A Pocketful of Happiness

By: Richard E. Grant

Narrated by: Richard E. Grant

Academy Award–nominated actor Richard E. Grant’s “genuine and compelling” (The New York Times), “moving and entertaining” (Publishers Weekly, starred review) memoir about finding happiness in even the darkest of days.

Richard E. Grant emigrated from Swaziland to London in 1982, with dreams of making it as an actor. Unexpectedly, he met and fell in love with a renowned dialect coach Joan Washington. Their relationship and marriage, navigating the highs and lows of Hollywood, parenthood, and loss, lasted almost forty years. When Joan died in 2021, her final challenge to him was to find a “pocketful of happiness in every day.”

This honest and frequently hilarious memoir is written in honor of that challenge—Richard has faithfully kept a diary since childhood, and in these entries, he shares raw details of everything he has experienced: both the pain of losing his beloved wife and the excitement of their life together, from the role that transformed his life overnight in Withnail and I to his thrilling Oscar Award nomination thirty years later for Can You Ever Forgive Me?.

In “one of the bravest, strongest, funniest memoirs I’ve ever read” (Bonnie Garmus, New York Times bestselling author of Lessons in Chemistry), A Pocketful of Happiness is a powerful, funny, and moving celebration of life’s unexpected joys.

Critic reviews

"Actor Richard E. Grant delivers his touching memoir with a combination of honesty, humor, and hope. Grant takes listeners into his long, loving relationship with his late wife, Joan Washington, from their first meeting through her treatment and eventual death from cancer. When he talks about his first meetings with Joan, a well-respected dialect coach, Grant sounds shy, impressed, and madly in love with the woman who changed his life. Talking about his career, we hear self-deprecating humor, and while he doesn’t name-drop, he offers some surprising anecdotes about colleagues. Most moving are his remembrances of Joan, their daughter, and their time together after her cancer diagnosis. Grant’s heartfelt exploration of love is devastating, funny, and not to be missed."

The greatest love story I’ve ever read

Some people will walk away saying this was a sad story. But I thought it was incredibly poignant, tender and funny. It felt like I was getting an intimate look and torn of the greatest love stories ever. It was breathtakingly beautiful with lots of laughs in between.

what greater review can you give you give.?

Sheer brilliant!

I felt compelled to write a glowing review after I binge ‘listened’ Mr Grant’s poetic, yet immensely powerful memoir.

I like to tune into audiobooks whilst walking my Beagle, and let me tell you my little pooch has never enjoyed so many forced, snail paced strolls across fields I didn’t know existed.

It is evident that Mr Grant’s innate talent does not only lay on screen (or stage for that matter). I feel a bit late to the party. He effortlessly composes with such raw honesty and intensity, and with a barbaric panache that evokes the listener to feel deep rooted emotions and the highest of compassion.

I adore his no bar holds demeanor; and I especially enjoyed the on the nose accents in his perfect narration.

Hearing the organic unfolding of Mr Grant’s beautiful love story with his beloved Joan is poetry in itself. The words in sickness and in health have never rung truer.

Mr Grant writes with such technicolor description of a heartbreaking circumstance that makes the listener want to embrace him with a warm cyber hug. I cannot rate this book high enough!

I feel deeply grateful to this insight into Mr Grant’s vulnerability and beautiful heart. He is truly inspiring, gallant, charming and off the charts hilarious.

Dear Mr Grant, if you do read your book reviews, please do not keep us all waiting too long. Indulge us with another penned masterpiece memoir again soon. In the meantime, I shall wait with bated breath and enjoy watching you on the big box.

A great story of love and loss.

My husband died 5 years ago. It’s comforting to hear other grief stories and how people walk through. I am so grateful for this story. Richard writes about something most people don’t understand unless you’ve been through it - losing your spouse. No one really understands it except someone whose spouse has died. He invites us into the most vulnerable space that we can experience here on earth. He does this with joy, humor, grief of course, but most importantly hope.
No one else could have read this to us. His voice was warm, witty, and full of gratitude. His many impersonations of people throughout his life was fascinating. His wife did a fabulous job teaching him and it also shows he was an excellent, devoted student.

Joan and Richard’s love.

The story is similar to the one I just had with my husband. He died in July 2023. The book was given to me as a gift that might help me with my grief journey. I identified with so much that Richard E Grant wrote.

Where do I start?

I’ll be getting all of Richard’s books pronto! I fell in love with him on twitter, but this book is so beautiful, so intimate. I never even heard of Joan Washington, but you can be sure I’ll never forget her!