BRYDIE LEE-KENNEDY is an Australian author and screenwriter. Her debut novel Go Lightly is a funny and warm bisexual love story that looks at the challenges of youth, friendship, relationships, and figuring out who you are.
AKINA HANSEN writes.
For most people, your 20s are a formative period where you learn a lot about yourself and grow. You experience many things for the first time, from attending university, beginning your first full-time job, living out of home to falling in and out of love.
For many people it’s a joyous time – you’re free to travel, drink, explore and stay out at all sorts of hours without any constraints. It can feel incredibly liberating. However, this stage of life comes with its own set of difficulties. You’re still trying to figure out who you are, and what you want to pursue. Then there’s the more general challenges of adulthood that you’re confronted with and trying to wrap your head around, such as finding a job, paying rent, working on relationships and even yourself.
Australian author and screenwriter Brydie Lee-Kennedy explores this wonderfully, messy time in her first novel, Go Lightly.
‘I was lucky enough to have absolutely no idea what I wanted to do for most of my 20s but to eke out a living with various arts adjacent jobs. I’m a screenwriter now and though I vaguely thought about writing a book I always figured it would be essays. But my literary agent, who read every (probably bad) essay I sent her like an absolute champ, was always adamant that I try fiction. So when I was between TV contracts I started this book.’
Her debut novel follows Ada, a 20-something Australian expat living in London. Ada is an aspiring actress who works as a cabaret performer and lives with her best friend, Mel, in London.
In a former life, Brydie herself worked as cabaret performer.
‘Ada and I are pretty different but I gave her that bit of my personal history because it’s a fun world to play in. There are also allusions to Sally Bowles through the book, so cabaret seemed an obvious fit.’ Brydie tells me.
The story is set against backdrop and sees Ada living the so-called ‘artists life’ – living pay cheque to pay cheque but seemingly thriving on being immersed in the present. When Ada meets fellow Australian Sadie on the last night of Edinburgh Fringe Festival she is immediately drawn to her and the two end up spending the night together. But what begins as a one-night stand, ends up turning into a complicated friends with benefits-esque situation.
Go Lightly is told with humour and tenderness. Notably Ada is confident in her body and sexuality, and these playful and intimate explorations of sex are refreshing to read.
‘I’ve always been comfortable talking about sex … I wanted to imbue Ada with some of the fun and play that I think is present in sexuality, particularly in queerness,’ Brydie says.
When I ask Brydie about the inspiration behind Go Lightly she says, ‘I used to create shows for the Edinburgh Fringe and in one of them I told a story about a strange one night-stand. As a sort of writing experiment, I took that old Fringe story and fictionalised it and as I did so the story of the book sort of unfurled in my mind. I saw Ada, my lead, very clearly and built the rest of the world around her.’
In Go Lightly it becomes clear that perhaps Ada and Sadie might want something more from each other, but neither is willing to admit this. Things become further complicated when Ada receives a message from Stuart, an artist in Liverpool, who sees her perform and becomes completely enamoured with her. Ada finds herself falling for both Sadie and Stuart but when Sadie and Stuart become aware of each other, Ada is left to reflect on what she truly wants.
‘Ada is in a love triangle with a guy and a woman. You could read into her different behaviour with them as some sort of treatise on bisexuality and gendered expectations of behaviour, although I actually just think everyone is slightly different with every person they date. Ada is very sure of herself but she also loves to be loved and that was the basis of every interaction she had with them,’ Brydie tells me.
Underpinning the novel is also Ada’s emotional and physical separation from her family. Brydie examines Ada’s fraught and neglected relationship with her sister, which has caused a rift between them. When Ada goes to visit her sister who has recently given birth in America, it becomes evident that their past grudges are seemingly irrelevant in the face of something bigger than the both of them.
Go Lightly is a heartfelt book about love, friendship, family and identity. When I ask Brydie what she hopes readers will take away from her book, she jokingly responds, ‘I hope politicians read it and fix the cost of living crisis because people in their 20s should be free to make poor financial choices and hang out with their friends like Ada! Is “dismantling capitalism so people can chill more” an acceptable goal for a debut novel? No? If not then I hope people are inspired to visit Liverpool. It’s a cool city.’
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Brydie Lee-Kennedy is an Australian screenwriter and author who splits her time between London and Sydney. She has written on shows for Netflix, Apple TV, and Disney. In a former life she was a cabaret performer, kids party entertainer, and sex columnist for SBS Australia. Go Lightly was her first novel.
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