After nearly a decade of dutifully climbing the corporate ladder to become a partner in a headhunting firm, Lucy Leonelli was feeling restless in a life that was seemingly mapped out for her, and she could not shake the sense that she was missing out on something… something out there.
Realising that the answer was right in front of her – in a country so full of clandestine communities and colourful, eccentric characters – Lucy made the daring decision to hit the pause button on her career and hang up her suit in favour of a year exploring twenty-six wildly different subcultures.
Over the next twelve months, she lived with battle re-enactors, circus performers, hill baggers, Morris dancers, naturists, trainspotters, yogis, zeitgeist political activists and more, experiencing first-hand their social rituals and customs in the hope that, somewhere along the way, she might just uncover the most authentic version of herself.
A Year in the Life charts Lucy’s adventure as she sang naked karaoke with naturists, jumped from one very high place to another with parkour daredevils, partied in tight latex with self-proclaimed vampires and fought the undead in an epic LARP battle. It tells of the importance of community in an increasingly isolating society; of the unquenchable human thirst for a sense of belonging; of how misguided our own prejudices can be; and of how when we open the door to others, we might just learn something about ourselves.
More information
Lucy Leonelli
Lucy Leonelli is a Partner in the Global Executive Search Firm Wilton & Bain, where she leads the firms West Coast operations.
Born in 1985, she spent her childhood in Bristol sitting on the ground and refusing to walk any further, on all fours as her alter ego 'Uffie' the dog, and playing the Double Bass, very, very badly. She has since lived in London, Northern Australia, Southern Portugal, Denver and California. Playing women's rugby and exercising racehorses while she was supposed to be studying, Lucy somehow holds a First Class Hons BA in Philosophy from the University of Exeter and Denver University combined. She is also a certified NLP Practitioner, a guest lecturer at Columbia University and a graduate of City University, London in Narrative Non-fiction Writing.
Now an avid acapella singer and board game player, Lucy lives in San Francisco with her husband Mathieu and T-Rex the Corgi.
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7th February 2022Book arrivals & a few pics
Hello there!
Hopefully you will all have received your books by now, but if not please do drop me a note on lucyleonelli@gmail.com and I will chase for you. I wanted to send you a final note to remind you that if you feel so moved I would HUGELY appreciate a review on Amazon (and Goodreads if you're feeling flush for time!) You don't need to have bought it through Amazon to review, you just need…
9th January 2022Coming Soon! ... and an Amazonian Request
Hello wonderful supporters.
Your copies are being sent out next week so you should be receiving them very, very soon. Hoorah!
I have yet another, but hopeful final, request of you: If you feel so moved, I would really appreciate it if you could leave me a quick review on the Amazon website, ideally before February 20th 2022.
You do not need to have bought the book through Amazon to leave…
30th September 2021Address changes?
Hello wonderful supporters!
A quick update that the official publication date for the book is January 20th 2022, but you should all be receiving your copies directly from the warehouse in advance of this date - hopefully a week or two before, in early January. The original plan was to try and get them to you for Christmas, but due to all sorts of delivery/ logistic delays thanks to the pandemic…
24th September 2021It's HERE!!!!
Something amazing happened today!
Watch the video to find out more.....
9th July 2021How cool is this?!
Hello Wonderful Supporters.
Me again :) This time to reveal something very exciting... drum roll please ...
... it's the cover design!
Over the last month I have been working with an artist and the team at Unbound to refine our vision for the front cover, followed by refining the layout and details, and, voila! One of the more crucial tweaks was a very prudish - "erm ... can you make the…
22nd June 2021What? No more editing?!
I can't quite believe it but I have just sent back my final edit of A Year in the Life, following our completion of the legal read and a couple of small amendments. This is the culmination of FIVE YEARS of editing, and over 100 drafts of this book, which is both a huge relief and pretty darn terrifying as I don't get to make any changes from now on. Yikes!
Next up is typeset and cover design …
12th April 2021Copy Edit - Check!
A quick update...
Copy edit is in the bag. Legal read is afoot. Cover design has started. Eeeeek!!!
I'm hoping to have some visuals of how it's shaping up to share with you in the next update... hang tight.
Thank you all again for being awesome.
9th March 2021Fear of Missing Out on a better title
… so, how many of you had to Google the meaning of FOMO when you first saw the title for my book? Well, even if it was only a few of you, that's probably still too many, and the consensus from my wonderful publishing team at Unbound is that this unfamiliar acronym will likely be lost on a lot of people, and this adorable confused dog face will reign ↓ . So the BIG NEWS this week is that we are officially…
11th January 2021Developmental edit COMPLETE!
Hello you bloody brilliant lot.
A quick update that I have JUST officially turned in my completed developmental edit to Unbound. I've been working on this with my editor, Rachael, over the last two months and have really enjoyed the process (check up my video update for more info). I especially enjoyed that Rachael didn't just tell me to scrap the whole thing and write it again from scratch, which…
11th August 2020Just nine percent to go!!!
Hello friends.
A quick check-in with you again to say THANK YOU so much for your support in getting FOMO to 91% funded! We are so, so close to the finish line now and I could not be more grateful.
My objective for getting the book fully funded is September 5th, which just happens to be my birthday, and what a present that would be. So, I'm also sending a final call to action to ask for your…
29th April 2020The finish line is in sight
Hello wonderful backers.
Another week, another landmark. We have now past 75% funding - hurrah! - and can buckle in for the final sprint to the finish line.
It's a crazy time for everyone around the world right now, and I've enjoyed interacting with the various tribes and communities who appear in FOMO on how they've all been coping with the new normal emerging around us. My Facebook feed,…
1st November 2019Boo!
Me again, wonderful pledgers.
We are now 42% of the way along the road to being fully funded and edging closer and closer to the top of the 50% hump!
Please continue to pester your friends and family to jump on board as backers so we can get FOMO in the book stores and in your hands as soon as possible. In the meantime, in light of the occasion, here is the opening excerpt from one of the SPOOKIEST…
2nd October 2019According to the Evening Standard, one-third of British adults 'still sleep with childhood teddy'
There's lovely.
... and by some mad coincidence, FOMO is now one-third of the way up that steep ole’ crowdfunding mountain! Or, to put it another way, if each one of you lovely people who has supported the book so far were able to persuade 3 of your friends/ family/ long-lost acquaintances to support the book as well, FOMO would be at 100% funding, and all of the ridiculous rewards would be on…
Richard Taylor asked:
If we pledge to support the ebook, will our names still be put in the back of the book?
Lucy Leonelli replied:
Hi Richard,
Thanks for the question. The ebook is the only pledge level that doesn't include your name in the back of the book as standard. The next level up, which is paperback, does offer this for an additional 5 GBP. If you would like your name in the back, but prefer the format of an ebook, please go ahead and pledge for the paperback, and message me at lucyleonelli@gmail.com and we can change your order to an ebook in the back end, whilst ensuring your name is also included.
Many thanks for the question, and for considering pledging.
Lucy
If we pledge to support the ebook, will our names still be put in the back of the book?
Hi Richard, Thanks for the question. The ebook is the only pledge level that doesn't include your name in the back of the book as standard. The next level up, which is paperback, does offer this for an additional 5 GBP. If you would like your name in the back, but prefer the format of an ebook, please go ahead and pledge for the paperback, and message me at lucyleonelli@gmail.com and we can change your order to an ebook in the back end, whilst ensuring your name is also included. Many thanks for the question, and for considering pledging. Lucy