‘On Saturday, Elvie looked me straight in the eyes and said, “You know Mummy, everyone knows you’re struggling to get through.” She’s not even three years old. I’d apply to Mensa on her behalf, but this afternoon she wanted to know why I wouldn’t let her swordfight with a goat. Animal cruelty aside, it says something when my two-year-old has a better handle on my mental health than I do.’
Just a few years ago Hannah Oakland was a drama student who believed all her childhood dreams were coming true. Now she is a wife, a mother of two, and reliant on anti-depressants to make it through the week.
‘I’m beginning to suspect that parenting will always be terrifying. At the moment I’m hanging on by my fingernails. But I have to believe that I can do it. That one day the black cloud will lift. That I’ll look back over our photographs and remember all the good bits. Tea and cake and guinea pigs. I can’t wait.’
The Honest Mums’ Club will speak to all those mothers whose dreams haven’t panned out in quite the way they planned. It tells of Hannah’s journey towards an acceptance that there are no rules or guarantees with parenthood, nor with depression. But that, within the chaos, there are pockets of grace to be found – often in the most surprising places.
Also, there are stories about poo. And cake. Not at the same time. Promise.
The Honest Mums’ Club is available now from Amazon, online bookstores and wherever good books are sold.
The Ebook version is coming soon: watch this space for more details.
Walking with the moon 