It was winter. Lauren Keenan was separated from her husband, lonely, and miserable. Then came the Night of 27 Rejections of Doom: asking 27 people to hang out one Friday night, and every single person saying no. Her attempts to console herself by going to the movies and eating ice-cream were thwarted by dropping her ice-cream on the toilet floor while fumbling with her phone looking for text messages that weren't there.
Lauren realised that this version of life wasn't working and that she needed to change it. It was time to try something new. 52 new things in fact. 52 new things in 52 weeks.
From entering a public dance competition to trying fake lashes; from starting a Wine and Netflix club to zip-lining; from giving up drinking for six months to going to a music festival alone to feeding a lion; Lauren put herself out there with surprising results.
Each chapter in The 52 Week Project looks at a wider societal issue - chapters include alcohol, parenting, loneliness and social media - and is informed by both Lauren's extensive research into social psychology and her observations about pop-culture.
Her year of new experiences was a game changer. It repaired her relationship with her husband, she regained confidence in herself, and she realised how satisfying it can be to push yourself to your limits and to do things alone. She also learned that true happiness is more likely to be found in the everyday fabric of life.
