Helen Heckety Books In Order

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

She is a disabled author. Prior to writing her first novel, she wrote poetry, worked in a library, and performed at spoken word and alternative comedy shows. She has written two solo plays, both of which have toured. One is ‘To Helen Back’ and the other is called ‘Helen Highwater’. The latter made its premiere at the Southbank London Lit Festival 2019.

Helen is also the author of a poetry collection titled The Underlook, which came out from The Poetry Business in 2021. It contains poems about all types of topics, from bad psychics to surgery to medical trauma, dating, and a missing piglet. If you’re looking for a creative read that will keep you entertained and you can flip through at whim or read in order, this is a great collection to check out.

She says that she will forever be in mourning over the passing of her beloved hamster, who was the first to find out about her getting a literary agent and celebrated with her with strawberries. Her debut novel Alter Ego came out in 2024 from Renegade and she has stated that she hopes it sell well which means that she will be able to get more tattoos.

Alter Ego is the debut fictional novel from Helen Heckety. Whether you’re looking for something new that you can add to your lists of books to read or you’re in the mood for something that ‘changes the way you see the world’ (in author Freya Sampson’s words), this is the book for you.

Sometimes in life you need to get lost a little before you are able to find your way back again and stand once more on solid ground. Hattie had something happen to her six months previous that changed a lot for her. The very next morning, she decided that it was time for her to come up with The Plan.

For her, it was time to start an entirely new life. That is exactly how she came to be living in a small cabin that is located in the middle of nowhere. It may sound like it is something that is isolating, but it’s the perfect situation for her.

Hattie loves how the forest goes on for miles all around and when the sun goes down she can look up into the night sky and see all of its stars shining brightly. This is a place where Hattie is allowed to be any type of person that she wants to be. She is free to be herself.

She was just 2 years old when she was officially diagnosed as having a condition that could end up changing the path of her life. Since that day she has been having to explain herself all the time while also trying to pretend– for others or herself, she doesn’t know– that the looks of pity that she gets don’t bother her at all.

Hattie needs The Plan to work but if she wants that to happen, it means that no one who is back home can ever find out the reason why she left. In the meantime, no one in her new life will ever know the truth about her.

However, she quickly finds that she is in over her head. The more lies that she tells, the more that she has to keep up with. In the end, it won’t be too long before she gets caught in them. She gets stuck between who she is and who she wants to be. When it all starts to fall apart, is she going to be able to put herself back together? Or is it far too late?

So many people are loving this book, from readers to fellow authors. Tess Amy raved that this ‘joyous book will stay’ with her for a very long time, while fellow author Rebecca Netley stated that ‘This is a book everyone should pick off the shelves’.

For those who have ever felt that they had a tough time accepting themselves or had the instinct to hide away, or even if you have been feeling somewhat lost, this is a book you won’t want to miss. It’s funny but emotional and one of those books that once you pick it up, you don’t want to put it down until you get to the last page. Find out what goes on with Hattie and her Plan by checking out Alter Ego by Helen Heckety and follow along with every word.