Hurrah for Gin – A book for perfectly imperfect parents by Katie Kirby
Opening sentence: ‘Hello my name is Katie and this is my book, I kind of hate writing introductions because I imagine people cringing when they read them but please bear with me I hope it will get better.’
As well as all the obvious benefits of becoming a mum for the first time (having a wonderful little person in your life, just in case it’s not so obvious…), the other thing I’ve really enjoyed is finding the crazy / inspiring / thank-God-it’s-not-just-me-reassuring mum blogs.
My favourite sub-genre being the ones who don’t sugarcoat motherhood and pretend every second with your child is a dream. It’s not, it’s hard and reading about other mums experiencing this is sometimes (without being too dramatic) the only thing that makes you feel like you’re not going insane / being the world’s worst mum.
On her blog, Hurrah for Gin, Katie Kirby, as the title (and opening sentence above) suggests, approaches motherhood with a wicked wit, dry sense of humour and lots and lots of gin. Along with her fantastic illustrations, I always look forward to her next post and having a browse through her archive. Turns out, so did a lot of other people, hence this book.
Initially wary, I wasn’t sure if a longer format would drown the charm of the blog or if she would have new things to say that I hadn’t read before, but if the amount of swift side-eyed looks I got while chuckling on the train reading this are anything to go by, I had nothing to worry about. Not only did I find sections of this book wildly relatable, but she told her story in such a loving, warm way, as well as giving some insights into what I have to look forward to when my little boy gets bigger.
It’s always a good sign when, not only are you sad the book is finished, but you would love to go for a drink with the author too.
Books on the 7:47 
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