WHY MUMMY DOESN’T GIVE A …. by Gill Sims

This woman is a fountain of inspiration for every single parent out there. I discovered Gill Sims when I got one of her books as a present from a friend (Why mummy drinks). She never disappoints and I feel like her books are getting better and better. I love her writing and I find myself laughing like an idiot on my own or trying to embed new swear words into my daily routine 😅 She never fails to remind me that after all no mother is perfect and we all fail from time to time but the important thing is to manage to find the silver lining and smile at life not giving a toss.

Once again, the reader is taken on a hilarious journey following Ellen and her children. While there are so many laugh out loud moments, the emotional side is present as well, just to give us all a dose of proper motherhood reality. Ellen is now on the most difficult stage of parenting, facing life as a single mother, trying to raise bad mouthed, tempered teenagers and losing her father as well. It all comes as a whirlwind upon her in just few months. I mean, her marriage collapsed after her husband admitted to sleeping with someone else while on a business trip, her children are now 13 and respectively 15 (proper headache of an age) and she moved into her dream cottage (well, that if you manage to ignore the damp, single bathroom, lack of shower and the brambles by the door instead of roses)

In spite of the hilarity, I found myself sobbing for Ellen and cursing out loud because she represents everything my friends say about me: never accept help, always want to deal with everything on my own even if things crumble down like dominoes around me. So, yes, every time she loses the plot I think to myself why on Earth don’t you try and speak to your friends, ask for bloody help, accept the hand that is there for you. But then I get it. I completely get it and I love Ellen again and look up to her for she is still a romantic, always hoping for the best.

I have been with her from the beginning and although I don’t have two children but one, I found myself in so many similar situations and cursed my life, swore like there’s no tomorrow and found myself tempted to open a bottle of wine before twelve o’clock because I was up for two days so who cares about conventions. And I had the odd #nailingit #lovinglife moments when I considered my precious moppet the best in the world and regarded myself the luckiest mother alive (in all seriousness, I am lucky for having such a good girl) but let’s not forget the toddler tantrums and the insane desire for independence when she is only four.

Ellen showed me so many faces of motherhood through herself and the other characters in her books and it helped me so much with my anxiety, not to mention with the well known guilt trips that seem to come in a package once you give birth.

I strongly recommend WHY MUMMY DOESN’T GIVE A ….! and all her other books as a must. And, if you can, try and read her journey in order. It’s so much fun but also educational.

I surely hope she’ll come with another book soon 🙂