My enormous thanks to Polly Osborn at Harper Collins for a copy of Why Mummy Drinks in return for an honest review.

Why Mummy Drinks was published on 19th October 2017 by Harper Collins and is available for purchase through the publisher links here.

Why Mummy Drinks

It is Mummy’s 39th birthday. She is staring down the barrel of a future of people asking if she wants to come to their advanced yoga classes, and polite book clubs where everyone claims to be tiddly after a glass of Pinot Grigio and says things like ‘Oooh gosh, are you having another glass?’

But Mummy does not want to go quietly into that good night of women with sensible haircuts who ‘live for their children’ and stand in the playground trying to trump each other with their offspring’s extracurricular activities and achievements, and boasting about their latest holidays.

Instead, she clutches a large glass of wine, muttering ‘FML’ over and over again. Until she remembers the gem of an idea she’s had…

My review of Why Mummy Drinks

Ellen is fast approaching 40 and as her two children behave like tyrants and her husband Simon retreats in front of the TV she turns to drink!

Although I use them myself on occasion, I’m not usually particularly fond of books with loads of expletives and Why Mummy Drinks is peppered liberally with them from the euphemistic initials of FML to more outright examples. So, I think it says something about Why Mummy Drinks that I absolutely loved it!

It took me quite a long time to read Why Mummy Drinks because I literally couldn’t see through the tears of laughter running down my face. I had to read parts aloud to my husband and that took extra time as I couldn’t stop laughing long enough to do so properly. I found it utterly hilarious. For me, most of the humour came through Ellen thinking exactly what so many of us think too, but also through the carefully crafted writing. Gill Simms knows exactly where to use upper case letters or a judicial full stop for maximum impact. I found her writing flowed faultlessly.

I loved too, the family dynamics, especially as Peter and Jane confirmed everything I ever believed about children as a non-parent. Of course the characterisation is somewhat exaggerated in order to fit the genre, especially with Louisa, but that didn’t make the people in Why Mummy Drinks any less believable. Ellen is an absolute triumph of self deception, exasperation and realism.

Although the plot is slightly incidental as Why Mummy Drinks is a kind of monologue from Ellen, I thought the division into the months of the year so that ordinary family events like bonfire night, Easter and Christmas could be explored, worked brilliantly and when I’d finished reading and reflected I discovered there was actually quite a lot going on. Indeed, humour and fabulous entertainment aside, Why Mummy Drinks is also a witty and insightful insight into the modern world of middle class Britain – but don’t let that put you off, as it’s also a laugh out loud, fantastic read that I completely adored. Just brilliant.

About Gill Simms

Gill Sims is the author and illustrator of the hugely successful parenting blog and Facebook site ‘Peter and Jane’. She lives in Scotland with her husband, two children and a recalcitrant rescue Border Terrier, who rules the house. Gill’s interests include drinking wine, wasting time on social media, trying and failing to recapture her lost youth and looking for the dog when he decides to go on one of his regular jaunts.

You’ll find Why Mummy Drinks on Twitter, and can visit Gill’s Peter and Jane Facebook page or read her blog.