapy With Aphra and The London Edition
Anyone who knows me knows I love books. Books bring us happiness and sadness, an escape from reality or a way to better ourselves. Books are truly magical and I could never live without them. So I was delighted to hear of Book Therapy, a partnership between Aphra and The London Edition Hotel. Every month they will be bringing writers and readers together for live bibliotherapy talks where they’ll share books and personal stories aligning with various chapters of life.
Aphra is described as the ‘inclusive af feminist book club’. It’s a platform for underrepresented woman and non-binary writers, and a safe space for women and non-binary people to meet, connect and read together. One of its founders is Mollie Masters who hosts the Bibliotherapy events. Her book ‘Bibliotherapy: Books to Guide You Through Every Chapter of Life’ was released on Thursday 12th September. In her book Mollie celebrates the positive impacts books can have on our lives and shares a carefully curated list for various stages of life. The stages are: New Beginnings, First Loves and Great Loves, Grief and Loss, Self-Love and Self-Discovery, and Heartbreak.
The first Book Therapy event was ‘Bibliotherapy for Love and Heartbreak’ on 9th September. It was hosted with Hazel Hayes, an Irish author and filmmaker writing on bisexuality and love in her novels ‘Out of Love’ and ‘Better by Far’. Hazel discussed books that influenced her writing, her writing process and her book recommendations. We enjoyed hearing Hazel’s story to becoming an author including the successes and challenges such as publishing and social media. We learnt how as a writer she is motivated by the question and exploration of ‘why’. Hazel called the characters of her novels ‘shadow self’, as she puts a little of herself into each of them. We laughed as Hazel told how her older siblings shaped her exposure to literature and film; and gave her a love of Stephen King novels.
I haven’t read Hazel’s books and attending the event didn’t spoil the plot, rather it made me intrigued and I’ve now added them to my list. In the recently released ‘Better by Far’, Kate and Finn, after breaking up, decide to share the house until the lease ends in 12 weeks. Coming home each Sunday to a house where Finn has been and gone feels like living with a ghost and her grief dredges up unhealed sorrows. Soon Kate is adrift in her own subconsciousness trapped between loving someone and letting them go.
The event had a conversation with friends feel with an easy flow, going off on tangents and plenty of laughs between Mollie and Hazel. There was also some time for questions from the audience. My friend walked away inspired to start writing! So whether you want to hear from an author about their story, get book recommendations or just love everything about books, these events are for you.
There are two further Book Therapy sessions planned. ‘Bibliotherapy for Empowerment’ with Africa Brooke, author of ‘The Third Perspective’ and podcaster of the ‘Beyond the Self’ podcast is on15th October. Africa’s book is about looking through the lens of kindness and compassion.‘Bibliotherapy for Confidene’ with Tiwalola Ogunlesi, author of ‘Confident and Killing It’, motivational speaker, confidence coach and businesswoman is on 5th November. This event will explore the books Tiwalola recommends for confidence and a fresh perspective on selfhood. For both events tickets are £20 and include a signed copy of the stated author’s book. All events are 7-8:30pm at The London Edition Hotel, a luxury boutique hotel in Soho. Tickets can be purchased through Eventbrite or Aphra.
Address: The London Edition, 10 Berner St, W1T3NP
Website: https://aphrabookclub.com
https://www.editionhotels.com/london/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aphrabookclub
https://www.instagram.com/editionlondon
https://www.instagram.com/thehazelhayes
Written by Caitlin Neal
