However, I still have the experience of living with them as teens which – according to this book – might soften the blow of them leaving! The teenage boys that eat through everything in the house, the teenage girls obsessed with socialising above all else, the nagging over revision and chores…all familiar already! As someone who has this a few years ahead of me, it does seem sad and unimaginable that my babies will move out one day. That’s not to say that this novel doesn’t have serious moments – there is recognition of the situation of having ageing parents and realising they aren’t invincible, plus the emptying of the family nest. Much of the book is very funny – some of it made me laugh out loud in recognition or because of Ellen’s sharp take on things. This isn’t an idealistic view of parenting – Ellen looking after her friend’s toddler for the weekend is enough to put anyone off having children and also reminded me of the time in my own life when I needed eyes in the back of my head and a cure for sleep deprivation. There are some real rites of passage here that those who have been through it (either themselves or as parents) will recognise – the driving test, first car, 18th birthday parties, exam is all just so relatable!Īnd that really is Sims’ skill – taking the everyday and making it funny. She is surrounded by her usual bunch of funny friends and eccentric family members.Īs with previous books, this is presented as a diary, although most of the events seem to happen in the first part of the year.

She also has her ex-husband to contend with as he seems to be about to start a new family with his girlfriend, Marisa.

In this book, Peter and Jane are now older teenagers and our main protagonist, Ellen, is having to deal with GCSEs, A Levels and her oldest baby leaving for university. These (mainly slightly-veiled autobiographical) updates became a book, that book became a series and here we are – the fourth and final book in the ‘Why Mummy’ series.

I first started reading Gill Sims’ writing on Facebook where she produces the very funny ‘Peter and Jane’.

Why mummy