How Not to Be a Perfect Mother [Paperback]

Libby Purves (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 26, 1986 | Series: How Not to

This is a book which sets out to show that even the most unpromising madonna can survive the years of looking after babies and toddlers. Full of down-to-earth tips and anecdotes, this is a battle-manual for the mother on the front line - going from pregnancy to pre-schoolers, and taking in sibling fights, fraught outings, nannies and careers along the way.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'This book is a great antidote to the prevailing tendency to make a science of everything, even the most natural things, like raising children. Libby Purves has faith in people. As you read her book, your faith in yourself comes flooding back.' Amazon reader, 2002 --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

LIBBY PURVES was a late starter, having her first baby at thirty-two. Previously she practised for motherhood by carrying heavy tape recorders round all day (on BBC Radio Oxford), getting up at 3.30am (as presenter of the Radio 4 Today programme), and by refereeing contentious arguments (as chair of BBC TV's Choices). Further useful experience was gained as a barmaid, soothing fractious drunks and mopping floors; and as the editor-in-chief -- for six exciting months -- of the society magazine Tatler. Armed with all this experience, she set out with the utterly misplaced confidence to have a family of five children; so far, she has managed two, and is beginning to flag a little. Libby Purves has written and edited several books, and writes for a number of newspapers and magazines. Now she lives in Suffolk with her husband, Paul Heiney, her son of eleven and daughter of nine. Once a week, she escapes from home life by travelling to London to present the Radio 4 chat show, Midweek, in which only two people are ever allowed to talk at once, and nobody's nose needs wiping. She is also the author of How Not to Raise a Perfect Child, How Not to be a Perfect Family and One Summer's Grace (available from HarperCollins), in which the family sails a small boat round Britain, but freely admits that they weren't too perfect at that either.

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Harpercollinspublishers (June 26, 1986)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 000636988X
• ISBN-13: 978-0006369882
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,932,389 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect for counterbalancing "What to Expect when You're Expecting"-obsessiveness, October 28, 2009

By 

Nicoline Smits (Near Baltimore Maryland) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: How Not to Be a Perfect Mother (Paperback)

I read this book 18 years ago, just after my oldest child was born and have since given copies to countless friends and acquaintances who were expecting or who had just become parents. Its tone is so refreshingly an irreverently down-to-earth that I think of it as a must-have to counterbalance the obsessiveness you see in other books about pregnancy and birth. Of course there are certain precautions to take and items to get, but there is no need to obsess over your pre-pregnancy diet, or morning sickness, or what color you should paint the nursery, or whether or not you should use cloth diapers. Relax! Enjoy! And learn some "low mother cunning," as Libby Purves calls it. You may also want to spring for "How not to raise a perfect child" and "How not to be a perfect family," which are the sequels to "How not to be a perfect mother." As you see, Libby Purves doesn't believe in perfection, except in her writing.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Funny and real, March 24, 2007

By 

Anya M. Waite "working mum" (Fremantle, WA, Australia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: How Not to Be a Perfect Mother (Paperback)

This book was a great read - funny and real. Highly recommend it for anyone who is watching the illusions of perfect parenting evaporate as life gets more and more challenging.