A collection of essays curated and edited by our author Katherine May, The Best, Most Awful Job, is published by Elliot & Thompson today.
This extraordinary, emotional collection of honest experiences around motherhood features a contribution from Katherine herself, as well as nineteen other mothers including agency authors Leah Hazard and Michelle Adams.
Motherhood is life-changing. Joyful. Disorientating. Overwhelming. Intense on every level. It’s the best, most awful job.
The Best, Most Awful Job brings together twenty bold and brilliant women to speak about motherhood in all its raw, heart-wrenching, gloriously impossible forms.
Overturning assumptions, breaking down myths and shattering stereotypes, these writers challenge our perceptions of what it means to be a mother – and ask you to listen.
Ahead of publication, this brilliant anthology has received stunning reviews:
“All the pain, power and privilege of being a mother is here in these tales of stepparenting; being unable to conceive; having six children; single parenthood; and of how race, class, disability, religion and sexuality affect our perceptions of motherhood” Caroline Sanderson, The Bookseller Editor’s Choice
“This is the kind of book that could well make a difference to someone’s life … every mother should read it.” Laura Pearson, author of I Wanted You to Know
“A wonderful anthology. I enjoyed it so much – the honesty, intelligence, fury and tenderness of the essays; and, importantly and refreshingly, the range of voices and stories it contains.” Liz Berry, author of The Republic of Motherhood
Katherine May writes fiction and memoir, and leads the Creative Writing MA at Canterbury Christ Church University. She lives in Whitstable with her husband, son and two cats, and can be mostly found walking along the beach and swimming in the sea. In her spare time, she reads, cooks and drinks gin martinis, stirred. Katherine is the author of the fiction novel, The Whitstable High Tide Swimming Club (Orion / Trapeze), as well as two memoirs, The Electricity of Every Living Thing (Trapeze) and her most recent memoir, Wintering, which was published last month by Penguin Random House / Riverhead.
Leah Hazard is a midwife based in Scotland. She had a career in television at BBC Scotland until the birth of her daughters prompted her to make the leap into midwifery. Leah’s first non-fiction book, Hard Pushed, was published in paperback in February, and shot straight onto the Sunday Times paperback bestseller list at No. 10.
Michelle Adams grew up in the UK and now lives in Cyprus with her husband and young daughter. Her debut women’s fiction novel, Little Wishes, will be published in September with Trapeze, following the publication of two psychological suspense novels with Headline.
