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Curl up with the page-turning story full of heart that has readers raving, about Andrew, who has forgotten how to live, and Peggy, who helps him remember…

****

‘A magnificent read. Tender, funny, compelling’ Lucy Foley, bestselling author of The Guest List
‘I adored this! It warmed my heart, broke it a little, then put it back together’ Beth O’Leary, bestselling author of The Flatshare
‘Funny, moving and thought-provoking – I loved this’ Clare Mackintosh, bestselling author of After the End
‘Funny, fresh and achingly tender. Richard’s writing hooked me in from the very first page’ Cathy Bramley, bestselling author of A Patchwork Family

****

MEET ANDREW.

Everybody likes Andrew. But they don’t really know him. They know what he’s told them – that he’s happily married with two kids. Living the kind of life that’s either so boring it’s true, or so perfect it’s a lie…

ENTER PEGGY.

Peggy arrives in Andrew’s life in a burst of kindness and possibility. For the first time in ages, Andrew feels alive again. So now that he has everything to lose, can he risk it all and tell Peggy the truth?

‘If you loved Eleanor Oliphant, try this brilliant new read’ Fabulous

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See what everyone is saying about this charming, uplifting bestseller – from your favourite authors to other readers!

‘A life-affirming novel that simultaneously tweaks your funny-bone and tugs at your heartstrings. Brilliant!’ Matt Dunn
‘Funny, moving and uplifting…I loved it’ Libby Page
‘Heart-breaking. Hilarious. Life-affirming’ Holly Bourne
‘It pulls you in, makes you laugh and breaks your heart’ Gill Hornby
‘A beautiful, heart-warming laugh out loud story’ Dinah Jefferies

‘My favourite read this year *****
‘An emotional rollercoaster of a read *****
‘I couldn’t put this down *****
‘I haven’t laughed so much in a long time *****
‘The end left me smiling *****

What's Inside

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Reviews

Natasha Harding, THE SUN
This is a story that gets under your skin - and a must read.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Roper's delightful debut is as funny as it is touching... This story of a neurotic, tenderhearted man struggling to learn how not to be alone is irresistible.
KIRKUS REVIEWS
Quirky and heartfelt... Andrew's past traumas are revealed gradually, and the reasons behind his isolation are heartbreaking and poignant. A moving and funny look at grief, hope, and the power of human connections.
USA TODAY
Gentle comedy and these characters' innately kind natures enriches what might have been starkly sad moments... [Roper] admirably tackles a painful subject with goodhearted characters it's easy to root for.
Patricia Nicol, SUNDAY TIMES CULTURE
Endearing.
Sarra Manning, RED
It's no surprise that TV rights to this funny, tender and all-the-feels book have already been snapped up.
Matt Dunn
A life-affirming novel that simultaneously tweaks your funny-bone and tugs at your heartstrings. Brilliant!
Nina Pottell, PRIMA
Endearing and delightful.
Clare Mackintosh
Funny, moving and thought-provoking - I loved this.
Eleanor Brown, author of The Weird Sisters
Wryly funny and quirkily charming - perfect for fans of A Man Called Ove and Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine
Beth O'Leary, bestselling author of the THE FLATSHARE
Warmed my heart, broke it a little, then put it back together
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY
Darkly humorous.
Claire Frost
A definite contender for my book of the year . . . funny, heartbreaking and cleverly observed
Sharmaine Lovegrove, SUNDAY TIMES STYLE
This perfect, quirky summer page-turner... a life-affirming debut.
Helena Gumley-Mason, THE LADY
As hilarious as it is heart-breaking... a truly memorable and quirky read: unusual and sometimes side-splittingly funny.
Anne Cater, DAILY EXPRESS
Something To Live For is a heart-warming, funny yet poignant debut novel. Exploring loneliness and family breakdown, Richard Roper has created a cast of colourful and weirdly wonderful characters. An uplifting and life-affirming read.
Eithne Farry, SUNDAY EXPRESS S MAGAZINE
A sweetly poignant debut.
WOMAN'S OWN
A wonderful debut that's heartbreaking, uplifting and laugh-out-loud funny all at once.
Holly Bourne
Just finished Something To Live For with tears running down my cheeks. Heart-breaking. Hilarious. Life-affirming. Some descriptions of loneliness took my breath away. This book deserves to be HUGE.
Libby Page, author of THE LIDO
Funny, moving and uplifting... I loved it.
WATERSTONES
A poignant, superbly funny debut novel about love, loneliness and the many ways life doesn't always go to plan.
Fanny Blake, DAILY MAIL
A poignant but uplifting novel that's related with great compassion and humour.
SUNDAY HERALD
Richard Roper's debut is heart-breaking, uplifting, funny and brimming with human kindness.
Thomas Barrie, GQ
This could almost be the tie-in novel for a Richard Curtis romcom... Something To Live For benefits from the same earnest charm.
Zoe West, WOMAN'S WEEKLY
A wonderful debut that's heartbreaking, uplifting and laugh-out-loud funny... an inspiring, life-affirming read.
David Sexton, EVENING STANDARD
Eleanor Oliphant for men
Gill Hornby
Like everyone else, I completely fell under its spell. It pulls you in, makes you laugh and breaks your heart - in short, does everything that you want a novel to do. Every character is round and real - from dear old Andrew, through the wonderful Peggy - oh, Peggy! - to the anonymous woman in the cloud of perfume who lives downstairs. While it is very much in the David Nicholls' tradition of sympathetic quirk and comedy, it is, at the same time, so fresh and different. I loved the voice, the people, the world..... Who couldn't? What an extraordinary debut.
THE NEW YORK TIMES
I loved this novel with my whole heart.
Lucy Foley, author of THE HUNTING PARTY
Tender, funny, compelling - this wonderful book deserves to be huge!
MY WEEKLY
This magnificent debut is a must for your summer reading list - heartbreaking, funny and tender, it has it all!
GOOD HOUSEKEEPING
Life-affirming...moments of hilarity while conveying a message about stepping out of comfort zones
Dinah Jefferies via Twitter
A beautiful, heart-warming laugh out loud story.
WALL STREET JOURNAL
[An] off-beat and winning debut..., [Something To Live For] earns its pathos. Even more to its credit, it gives resiliency and the triumph of the human spirit a good name.
Caroline Smailes
Nick Hornby and David Nicholls' quirky love child would write like Richard Roper. Something to Live For is endearing, funny and life-affirming, with a perfect dose of loneliness and human kindness
Sarah Gilmartin, IRISH TIMES
Richard Roper has crafted a compelling mystery in this clever and uplifting debut... Something to Live For is a story about the problems we encounter as human beings and the connections that save us.
Claire Frost, FABULOUS
If you loved Eleanor Oliphant, try this brilliant new read... We completely fell in love with this funny, uplifting debut.
BOOKLIST
Tragic, sweet, and hopeful... This novel will appeal to fans of Gail Honeyman's Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine.
Rebecca Thomas, BBC NEWS ONLINE, Best Fiction of 2019
The story Roper tells is a charming, humorous and life-affirming tale about human kindness that strikes a chord in a world where loneliness is a growing problem.