You know when you read a book cover to cover and cry, nod furiously and shout OH MY GOD YES THIS! Well this book written by doula Beccy Hands and midwife Alexis Stickland should be be handed out with the child health red book. It is packed full of brilliant and practical advice for any new mum – whether it's your first or fourth baby. Really sound tips on coping with visitors, looking after your perineum, recipes, how to get through those wobbles and so much more.

Gabor Maté is one of the most important, wise and compassionate voices in the world on addiction. Everyone should read this profound book

I recommend this wonderful book for anyone struggling with the heartache of addiction personally or professionally. Gabor Maté makes the thought-provoking and powerful arguments that human connections heal; and that the poverty of relationships in the modern world contribute to our vulnerability to unhealthy addictions of all manner. His uniquely humane perspective—all too absent from much of the ‘modern’ approach to addictions—should be a part of the training of all therapists, social workers, and physicians

With unparalleled sympathy for the human condition, Gabor Maté depicts the suffocation of the spirit by addictive urges, and holds up a dark mirror to our society. This is a powerful narrative of the realm of human nature where confused and conflicted emotions underlie our pretensions to rational thought

In its sheer force, originality and deep scholarship, this book represents a landmark in the theory, treatment and prevention of addictive disorders. No-one seriously interested in this subject can afford not to be aware of what it says about addiction and how we should respond to it

An insightful, multilayered discussion of the nature of addiction generally, and our society’s epidemic of addictions in particular

It’s the kind of book you can leave in the bathroom. Short essays about all sorts of things including how she organised a threesome for her husband’s 40th birthday. Druckerman has a keen eye, a wicked sense of humour and is cynical enough to know that we shouldn’t take it all too seriously.

Builds layer upon layer of tension in a novel you won't be able to put down

Utterly gripping. A tautly-coiled spring of suspicion and suspense which builds to a devastating ending

Thrilling

A dark and twisty tale

Well-written, taut and tense

Taut and thought-provoking

Gripping to the last page

Suspenseful, brooding

Clever

A wise book on parents and children

The main message is that is that it's best to acknowledge, rather than dismiss, children's feelings (...) and that parenting is not about perfection

This is a book to be read cover to cover, like a novel. Buy yourself two copies: one for reading and one for use in the kitchen

The main message is that is that it's best to acknowledge, rather than dismiss, children's feelings (...) and that parenting is not about perfection

[Segal] is a natural, fluent writer and, in this book, the reader will feel confident in her hands even as she explores a shattering episode in family life… Segal is brilliant at conveying the tedium and the trials of life in the ICU and beyond. In short, Mother Ship is simply compelling

Hopeful, harrowing…and darkly funny, Mother Ship has you laughing, crying and frantically turning the pages to discover how it all turns out

[Segal’s] words are a powerful, poetic and deeply affecting reminder of how precious are life, health and the everyday

Segal's moving memoir reveals not only what it takes to keep premature babies alive, but also what it means to be human and a mother

Mother Ship is a huge achievement for Segal, who has produced a memoir that promises to linger with you like a literary earworm… an extraordinary testament to the power of human survival

Vivid, fearless and inspiring… This is an intimate and electrifying memoir. It is a hymn to the sustaining power of women's friendships, and a loving celebration of the two small girls – and their mother – who defy the odds

A deeply moving, yet also witty and heart-warming account

[Segal] captures beautifully the complexities and contradictions of the human body

An ode to the companionship of the women on the neonatal ward in the darkest, most volatile days, it is moving but never mawkish

A song of praise to the beleaguered, indomitable NHS, with writing at such a pitch that it lingered with me all year

A heart-tugging account… this is one of the year’s most exquisitely written books