It's time to share the motherload. A memoir culminating in a manifesto, Holding the Baby sets out to understand why we still treat early parenthood as an individual slog rather than a shared cultural responsibility. Tracing her own journey to the nadir of sleeplessness via social retreat and murderous rage, Frizzell draws on the latest research to explore: - What effect does parenting have on your career? - How can we make childcare affordable and fit for purpose? - If parenting is so hard, why does anyone ever do it more than once? Funny, reassuring and radically ambitious, Holding the Baby sheds light on the ways in which we fail new parents, and offers a rallying crying that we fight for a better alternative.

'As informative as it is poetic' Dolly Alderton 'Compassionate, funny and beautifully written' Daisy Buchanan ------------------------------ Every woman will experience the panic years in some way between her mid-twenties and early-forties. This maddening period of transformation and personal crisis is recognisable by the myriad of decisions we make - about partners, holidays, jobs, homes, savings, friendships - all of which are impacted by the urgency of the single decision that comes with a biological deadline, the one decision that is impossible to take back; whether or not to have a baby. But how to stay sane in such a maddening time? How to know who you are and what you might want from life? How to know if you're making the right decisions? Raw, hilarious and beguilingly honest, Nell Frizzell's account of her panic years is both an arm around the shoulder and a campaign to start a conversation. This affects us all - women, men, mothers, children, partners, friends, colleagues - so it's time we started talking about it with a little more candour. WHAT READERS ARE SAYING - 'Loved this book! Highly recommend for any woman (or man!) during the weird time in your 20s' ***** - 'Those panicky feelings of being a 24-30 something put into words' ***** - 'This book brings forth a sigh of relief. Excellent book that really taps into what so many of us are thinking and feeling, but not saying' *****

'Electrifyingly good...sharply comic and perfectly poignant' Daisy Buchanan, author of Insatiable ------------------- EVERYONE IS MOVING ON... AND THEN, THERE'S HANNA BY THIRTY, HANNA EXPECTED TO HAVE IT ALL (OR AT LEAST SOME OF IT) A fulfilling and successful career A healthy, long-term relationship, maybe even an engagement ring A house (or at least a flat) of her own BUT IN REALITY, SHE'S BACK AT SQUARE ONE... Single after breaking up with someone she's not sure ever loved her Flooded with wedding invitations and pregnancy scan pictures from friends Unable to afford to live on her own, moving in with her (also single and dating) father Everyone moves at different paces, but Hanna's life is in reverse. With the pressure to keep up and her dad's insufferable musings on Tinder, will she be able to figure out what she really wants?

'Electrifyingly good...sharply comic and perfectly poignant' Daisy Buchanan, author of Insatiable ------------------- Everyone is moving on... and then, there's Hanna By thirty, Hanna expected to have it all (or at least some of it) · A fulfilling and successful career · A healthy, long-term relationship, maybe even an engagement ring · A house (or at least a flat) of her own But in reality, she's back at square one... · Single after breaking up with someone she's not sure ever loved her · Flooded with wedding invitations and pregnancy scan pictures from friends · Unable to afford to live on her own and forced to move in with her father who is also single and dating Everyone moves at different paces, but Hanna's life is in reverse. With the pressure to keep up and her dad's insufferable musings on Tinder, will she be able to figure out what she really wants?