Why Mummy Swears by Gill Sims is the follow up book to Why Mummy Drinks – there is now a third book. They are based on the author’s blogs and social media posts about her family life, although the book is fictionalised. Mummy (Ellen) has two children (Peter and Jane) and a husband (Simon) and a dog (Judgy). She also wants a job and an identity outside the home. There’s a lot of truth about bringing up a family in this story.
If you have raised children you will recognise many of the situations in this book or similar ones. Jane wants to be an Instagram influencer and to have social media accounts not appropriate for her age. Peter doesn’t talk at all. Simon seems completely absent and unsupportive. She finds herself running the PTA at school with all the inherent problems that that brings. She gets a great new job but finds herself lying about having children to appear more committed and then has to keep making up stories about why she needs time off for emergencies. The book follows the family for a year in a narrative written by Mummy who seems to lurch from one crisis to another but always to come out of every situation quite well.
I found this book amusing at first. I understood Mummy’s position and thoughts even though I didn’t necessarily feel the same as she did. Many of the situations she found herself in were funny although her husband behaved very badly in places. After a while, however, I began to feel weary of the narrative. Although Mummy presents herself as scatty, disorganised and inept she actually manages to run a marriage, bring up children and hold down a job very well. The drama in the story was self-produced and almost certainly unnecessary.
I enjoyed the first of these books and this one raised a few smiles but I think that I have had enough of this type of book now and I will move on to other things. If you haven’t read any of these books though I recommend that you give them a go – you don’t need to have read the first one to understand this one.
Anne Is Reading 