Author:Amy Ransom
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*'NEW MUM, YOU'RE DOING BRILLIANTLY'*
Reassuring, funny and down-to-earth, THE NEW MUM'S NOTEBOOK is everything you need for the first year of life with a baby.
‘It is hands down THE best book I was given as a new mum. I feel it should be issued to all mums on leaving hospital.’ (Louise, Amazon review)
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What do new mums want most of all (apart from sleep)? They want someone to tell them what they’re feeling is ‘normal’. That they’re doing ok. That they will be ok. The New Mum’s Notebook, written by Amy Ransom – mum of three and creator of the Surviving Motherhood blog – does all this and more.
From night feeds, napping and weaning, to which films to cue up on Netflix, finding some headspace and getting all the support, coffee and cake you need, Amy has been there – and this is the book she wishes she’d had by her side.
Divided into the first 12 months of motherhood, with 304 pages of reassurance, love and humour, as well as spaces to scribble thoughts, feelings and memories from those crazy early days, The New Mum’s Notebook will nurture a new mum in however she chooses to raise her baby. Whether it’s her first or her fifth.
Word on the street is it’s almost worth having another baby for...
'You've created the book that we all wish we'd had.' – Clemmie, mum of two
‘My go-to present for my new mummy friends’ – Kate, mum of two
‘I've had loads of baby record books and never ever filled one in. This book feels so different. I love it.’ – Annabel, mum of five
* Perfect for expectant mothers and new mums
* Gorgeous colour pages including lots of reassurance, self-care advice, journal pages, affirmations and simple recipes
* Divided into 12 months to take you through every stage of a new mum and baby’s first year
* Eight journal pages per month with space to write notes, thoughts, memories and all those ‘to-dos’
* 12 months of milestone charts for mum and baby
I manage[d] to scrawl some notes in this lovely book... A gorgeous item to pick up... when even three weeks felt like forever ago.
—— Alexandra Heminsley , The PoolWhoever you are and wherever you are, this book is guaranteed to be relatable to you in some way and it’s a timeless piece that I certainly will always have a place for on my bookshelf. If this appeals to you, then I advise you to run to your nearest brilliant bookshop and pick up a copy.
—— Kettle MagTender, funny and cathartic, This Modern Love is a compelling portrait of individual desires, resentments and fears that reminds us that, whether we’re in or out of love, we’re not alone… A unique book that is definitely worth a read.
—— Frost MagazineIt’s so cute, some of the things written in here are so sweet. Such an amazing idea. Will’s put this together so well. It would make like the loveliest gift for someone you love or a friend. Honestly, the nicest coffee table book.
—— ZoellaAn extraordinary read, honest, intimate and lightly poetic. It is a testament of love, loss and grief and also the often untold story of those who are left behind and must find a way to go on
—— Irish IndependentA book for our times
—— Mark Lawson , Guardian, Books of the YearDefiant and powerful...Leiris shows us, poignantly and movingly, how the absence of Helene opens up for him and his son.
—— The TimesIncredible, informative, very powerful… Beautifully written… I felt so touched by it and changed by it, so I thank you for writing it. I hope it finds a huge audience. I can’t recommend it highly enough… A beautiful piece of work
—— Jonathan Ross , Radio 2 Arts ShowOne of the most enduring and memorable messages after the deadly attack on Paris's Bataclan theater was written by journalist Antoine Leiris. This bracing, courageous, and utterly beautiful book shows us that he had much more to say
—— Elle.comThe man whose words have inspired millions.
—— BBC NewsAn extraordinarily moving book
—— MirrorTissues at the ready, because though this book be little, it is FIERCE… No fluff. No forgiveness. No forgetting. I read it in one brief sitting, lying in the bath, tears dripping into the water.
—— PoolThis is a soliloquy not only on grief but on love, a raw but controlled cry of fury and defiance against a senseless killing, and a touching addition to the rich tradition of writing about loss.
—— Caroline Moorehead , Times Literary SupplementPoignant
—— GraziaIt is simple and immediate, and is all about love and loss… an astonishing feat
—— Sunday TimesVery intimate and full of love
—— Belfast TelegraphI am impressed by his responsiveness, the nuanced intelligence with which he speaks.
—— Kate Kellaway , GuardianCourageous and inspirational, without a wasted word
—— KirkusWhat he makes me see is how the personal is a possession and that this is especially true for everyone involved in the Bataclan tragedy because the personal was – and still is – in danger of being swamped by the public story of international terrorism.
—— Kate Kellaway , ObserverHe had deliberately retreated from the world that was talking incessantly about the slaughter… If Antoine refused to give his hate to the men who killed his wife and so many others, he also refuses to give them space in his life and that of his now two-year-old son.
—— Joe O'Shea , Belfast Telegraph MorningHe looked at the words on the screen as the news networks competed to find words to describe the events: massacre, carnage, bloodbath. He wanted to scream, but couldn’t because of Melvil… Initially resistant to spending time with fellow mourners, Antoine discovered that there is a kind of brotherhood, a feeling of recognition, that can provide consolation.
—— Cathy Rentzenbrink , Pool[A] beautifully written memoir… It’s the hardest book you can pick up this year, but also the most affecting.
—— GQIt is a personal account of the aftershock following the atrocity. Yet there is no gore, no torture, no scene-setting, no facts putting the Isis-claimed retaliation in context, no second-hand reports of what happened inside the theatre… Instead, it is simple and immediate, and is all about love and loss… This book may also be Leiris’s way of just holding it together. One feels he is writing as the man he was before that November day that changed everything… It is the literary equivalent of smelling her clothes every night before attempting to sleep.
—— Helen Davies , Sunday TimesA book for our times.
—— Mark Lawson , Guardian, Book of the YearThis book is a love song to Hélène, a promise to Melvil and a resolution not to be defeated by chaos and barbarity. It is a stunning mission statement.
—— Claire Looby , Irish TimesThis heartbreaking and beautifully written memoir lays bare the terrible chronology of grief, but it is also a testimony to the power of love and hope.
—— Jane Shilling , Daily MailIt’s an agonising account of those first few days, in which the lives of father and son changed forever. Despite the haste with which it was written, every word is chosen with care and charged with meaning, a raw and honest memoir of grief which can’t fail to move all who read it.
—— Alastair Mabbott , Herald Scotland