You are about to listen to a BBC podcast and I'd like to tell you a bit about what goes into making one.

I'm Sadata Sese, an assistant commissioner of podcasts for BBC Sounds.

I pull a lot of levers to support a diverse range of podcasts on all sorts of subjects,

relationships, identity, comedy, even one that mixes poetry, music and inner city life.

So one day I'll be helping host develop their ideas, the next fact-checking, a feature,

and the next looking at how a podcast connects with its audience, and maybe that's you.

So if you like this podcast, check out some others on BBC Sounds.

BBC Sounds, music, radio podcasts.

Hello, on Open Book Today, we're giving you some sustenance for the struggle,

bringing life-affirming stories from community spirit in tough Harlem tenements

to familial love on the bread line in the Miami Sun.

But first, how to get through the January blues and a breakup and still keep a smile on your face.

Really good, actually, the debut by Monica Heisey, is one of the most hotly anticipated titles of the year.

It's tender, smart and very funny in places, and from an author who's been keeping

us smiling as a screenwriter for many years on shows like the hugely popular Schitts Creek,

that's with an S-C-H, by the way. Really good, actually, tells the story of Maggie, whose life

bears more than a passing resemblance to the author's own. Divorced in the late 20s, just 608 days after the wedding,

Maggie sets out to rediscover single life,

which is made harder by the struggle to pay her rent,

and a PhD which is going nowhere.

While the book did make me laugh out loud at times,

it certainly didn't make me nostalgic for my 20s,

...