Good Joy, Bad Joy: The uplifting novel about friendship and second chances from the bestselling author – the feel-good book club pick

Mikki Brammer

Aug 2026 · Viking · Narrated by Maggi-Meg Reed and Kimberly M. Wetherell

Audiobook

11 hr 5 min

Unabridged

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About this audiobook

She's lived by the rules. Now she's breaking them . . .

For more than eighty years, Joy Bridport has followed the rules - devoted wife, loving mother, steadfast neighbor in her small town. But when her best friend Hazel is given only months to live, Joy is forced to confront the truth: Hazel has lived fully, while she has only played it safe.

Determined to change, Joy vows to live boldly in the time she and Hazel have left together. What begins as small rebellions soon snowball into petty crimes, and Joy must decide whether she can embrace the freedom of 'Bad Joy' without losing the life and legacy she's built.

With humor, heart, and irresistible mischief, Good Joy, Bad Joy is a wise, bighearted celebration of friendship, second chances, and the courage to become who we were always meant to be.

'A beautifully reflective story of lifelong friendship, legacy, and what it truly means to lead a "good" life.' Natalie Sue, author of I Hope This Finds You Well

'Uplifting, charming, and wonderful, it will make you call your oldest friend to say "I love you, I'm so glad you're alive, and also, please read this book".' Annie Hartnett, author of The Road to Tender Hearts

'A multilayered love letter to the wonder and resilience of female friendship, but also a tender reminder that at any stage of life, even at 89, it is never too late to bloom . and to rediscover joy.' Jessica George, author of Maame

She's lived by the rules. Now she's breaking them . . . For more than eighty years, Joy Bridport has followed the rules - devoted wife, loving mother, steadfast neighbor in her small town. But when her best friend Hazel is given only months to live, Joy is forced to confront the truth: Hazel has ...

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About the author

Mikki Brammer is an Australian journalist currently based in New York. She spent her childhood in Tasmania surrounded by a flock of quirky great aunts and uncles who instilled her with a passion for adventure, curiosity and storytelling. She has spent the past nine years writing about design, architecture and art for publications including Architectural Digest, Dwell and Lonely Planet. The Collected Regrets of Clover is her first novel.

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