Description

NOW WITH A NEW PROLOGUE

The essential companion for every mother embarking on maternity leave

‘In one important sense maternity leave is poorly named, as it involves no actual leave. You are constantly on, even when your offspring is having a nap. There is nothing restful about it. In another sense maternity leave is aptly named, because it’s a period of leave from all you know: taking leave of one’s mind, body, job, and relationships’

When Emma Barnett began her second maternity leave, she realized that, despite having been there before, as soon as her first leave finished the rose-tinted lenses had descended and she immediately forgot what the experience was actually like when you’re in it. This collective forgetting, which leads to well-meaning comments such as ‘enjoy every minute’ and ‘treasure this special time’, is doing a disservice to women, leaving them unprepared for the more complicated reality of what it means to be on maternity service.

In this warmly reassuring, refreshingly honest book, Emma sets out to capture this reality, in real time while on her latest tour of duty. She isn’t offering advice on sleep-training or weaning or helping your baby reach milestones. Instead, this book is a celebration and acknowledgement of the work of being on maternity leave, with its soaring highs and challenging lows, and its impact on how women feel about our purpose and ourselves.

‘Kind, funny, smart, soothing and radical … This book is a hot cup of tea, a steadying hand on an arm, a baton passed with care and compassion … A true gift for mothers, and an act of service in itself. This book will change lives’ LUCY JONES, author of Matrescence

Publisher Review

A tender, honest ‘love bomb’ of a read … I’m giving it to every new mother (and old) that I know * Abi Morgan, author of This is Not a Pity Memoir * This lovely book will keep many a new mother company * Philippa Perry * An absolute jewel of a book. Kind, funny, smart, soothing, and radical … A true gift for mothers, and an act of service in itself. This book will change lives * Lucy Jones, author of Matrescence * This book is absolutely excellent. I loved every word * Claudia Winkleman * This is the book every woman should read before they take maternity leave * Anya Hindmarch * ‘Reassuring, funny and wise … A very welcome life raft’ * Sophie Ellis Bextor * Women need to be prepared for motherhood, in body and in soul, and I hope Emma’s book will inspire mothers to talk about their “maternity service” * Naomi Stadlen, author of What Mothers Do – especially when it looks like nothing * When Emma turns her forensic gaze onto a subject, that subject should be very afraid. She is stepping out onto virgin soil here and busting it open in the most comprehensive of ways … Attitudes towards Maternity Leave should and will never be the same again. And the first thing that needs to change is its ridiculous name * Emma Freud * Maternity leave is a no man’s land. Often literally. Weirdly so little has been written about it – probably because new mothers are too knackered and dazed. Emma has managed to capture this very strange but magical time and make some sense of it for us all * Susannah Constantine * Emma Barnett is the David Attenborough of the maternity leave world; her writing is as reassuring as her voice is on the radio. Reading this made me want to weep with relief for the woman I was in those early months – this book should go alongside the breast pads and maternity pants in every hospital bag * Dolly Jones *