About A. F. Brady
A. F. Brady is a NYS Licensed Mental Health Counselor born and raised in Manhattan, currently living in New York with her husband, their children and their dog. Her first novel THE BLIND (Park Row Books) was published in September 2017. Her second novel ONCE A LIAR (Park Row Books) came out in January 2019.
In addition to writing, she currently works as a psychotherapist in her own private practice where she treats individuals and couples. She also runs a professional organizing and design business based in the idea that mental health is affected by our home environments.
She has a BA in Psychology from Brown University and two Masters’ degrees from Teachers College at Columbia University.
She has been working in the field of mental health since she was eighteen. She has worked in the psychiatric units of private hospitals, public mental health agencies, day treatment programs and private practices. She primarily worked with adults suffering from major mental illnesses (schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, etc.), and addictions to drugs and/or alcohol. She uses a lot of this experience to create authentic characters and settings for her books.
Read BookTrib’s review of A. F. Brady’s book, Once A Liar.
BOOKS:
The Blind (2017)
A Thousand Doors, an Anthology (2018)
Once a Liar (2013)
Biggest literary influencers:
Ernest Hemingway, Jay McInerney, James Frey, Chuck Palahniuk
Last book read:
Girl, Wash Your Face by Rachel Hollis
The book that changed your life:
My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Durrell. I grew up spending a few months in Greece every year, and this story rang very true to my experience. The other kids in New York didn’t have crazy Greek families, and Durrell’s whole adventure made me feel like my somewhat atypical experience was understandable and normal. This was the first book that spoke to me personally and made me feel like a real human.
Your favorite literary character:
Winnie the Pooh, because he is the most authentically, un-apologetically sincere and truthful character to have ever been committed to paper. He is himself, nothing more, nothing less, and just as flawed as the rest of us.
Currently working on:
Revisions for Book Three, planning and plotting for Book Four. Dabbling in screenwriting. Also, operate a psychotherapy private practice, treating individuals and couples. And I own and operate a professional organizing and design business.
Words to live by:
Give fewer f**ks what people think. Be nice to yourself
Advice to new and aspiring authors:
Don’t get discouraged. If this is your dream, keep on trucking until you’ve made it.
