The blurb on the front of the book says "Never has marriage, motherhood and being a working mum been so seriously funny". As I read the first few laugh-out-loud pages, I thought I'd found a serious contender for giving Kathy Lette a run for her money. Lucy Lawrie's willingness to shine a light on the unmentionables of motherhood, as well as pointing out the humour of those situations that we've all been in where we wanted to die of embarrassment at the time, had me smiling in recognition - the Babycraft mums (and dads) may be stereotypes but I think most parents will recognise at least a couple of them and the group email scene at the very start was hilarious!
After a few chapters, she seems to mellow out though and the book moves into a new, slightly more serious phase. New mum Cassie, an employment laywer, goes back to work and the plot starts to focus more on her separation anxiety and her new case, advising a funeral director who has an employee seeking compensation for work-related stress after seeing ghosts. As if that wasn't enough to deal with, her ex-boyfriend Malkie - the one that got away and that she never really got over - reappears and starts working at the same firm as her . All of this emotional turmoil, added to a hefty dose of post-pregnancy hormones and Cassie's tendency towards hypochondria, make an explosive mix and leave Cassie wondering if she made the right life choices or if she should have followed - and in fact could still follow - a totally different path.
It's a light-hearted but poignant read, looking at what it means to be a mother, a wife, a friend and also an ex, as well as exploring what love really means. At times, I wanted to shake Cassie and tell her to stop being a drama queen, but I could still relate to her and empathise with her most of the time. The end left me slightly unsatisfied - I won't give the game away but I felt that Cassie made her choice by default, rather than because she'd actively decided it was the right choice.
Learning that perfect happy endings only exist in fairy tales is all a part of entering adulthood and I'm sure the book will strike a chord with any parents.
star rating : 4/5
RRP : £7.99
- Paperback: 312 pages
- Publisher: Black and White Publishing (6 Mar 2014)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1845027213
- ISBN-13: 978-1845027216
- Product Dimensions: 19.6 x 13 x 2.6 cm
Disclosure : I received a copy of the book in order to write an honest review.
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Great review Cheryl! I might order this from Amazon!
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