The LOVE ProjectA Journey of Intimate Conversations
For years, my work as a journalist for the BBC and other outlets took me to boardrooms, green rooms and main stages, asking probing questions of celebrities, leaders, and innovators. Yet when I began interviewing my new community in Carmel-by-the-Sea, I uncovered some of the most unexpected and inspiring stories of all — stories of love, loss, resilience, and joy.
The Love Project brings these intimate conversations together, and will remind you that it’s never too late to find love, redefine purpose, or rediscover connection.
EXCITING NEWS: The LOVE Project was chosen as an Editor’s Pick by Publisher’s Weekly. The reviewer compared it to the NYT’s Modern Love, Aaron Feinberg et al.’s Meet Cutes.
The Love Project brings these intimate conversations together, and will remind you that it’s never too late to find love, redefine purpose, or rediscover connection.
EXCITING NEWS: The LOVE Project was chosen as an Editor’s Pick by Publisher’s Weekly. The reviewer compared it to the NYT’s Modern Love, Aaron Feinberg et al.’s Meet Cutes.
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The Love Project Cover Art ©Delia Bradford
Here’s an excerpt from a letter to my mother from The Love Project epilogue.
Dear Mum,
…Some days, as I walk on the sweep of Carmel’s silky sand, inhale the briny air, and listen to the wind whispering through the cypress trees, I want to bring you here. But I know that’s impossible. The journey’s too much for your paper-thin skin, your fragile bones, your ragged breath. Instead, I’ll take you on my journey, introduce you to the people I’ve met and show how love has transformed them. I want my neighbors to become yours, and their stories to enthrall you, to quench your thirst for “interesting people.” To distract you from the darkness.
This book is dedicated to you, dear Mum. I hope it’ll be a soothing balm in these troubled times, a gentle reminder that listening to each other and cultivating empathy and love can bring us together as a family, a neighborhood, and a wider community. It’s a love letter to you and to Scotland, my beloved homeland, as well as to my new home here in California.
I know your eyesight is fading rapidly…
The thought of you holding my book in your lap propels me to work every waking hour.
…Some days, as I walk on the sweep of Carmel’s silky sand, inhale the briny air, and listen to the wind whispering through the cypress trees, I want to bring you here. But I know that’s impossible. The journey’s too much for your paper-thin skin, your fragile bones, your ragged breath. Instead, I’ll take you on my journey, introduce you to the people I’ve met and show how love has transformed them. I want my neighbors to become yours, and their stories to enthrall you, to quench your thirst for “interesting people.” To distract you from the darkness.
This book is dedicated to you, dear Mum. I hope it’ll be a soothing balm in these troubled times, a gentle reminder that listening to each other and cultivating empathy and love can bring us together as a family, a neighborhood, and a wider community. It’s a love letter to you and to Scotland, my beloved homeland, as well as to my new home here in California.
I know your eyesight is fading rapidly…
The thought of you holding my book in your lap propels me to work every waking hour.
With love and thanks and admiration, always and forever.
Each remarkable story will remind you that there’s more love in your life than you realize and you’re more resilient than you think:
Give purpose to loss
Laura shows us it’s possible to move through the heartbreaking death of a child and find new ways to heal and transform pain into a force for good that touches many lives.
Cultivate empathy
Maria struggles with poverty but her rich friendships show how suffering can connect us when we find others who’re lost or have shared similar journeys.
Acceptance of others
Kairi showed us that asking open-ended questions, and seeking to understand the lives of people who are different from us can widen our world and forge beautiful friendships.
Free yourself from the past
David shows us that truth telling, as well as self-compassion and forgiveness can help us find freedom and a new lightness of being.
Forge commonality
Chris’s attitude of abundant love for dogs allowed her to bridge political and social divides. It can also work when we share a deep love of nature, cultural heritage or hobbies.
Look beyond first impressions
Deborah, the nude model, feels no shame or regret at being the unnamed muse of her ex-lover. Her audacious story may help us embrace our own sexuality more fully.
Harness the power of regret:
Almost everyone carries regrets about loved ones. Carmel’s mayor is energized by a long-held regret.
Some questions
The Love Project explores:
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