Confessions of a Bad Mother: The Teenage Years

When you're pregnant you think: 'I'm having a baby', not a person who will eventually catch trains by themselves, share a fridge with ten strangers, go to a festival in Croatia without succumbing to a drug overdose, and one day, bring you a gin and tonic when your mother is dying. We imagine the teenage years as a sort of domestic meteor strike, when our dear, sweet child, hitherto so trusting and mild, is suddenly replaced by a sarcastic know-all who isn't interested in the wisdom we have to pass on. But with great honesty and refreshingly bracing wit, Stephanie Calman shows that adolescence in fact begins much earlier, around the age of seven. And having nurtured them through every stage of development, from walking to school by themselves to their first all-night party, you find yourself alone - bereaved even - as they skip off to university without a second glance. Candid, touching and very, very funny, Confessions of a Bad Mother: The Teenage Years offers hope to despairing and exhausted parents everywhere. Read it and discover that your teenager is not the enemy after all.

About the Author :
Stephanie Calman is the founder of the seminal and hugely successful Bad Mothers Club website the author of the bestselling Confessions of a Bad Mother and Confessions of a Failed Grown-Up and is married with two children. She created the hit Channel 4 sitcom Dressing For Breakfast and has appeared on many TV shows including Have I Got News For You and The Wright Stuff. She has also written for most British newspapers and magazines including Daily Telegraph, Observer, Guardian, Cosmopolitan, GQ and Harpers & Queen, and has been a contributor to a wide variety of radio shows, including Start the Week, Woman's Hour, Quote Unquote and The Fred MacAulay Show. She is the author of two novels, Dressing For Breakfast and Gentlemen Prefer My Sister.

Review :
Hilarious, poignant, and relatable on so many levels . . . a must-read for parents at every stage of their parenting journey . . . sure to be a huge hit and I highly recommend it I recommend this book as a light-hearted read that cleverly has some important lessons to share with every parent or indeed anyone who is just doing their best This was such a fun book, full of hilarious, sweet and poignant, anecdotes from when the author’s children began to turn into teenagers, right up until they left home to go off to uni. I laughed out loud on so many occasions when I was reading this, as well nodding vigorously agreeing with the author . . . I loved this book, and thoroughly recommend it one if you’re looking for a nonfiction book that will make you laugh and also help you through those awkward teenage years. I’m actually convinced that Stephanie has had a sneak peak into my life . . . As well as being slightly thought provoking, you will relate to this book on so many levels as a parent, I loved it and think it’s a must read . . . The book is bound to become a hit [A] hilarious and poignant read that anyone who has children is sure to love . . . I loved this book. It’s brilliantly written, insightful and hilarious. A must read Brilliantly funny . . . [a] thought provoking book, which I thoroughly enjoyed You can expect plenty of real laugh-out-loud moments and also more than a few genuinely ugly-cry ones too! But throughout, you will be able to relate to just about everything that is in these pages . . . A fabulous book which really should be essential reading for parents and teens alike! 5 stars This is an absolutely brilliant read that I thoroughly enjoyed from start to finish Calman has such a great way of writing – the book is full of anecdotes and events in their family’s life and how her and her husband Peter deal with them . . . This book made me laugh out loud on several occasions. I guess it is parenting manual of sorts, but presented in a light hearted, yet relatable way . . . A really entertaining read, suitable for parents of kids of any ages, I looked forward to picking this up because it made me smile! Ironically, even though it is called Confessions of a Bad Mother, Stephanie is anything but! Stephanie hits the nails on the head with every chapter . . . a hilariously, absorbing read of parenthood that I . . . just couldn’t put down! What a book! This is a delightful book in many senses, as the honest revelations of feelings, some fears and many frustrations emerge from a writer who carefully balances farce with reality. I found it funny and realistic, and flows well from episode to explosion and explanation. I enjoyed this book far more than I thought I would, and found it very readable. I would certainly read other books by Calman, as this is a balanced and essentially lighthearted read Stephanie Calman has such a brilliant way of putting all of the trials and tribulations of bringing up teenagers in this beautifully hilarious book. Writing from her own experiences makes this a refreshing read which most people will related to in one way or another It was laugh out loud funny, very honest, light hearted and extremely relatable to all mums . . . I definitely recommend reading Confessions of a Bad Mother: The Teenage Years, it's hilarious, honest, relatable to all, I whizzed through the pages with ease. Stephanie has written a Gem of a book that all parents, and even children should read, it certainly opened up my eyes and took me back to my teenage years! Confessions of a Bad Mother: The Teenage Years is a laugh out loud book that had me, as a reader and parent of two teenagers, realise that my children are normal, that we have done an okay job of bringing them up and they have turned out okay! . . . Everyone should read this - it is a real hoot! The writing was witty, engaging and honest . . . I enjoyed this book a lot and will likely purchase it for those friends of my who are also raising teenagers, the struggles are real but already I am dreading the loss of them leaving and all of these feels are captured in this entertaining piece of nonfiction. Calman writes about parenthood with the same winning mix of fondness and exasperation . . . the book brims with great jokes Wow, what a laugh! Absolutely loved the humour in this and I think any parent will feel exactly the same . . . much better than the other teenager parenting guide available and definitely more funny! I loved this book. It has interesting layers of which even its author appears unaware. She is brutally honest and more or less incapable of writing a stuffy or self-satisfied line. What a reader can see and she seems not to, is that she is just as bright and intelligent as her children as they grow, and possessed of a sweet nature and a brilliant sense of humour.