Today I have a guest post from the wonderful author behind Notebook Number Nine, Jackie Carreira. Enjoy!
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If you had the time to sit down with a piece of paper and write a letter to yourself, what would you want to say? Would you write that letter to your five-year-old self, or to you in twenty years’ time? Would you choose to share some wise words of advice that your experience has taught you, or would it be a warning?
The main character in Notebook Number Nine takes none of the options above, but she does write a letter to somebody – anybody – because she’s desperate. That’s where the story begins. At first, she doesn’t know who she’s writing to, even when she gets a reply. But it’s the beginning of the answers to a series of genuine, gut-wrenching questions: Why is the world so full of lies? How can anyone know what the truth is today? And now, with the rampant spread of deepfakes, scams, and even reality shows that reward deception, how can any ‘normal’ person find truth without the means to escape to a monastery up a mountain or a beach in Bali?
If I told you any more, I’d be in spoiler territory, so you’ll have to find out what happens by reading the book. What I can tell you is what inspired the idea in the first place. By nature, I’m an optimist and unashamed idealist, but something I don’t talk about often is that I’m also plagued by bouts of severe depression, which I’ve had to deal with since I was a teenager. Over the years, I’ve had to find ways to manage this, through a lot of trial and error.
One particular Wednesday, some years ago, I was in a particularly positive mood and caught myself wishing that I could bottle the feeling so that I could access it whenever I felt down. Then I had an idea. I sat down and wrote myself a letter. I wrote with pen and paper in my own handwriting, no computer, and I wrote down all the things that I valued about myself and my life. Not what I loved about myself (that kind of stuff is a bit vomit-inducing for me!), but what I valued: that my physical health was pretty good; that I could play an instrument (which I did professionally for twelve years); that I had a cat that tolerated me; that I had food in the fridge; that I could still recognise beauty in this world…those kinds of things. And I described how it felt to be happy that day, and ended with a silly joke that made me giggle. Then I put the letter in an envelope, stuck a first-class stamp on it, and went to the post box to send it to myself.
The next day, my letter arrived. I didn’t open it straight away. I sat it on a shelf and waited for a day when I might need it. A couple of months later I had a ‘down’ day. The letter was waiting. I opened it and read it. I’d forgotten most of what I’d written. It was as if someone else had sent it. But I read it, and it helped! It wasn’t a miracle cure, in fact parts of it made me cry, but it helped because it taught me that all things pass. Some days are rough, some tough, some wonderful and fun. It’s all part of the process.
None of this is in Notebook Number Nine, but this is what inspired it. The answers to our personal challenges are sometimes simpler than today’s world would have us believe. The answers are often inside us all along. So, if you had the time today to sit down and write yourself a letter, what would it say? Perhaps you’ll switch off your phone, shut down the laptop, and give it a try. But maybe do it on a good day.
Jackie Carreira – August 2026
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About The Book
When all the lies and hypocrisy of the world become too much to ignore; when you see it all so clearly that you can’t erase the image from your mind, what do you do?
When the thin veil of conformity drops from Bekki’s eyes she doesn’t know what to do either, so she sits down and writes a letter. Alice replies. But who is Alice? And is it even possible for ‘normal’ people to undertake a true journey of self-improvement without running away to a monastery up a mountain?
Bekki is going to find out.
Notebook Number Nine is a life-affirming, often humorous story of self-discovery and what it simply means to be human.
About The Author
Jackie Carreira is an author, playwright, musician, and co-founder of QuirkHouse Theatre Company and the Foreword Book Festival. Born in England to Portuguese parents, she grew up mostly in East London, but spent part of her early childhood in the Old Quarter of Lisbon. These colourfully diverse cities and her ‘genetic nomad’ background have had a big influence on both her writing and general view of the world. Jackie now lives in East Anglia with a husband, two cats, and an awful lot of books. She is a proud patron of Halesworth Library in Suffolk.
Follow the author on Facebook or Instagram.
Pick up your copy here.