Hello and welcome back to Ask Penguin, the podcast all about books and the people who write and publish them.

I'm Rihanna Dillon and today I'll be sitting down with author, actor and bona fide comedy legend, Dawn French,

to talk about her latest novel, Enough. We'll then be putting some of your brilliant

listener questions to Dawn and some of our penguin colleagues to top your reading pile with

even more great reads. Just a heads up that this episode contains content about suicide and suicidal

feelings. With seven BAFTA nominations and a BAFTA fellowship to her name, Dawn is just a little bit of a national treasure.

She's best known for starring in and writing her brilliant comedy sketch show, French and Saunders,

and for playing beloved Geraldine Granger in the sitcom The Vicar of Dibley.

Dawn began making us laugh on the page in 2007 with her hilarious and heartwarming memoir,

Dear Fatti. Dawn has since become a bestselling author of fiction, including A Tiny Bit Marvelous,

Oh Dear Sylvia, according to Yes and Because of You.

Dawn's latest memoir, The Twat Files, became a Sunday Times bestseller. Enough is Dawn French's

fifth and latest work of fiction. It's a personal novel about suicide, partly inspired by the

loss of Dawn's father, Dennis, who died when Dawn was 19. In Dawn's own words, it contains her very heart and soul.

Dawn, massive congratulations on the book, and welcome to Ask Penguin.

Thank you so much for coming in.

Of course.

So for a novel ostensibly about suicide, enough is also such a warm read about love and about family and about aging and motherhood. So tell us about

your protagonist Etta and her family. Well, I wanted to write a character that, well, first of all,

is my age. That's pretty much where the similarities end with me. But I did that really for two reasons.

One was being a little bit lazy because I wouldn't have to do any research

because I know what it's like to be my age.

...