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Holding the Baby

Milk, sweat and tears from the frontline of motherhood
3.85 goodreads logo

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( 176 ratings, 8 reviews)
Brief Description
Part-memoir, part-manifesto, Holding the Baby is a wildly reassuring and radically ambitious book for any new parents who have felt dismissed, misunderstood or short-changed. 'My favourite person on the politics of parenthood' - Pandora Sykes 'Exhilarating, infuriating, urgent and human' - Daisy Buchanan 'A blazing, brilliant... Read More
Format: Paperback / softback
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Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

Part-memoir, part-manifesto, Holding the Baby is a wildly reassuring and radically ambitious book for any new parents who have felt dismissed, misunderstood or short-changed.

'My favourite person on the politics of parenthood' - Pandora Sykes

'Exhilarating, infuriating, urgent and human' - Daisy Buchanan

'A blazing, brilliant read ... compassionate, convincing, funny!' - Amy Liptrot

'Honest, unflinching and necessary' - Sara Pascoe

'Funny and brisk ... urgent and incisive' - Rob Delaney

'A timely and important book' - Clover Stroud

It's time to share the motherload.

A memoir culminating in a manifesto, Holding the Baby sets out to understand why we still treat early parenthood as an individual slog rather than a shared cultural responsibility. Tracing her own journey to the nadir of sleeplessness via social retreat and murderous rage, Frizzell draws on the latest research to explore:

  • What effect does parenting have on your career?
  • How can we make childcare affordable and fit for purpose?
  • If parenting is so hard, why does anyone ever do it more than once?

Funny, reassuring and radically ambitious, Holding the Baby sheds light on the ways in which we fail new parents, and offers a rallying cry that we fight for a better alternative.

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781529176834

Publisher: Transworld Publishers Ltd

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 07 March 2024

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Penguin (Transworld)

Audience: General / adult, Tertiary education, Professional and scholarly

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 21.0mm

Width: 127.0mm

Height: 198.0mm

Weight: 241g

Pages: 352

About the Author

Nell Frizzell is a writer, journalist and Vogue columnist. She has written and worked for the Guardian, VICE, The Sunday Times, Elle, the BBC, the Observer, Grazia and The Independent among many others. Her first book, The Panic Years, was an exploration of bodies, babies and the big questions facing modern life. Her debut novel, Square One, painted a humorous picture of moving home, fathers and daughters and surviving heartbreak. She lives in Oxford, in a very small house full of pasta and bedding and bikes.

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    The Panic Years by Nell Frizzell is a compassionate, funny, and beautifully written exploration of contemporary womanhood. "The book may have 'panic' in the title, but Nell's words calmed and soothed me deeply," says Daisy Buchanan. "As informative as it is poetic," notes Dolly Alderton. "Compassionate, funny and beautifully written," adds Daisy Buchanan. Every woman will experience the panic years...
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