non-fiction book of the month
FINDING YOUR PEOPLE
Alexandra Hourigan , Sally McMullen
$ 34.99 $ 29.99 available 4 june
Finding Your People , written by Alexandra Hourigan and Sally McMullen , is the Non-Fiction Book of the Month . This book is a modern-day guide to friendship , written by two popular podcasters who also happen to be best friends . When so much of our lives are lived online , it can be hard to find meaningful connections and know how to sustain them . This book is designed to help readers prioritise friendship , reflect on their relationships , and sustain the ones that matter most . We chose this book for its fresh take on the topic , as well as the hilarious style in which the authors share practical tips and research .
Congratulations on being the Collins Non-Fiction Book of the Month ! Can you tell us a bit about Finding Your People and what inspired you to write it ?
Thank you ! We are firm believers that platonic connections are some of the most important relationships in our lives . Yet , friendships don ’ t always receive the same level of attention as romantic relationships . We want to change that .
There are countless guides to dating , recovering from a break-up or adding spice back into a romantic relationship . But what about our friendships ? This is where we step in . We ’ ve created the guide to friendship that we wish we had in our 20s and beyond .
While similar in tone , the focus of the book is a bit of a departure from the content of your popular podcast ( Two Broke Chicks ). What inspired you to write it ?
Our podcast Two Broke Chicks shares life lessons and tips to help make you rich in life – from your bank account and career to relationships with yourself , others and more .
We have an ‘ Advice With The Chicks ’ segment on the show , where we invite our audience to send in their dilemmas for us to dish our two cents on . A lot of the time , the submissions from the chicks involve friendships . These submissions cover how to make friends as an adult , deal with toxic friendships or revive one that has fizzled out ( just to name a few !).
While these submissions are all unique in their own way , we noticed common themes coming up time and time again . Many of which were dynamics and questions we had confronted with our own interactions with friendships .
While these questions surrounding friendship are so universal , many of us feel quite isolated in our experiences because it ’ s not something many people openly talk about . So not only do we hope people find the book useful but it helps them feel less alone too .
The two of you have been best friends for years . How did you know your friendship was something special ?
We met in the office kitchen at our old work back in 2017 . We hit it off pretty immediately . But it wasn ’ t until our respective work wives left for separate holidays that fate saw us left to our own devices . That ’ s when we truly bonded . By the time they both returned a month later , we had matching tattoos and our soulmate status was pretty much sealed from there .
Since then we ’ ve launched a podcast , our own brand and faced many of the ups and downs of friendship together . While we ’ re so alike that people are often convinced we were separated at birth , it ’ s actually our differences that make our friendship so special . And it ’ s also why we felt so equipped to write this book !
You ’ ve worked together for a long time . How did the process of writing a book as a team differ to the other kinds of work you ’ ve done together ?
We ’ re both journalists and writers at heart , so Finding Your People was an exciting challenge and a bucket list moment for us .
Through our work on Two Broke Chicks , we ’ ve got a knack for blending our individual tones of voice into one . While we had some questions about how this would translate into a book , it was a nice surprise how seamless the process was to write together .
While most of the book is written from our combined perspective , there are various ‘ Note From Sal …’ and ‘ Note from Al …’ sections sprinkled throughout the chapters . This gave us the opportunity to share and elaborate on our own separate experiences and perspectives .
In Finding Your People , you share an incredibly appealing blend of personal history , practical tips , humour , and research . Is the book you ended up creating the one you set out to write ?
In the early stages of brainstorming , we tossed around a few different angles and topics we could pursue in the book . The trickiest part was niching down on exactly what we wanted to cover and realising that no one book can cover it all .
Once we landed on Finding Your People and the different topics we wanted to address in each chapter , the heart of the book didn ’ t change too much from there . As we approached each chapter , we became engulfed in the research and dug up personal stories we haven ’ t even shared on the podcast ( or each other , in some cases ).
In that way , we simultaneously created the book we set out to write and a guide to friendship that we possibly couldn ’ t have imagined in the beginning !
What do you hope readers will get out of this book ?
We hope that our readers find a new friend in this book . We hope it makes them feel less alone while they ’ re going through the throes of making new pals as an adult . We hope it gives them the tools to deal with confrontation in friendship . We hope it can be a shoulder for them to cry on when they ’ re fresh from a friendship break-up . We hope that it gives them hope that you can find your soulmate in a platonic friendship . Ultimately , we hope it helps them find their people .
We are sure there will be many readers who will be eager to hear more from the two of you . Do you have any other projects you ’ re working on together ?
You can hear more from us on Two Broke Chicks wherever you get your podcasts . You ’ ll also find us sharing our best shopping tips , money hacks and life lessons on Instagram (@ twobrokechicks ), TikTok (@ twobrokechicks _) and our private Facebook Group : Broke Chicks Club .
We ’ ll also have some very exciting launches coming up with our small business , Rich In Life , so definitely stay tuned for that .
Finally , are there any books either of you have read recently that you ’ d like to recommend ?
Some books we absolutely recommend you add to your must-read list are :
• Bite Back by Hannah Ferguson
• Good Material by Dolly Alderton
• Her Fidelity by Katharine Pollock
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