The Secret Diary of a New Mum Aged 43 1/4 by Cari Rosen

We share an armchair. She’s watching Mary Poppins and I’m wedged in there somewhere with a book and a cup of tea. I’m oblivious to the film but, it seems, I am disturbing her viewing. “Why do you keep laughing, Mummy?”

Because I’m reading Cari Rosen’s account of being pregnant, giving birth and raising a young child for the very first time in her 40s (and she’s far from alone - apparently, the number of babies born in Britain to women over the age of 40 has doubled during the past decade). And it’s very funny. Throughout. In the first chapter, I was worried that the author might have added too many self-deprecating or observationally comedic moments but, as I warmed to her style, I was happy for her to just bring it on.

It’s an easy memoir to read, an effortless journey of, “Oh, yeah, I so remember that one,” or, “Totally!” for any mother, regardless of age. The first half of The Secret Diary of a New Mum Aged 43 1/4, which deals with pregnancy and birth, got me thinking in earnest about my own experiences as a (not so young either) mum, while the second, which concentrates on Cari’s experiences as a real-life mum to a baby who becomes a toddler, is jam packed with astute comments as she comes to terms with the stumbles and joys of new motherhood. References to her own child are immensely cute, without any sense that she would consider hers to be funnier/prettier/happier/more intelligent than yours, while recollections of a 1960s and 1970s childhood are great fun.

It’s insightful too and the author has done her research, talking to other new mums of the younger and older variety, whom she quotes, bringing a wider perspective to motherhood in the 21^st Century. As for fatherhood, some of the quips and sideways glances supplied, through Cari, by her husband are priceless.

A recommended read! Especially if you've already said goodbye to 35. And then had a baby.

The Secret Diary of a New Mum Aged 43 1/4 by Cari Rosen is published by Vermilion and available to buy at £11.99

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Review by Becky Condron, author of Broody