Useful and practical

...This book is full of sane advice from a humorous and humane registered dietitian and a co-author with an upbeat, motivational attitude. The anecdotes are all up-to-the-minute - even Sophie Rhys-Jones prenuptial regimen is included (it involved seaweed wraps) - and the authors offer tips that extend beyond crash diets. To wit: how to choose a dress that minimizes figure flaws; how to pose for photos; how to set up a 'slim kitchen'.

The[ir] book is no magic bullet--the weight loss plans inside advocate a balanced diet and exercise. But the book also includes helpful tips on managing wedding-related stress, handling potentially disastrous pre-wedding eating events and finding the right wedding dress for your figure.

The Presence is a fragment of autobiography written from the most private part of a poet's heart, with a pen dipped in blood and tears. That it transcends this to become both elegiac and celebratory, to inhabit both the suffered present and the beloved past, places it almost beyond the scope of routine criticism.

Hauntingly poignant... One hopes that he comes before long to share the happiness this wise, funny, heart rending little book brings to its readers

Full of memorable images... As Abse performs the strange and also strangely valuable work of mourning, he offers, with The Presence, wit and balm

Elegy and eulogy, full of kindness and understanding of our common vulnerablility, this lovely book is a very rich boon

Reading this book is like having a chat with your friends or with other mums at the crèche or the school gate.

A no-nonsense guide to running a family – whatever your personality.

In this memoir she describes her eccentric, dangerous, wonderful bohemian parents...Blackburn emerged from this turmoil as a fine writer, and this book is full of understanding and reconciliation

a rich account...brilliant vignettes

This piercing memoir paints in vivid colours Julia Blackburn's nightmarish childhood

Blackburn tells us about these things in a compelling authorial voice which is by turns numb and incredibly sensitive

Brutally honest book ...deeply moving testament to the love that can somehow survive

An extraordinary family memoir... A bohemian classic