The Book Launch … and Dog Chews.
As I write this, it is the 1st of October 2025, 2 years to the day that I self-published my book Who's Wally? - Adoption, Brian, and Me. If you didn't know, the book came about after I saw connections between my poor mental health and my adoption. Anyway, not going to bang on about it here, but please feel free to learn more on the website.
Even though it's been around for 2 years, the book only had its official launch on the 24th of September this year. Here's how that finally happened, and also, why it didn't, until now.
October 2023 arrived with a great big shiny new book from me sitting on Amazon. Everyone around me celebrated, just not me. OK, yeah, I went with it to a point, on the outside at least. On the inside, it was a bit, well, shit! On the outside, I was smiling, being positive at the correct junctures in conversation, and I may have even opened a bottle of fizz to mark the occasion. I mean, come on, how often have I written and published a book in my life? Just that one time, if you were trying to count. In reality, I just wanted it all to go away. I tried my hand at doing some marketing, of course, I did. But my heart wasn't in it.
Looking back, I found the act of writing myself out of a depression exhausting. Cathartic, yes, definitely, but exhausting. I was so done with it, I couldn't even read the collection of words that I'd battled so much to collate.
“How many books have you sold?” and “How's the book going?” “Well,” I'd say, “it's OK, but it was just a therapeutic exercise really, it's done its job.” And so I continued to hide from Who's Wally? I'd found out who Wally was, then cast him aside, for fear of being reminded of it all.
Then in June this year, I became a Facebook ‘top fan’ of an independent bookshop that opened earlier in the year in my home town of Grantham. This surprised me as I hadn’t set foot in the place! I loved the idea of a bookshop springing up on the high street, as Grantham is awash with cafes, charity, and barber shops, but nothing like this. The town needed it. Every time I saw a post on social media relating to this new place I'd like, love, share, or comment on it, as if I was helping to guarantee its longevity by doing so. Also hoping that just by its sheer existence, it might fuel more diversity on the high street.
So, on Thursday, the 19th of June, I did something outlandish. I went there, in person!
That day I met Abbirose. She told me that she usually worked a day a week to relieve Laura, the owner. Of course, I got chatting about my book, and she suggested I might bring a copy or two as they may want to stock it. “Blimey,” I thought, “my book being sold in an actual real bookshop, that would be pretty cool.” That first day, I bought a book.
The next time I went in, I took two copies of ‘Who’s Wally?’ to leave for them to look over, and I met Laura, the owner. I bought a book. The two books I now own were both written by a local author, and were number one and two of a series. I’m a sucker for supporting local. Come to me as someone living nearby with something to sell, and I’ll probably buy it. I have a box full of really good dog chews made by a woman local to me … No dog, though.
With my book now sitting on the shelves at The Reading Room Bookshop, the preceding weeks would see me go in for a chat and coffee here and there, and almost without fail, I would come out with another book. What is going on here? Is there some sort of book pheromone being pumped in throughout the shop?! On two occasions, authors have popped in to see if they have sold any books, and, at that time, they hadn’t.
I immediately felt bad for them, so I said, “Yes, you have, I’m just buying one!” I guess I was trying to pay it forward. It worked as I've been in the shop when people have come in specifically to buy my book! That's a great feeling. “Do you have a copy of Who’s Wally?” “Not only do we have the book, we also have the author …”
The shop runs bookish events, to which I have attended a few, book launches, and a silent reading club, among the many, and I always wished I’d had a book launch, and so it was that I booked the evening of 24th September, and started to plan one.
First things first, I produced some posters and flyers. I managed to get a few up around town, but in truth, most of them went in the bin! I also went on local radio, Hive FM, to promote the book and the launch, which was great fun. Annoyingly, the local press, although having the story promoting the event (written by Laura), for weeks leading up to the day, dropped it on the morning of the 24th!
I decided to go with an interview style thing, so I asked Abbirose to my ‘Michael Parkinson’, or ‘Michaela Parkinson’ as I was now referring to her. We planned out the running order, and I learned to read out loud. LEARNED TO READ OUT LOUD! HA. sounds weird, but it's true. How difficult is it to read out loud, without stumbling over sentences?!
Choosing parts of two chapters and a blog to read for the guests, I rehearsed a lot, and I mean … a lot!
As the day came closer, I realised that I was going to be reading out loud, in front of people, stuff I've barely been able to read in my head! It's at these times when I would be Andy, try to hide, but I knew that I couldn't do that this time. So David got involved. David was my birth name, and I was christened Andrew after being adopted. David is the creative, outgoing one of ‘Us’, he seems to come forward to carry us through.
The launch was such a positive experience; it brought new people, some friends, some family, including a surprise friend who said she wasn't going to make it. Sneaky! One of my mates had made Who’s Wally? Cupcakes.
The interview and readings went as planned, I didn't stumble over the words, and the Q&A at the end produced some interesting discussions. Plus, some of us went to the pub after. Woohoo!
I later dropped the remaining few cakes. In my defense, my daughter hadn't applied the lid back on the box correctly. This resulted in a Who’s Wally chocolate and vanilla flavoured kitchen floor. No, I didn't lick it off. I’m still trying to get through the box of dog chews. It leaves me feeling quite full. You should see my glossy coat, though!
I’m proud to say that The Reading Room, in Grantham, has now become my book's new home, and it has inspired me to do more. I've always said that writing the book was a learning process, writing myself out of depression. Adoptees can have a tough time just trying to be a human, and like me, some might not see the connections to having been adopted. I’m sharing those learnings with others, in the hope that they, too, might learn something about themselves.
I’m no longer hiding away from the words in the book; I’m proud of myself and what Who’s Wally stands for. Thank you to everyone who came along to support the book, and thank you to all the readers. Remember, DON’T CHOOSE BRIAN!
If you're ever in Grantham, quickly becoming the literary centre of the universe, please go and visit The Reading Room; you won't be disappointed. Tell them I sent you.
If you are a bookshop owner, run a book club, or are looking to set up Bookish talks related to the subjects of mental health or adoption, please get in touch via the contact page on my site.. I’d love to come and talk with you.
Let's do a Who’s Wally book tour!
Image © Andy Wallis 2025
