Well written and some bits really captured the weird ups and downs of parenthood, but I found the author herself quite frustrating to read.

Her easy description of giving birth to her 5th child without painkillers and the comment that you’re missing something profound if you use painkillers in birth was.. unhelpful. 

I also wish there was more of a recognition that yes she had 5 children and an often absent father but she also had live in help which - obviously - mitigated a lot of the challenges of parenting but was never really written about apart from the occasional “I took my oldest son out for lunch and left the other four with Pavel” etc.

The feelings of this intense and personal book show motherhood in a way I haven't seen it expressed before. The writing is so evocative and capturing. I read this book in a blur of two and a half hours, but it feels like I lived Clover's life for a short time. Exceptional, and truly enlightening for someone with no children who is considering if children are in their future or not. I recommend it just for the writing alone.