Are you obsessed with finding the best books – yes, multiple – to read on holiday? Broadcaster Sara Cox is!

Welcome to The Happy Place Guide To Holidays! In this chat – brought to you by British Airways Holidays – Fearne and Sara share their thoughts on how to take your holiday reading more seriously. They natter about the joy of reading a novel set in the country you’re holidaying in, and whether the vivid descriptions of a location have inspired them to travel there themselves.

They also swap their own experiences of writing books, and reveal the beautiful locations that have informed elements of their own novels. Plus, Sara explains why she’s trying to stop writing about characters who are useless and dysfunctional in her books, and why she’s re-living her party-girl days...

You can find a list of all of Fearne and Sara’s recommended reads below!

British Airways Holidays are ATOL protected, offer a 24hr holiday helpline, and allow you to book with a low deposit. All holidays include a generous baggage allowance per person. Go to Ba.com/holidays to find out more.

Fearne and Sara’s reading list:

Remarkably Bright Creatures – Shelby Van Pelt

Girls – Kirsty Capes

Memoirs of a Geisha – Arthur Golden

Butter – Asako Yuzuki

The Convenience Store Woman – Sayaka Murata

The Island – Victoria Hislop

Daisy Jones And The Six – Taylor Jenkins Reid

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo – Taylor Jenkins Reid

Carrie Soto Is Back – Taylor Jenkins Reid

Girl On A Train – Paula Hawkins

The Compound – Aisling Rawle

Ma’am Darling – Craig Brown

Lady In Waiting – Anne Glenconner

Chocolat – Joanne Harris

The Thousand Lights Hotel - Emylia Hall

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Getting lost in anxiety, shame, or self-loathing? Spiritual leader Gabby Bernstein wants you to acknowledge all the messy parts of your true character. Spoiler: you’re not going suddenly to like yourself overnight, but acknowledging the uncomfortable bits will get you there sooner!

In this chat with Fearne, Gabby explains how ‘protector parts’ like perfectionism, people pleasing, and numbing out can spiral into extreme self-soothing behaviours like drug or porn addiction if they’re not dealt with.

Fearne and Gabby chat about anxiety as a protection mechanism, exploring why being focused on the heart palpitations and hyper-vigilance is stopping you dealing with your deeper wounds.

Plus, Fearne notices that her OCD is back so Gabby takes a moment to help her check in with her current stress levels – you can follow along with this exercise too!

Gabby’s latest book, Self-Help, is out now.

If you liked this episode of Happy Place, you might also like:

Mel Robbins

Natalie Lue

Tell Self-Limiting Beliefs To Bugger Off

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Do you love a true crime scam documentary? Our latest Happy Place Book Club read is for you! Iconic author Lisa Jewell has written Don’t Let Him In, a thriller about a perfect man... who’s a fraudulent liar.

In this chat with Fearne, live from The Happy Place Festival, Lisa explains how she got into the mind of a psychopath despite being a very honest person herself. They explore how people fall for charming romance scammers, and how Lisa has become a relentlessly happy person.

Plus, Lisa’s written 24 novels but has given up on trying to be a ‘professional’ kind of person – she explains how to sod the rules and build confidence in your own process.

If you’re new to Happy Place Book Club episodes, don’t worry, there are no spoilers here! If you want to join the Book Club, we’re on Instagram @happyplacebookclub, and Book Club episodes are released the first Friday of every month!

Thank you to Penguin Audio for the use of Don't Let Him In audiobook, narrated by Richard Armitage, Joanna Froggatt, Louise Brealey, Gemma Whelan and Tamryn Payne.

If you liked this episode of Happy Place, you might also like:

Book Club Meets: Emily Henry

Book Club Meets: Lorna Tucker

Book Club Meets: Clare Leslie Hall

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Are holidays for switching off... or for fun activities? Broadcaster Clara Amfo is big into travelling solo so she can unapologetically indulge her own passions, like live music and salsa dancing.

Welcome to The Happy Place Guide To Holidays! In this chat – brought to you by British Airways Holidays – Fearne and Clara share their thoughts on how to take your holiday hobbies and passions more seriously, including signing up for local classes, and swapping partying for fitness retreats.

They also reminisce on the moment Fearne passed the Radio 1 Live Lounge over to Clara, and chat about how to know when you’re ready to move on from a chapter in your life. Plus, do you find your personality getting lost so you’re more palatable to others? Clara has some advice to stop that happening...

British Airways Holidays are ATOL protected, offer a 24hr holiday helpline, and allow you to book with a low deposit. All holidays include a generous baggage allowance per person. Go to Ba.com/holidays to find out more.

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Are you living the life you want to live? Broadcaster Davina McCall’s recent health scare has shown her the importance of living boldly, with no regrets.

In this chat, live from The Happy Place Festival, best pals Fearne and Davina share how having tumours removed within a few months of each other brought them closer together.

Davina explains how you can turn fear into joy through mindset changes, and how to apologise so you’re not carrying the weight of guilt anymore. She also reflects on how being in Narcotics Anonymous finally enabled her to like herself, warts and all.

If you liked this episode of Happy Place, you might also like:

Mel Robbins

Trinny Woodall

Dannii Minogue

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It’s ok to make mistakes! Comedian Harriet Kemsley says her dyspraxia meant she learnt very early on not to take herself too seriously.

In this chat with Fearne, live from The Happy Place Festival, Harriet explains how to get through the cringe part where you’re really rubbish at something new, and why it builds resilience for all parts of your life.

Harriet also chats about the chaos that comes with co-parenting and dating after divorce, and has the final word on that eye-roll stereotype that men don’t like funny women...

If you liked this episode of Happy Place, you might also like:

Florence Given

Joanne McNally

Joel Dommett

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It’s National Orgasm Day on July 31st, so Fearne is listening back to Happy Place conversations about female sexuality, fantasy, and – obviously – orgasms, so that we can reclaim our bodies and desires as our own...

In this episode –

- Crystal Hefner describes what it was like living as a sexualised woman at the Playboy House

-Emily Ratajkowski unpacks how we can remove our sexuality from the male gaze

-Dita Von Teese gives her take on nudity and building confidence in your body

-Gillian Anderson chats about what she learnt from collecting essays on women’s fantasies

-Miranda July explains why she included a particularly taboo fantasy in her novel All Fours

-Florence Bark talks through how to get to know your own anatomy better, so you can properly lean into all that pleasure your body is capable of

Listen to the full episodes here –

Crystal Hefner

Emily Ratajkowski

Dita Von Teese

Gillian Anderson

Miranda July

Florence Bark

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Be honest... do you pick your holiday destination based on the food you can eat there? You’re in good company – that’s just what Richard E. Grant does!

Welcome to The Happy Place Guide To Holidays! In this chat – brought to you by British Airways Holidays – Fearne and Richard share their thoughts on how to take your holiday food and drink more seriously, including asking mates (Nigella Lawson, if you’re Richard!) for recommendations, looking for restaurants with small menus, and testing ingredient quality via a Caesar salad starter.

They also get into a heated debate about whether perusing the aisles of a foreign supermarket is the best way, or the worst way, to spend your holiday! And Richard offers to pack Fearne’s suitcase for a very specific reason...

Plus, Richard explores why grieving can make us more likely to notice the little joys in life, as well as wondering if we all need praise and accolades to some extent.

British Airways Holidays are ATOL protected, offer a 24hr holiday helpline, and allow you to book with a low deposit. All holidays include a generous baggage allowance per person. Go to Ba.com/holidays to find out more.

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