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Ellie and husband Phil have been married for nine years and welcomed their daughter five years ago (Picture: Bafta)
Children are not the only route to having a meaningful life as a woman. I had a meaningful life before I had a child, and had I not become a mother, my life would still have value, worth and love. p11-12 In this very funny book she writes candidly about her own personal experience exploring the decision to have a baby when she doesn't even like them, the importance of cheese during pregnancy, why she took hair straighteners to the labour ward, plus the apocalyptic newborn days, childcare, work and the inevitable impact on life and love and most importantly, her breasts.Stand-up comic, broadcaster and actress Ellie Taylor is relatable, clever and interested in how women can have it all. Her honest, hilarious and moving account of the whys and hows of having a baby makes perfect reading for expectant mothers and fathers everywhere, as well as those who've been there, done that, and wonder how on earth they did. This is our second bra related joke on the list and I think it’s far stronger than the first. The word play hits on both the sea theme of the mermaid while also making sense in the context of math, a double threat! The pun lands really well and like #9, makes you think for a second before you realize what the punchline is. If it weren’t for the mention of food making Joel and Ellie more hungry, maybe this and #9 could have been swapped but as it stands, math is a lot more fun than being starving. Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for my advanced copy of this book in exchange for a review.
She revealed in an interview with Lorraine Kelly shortly afterwards that her daughter was ‘annoyed’ she had been booted off the show as she got ‘really into it.’ A refreshing, hilarious, raw and brutally honest account of the process of deciding to become a parent and everything that follows, whatever the path this may take.I should probably caveat this review by saying that I just didn’t find this book that funny. Sorry. There’s no doubt that there’s a wide audience for Taylor’s style of comedy, I’m just probably not it. So why read the book? Well, because I am mother to a 5 month old and am currently at the stage of craving anything that makes me feel ‘seen’. My Child and Other Mistakes is a frank and funny account of comedian Ellie Taylor's journey from being a single woman to meeting her now-husband, pondering motherhood, trying to get pregnant, being pregnant, having her baby and then navigating the trials of newborn life and figuring out her new place in the world. It was never preachy, never ‘everyone should be a mum’ or ‘I’m so brave because I am one’. It was always an understanding voice, offering silly anecdotes or helpful advice. But still there was earnestness. I’ll end with my favourite quote, which while written in a chapter about PPD, I think is very useful for anyone struggling to hear:
My Child and Other Mistakes is the honest lowdown on Motherhood and all its grisly delights, asking the questions no one wants to admit to asking themselves - do I want a child? Do I have a favourite? Do I wish I hadn't had one and spent the money on a kitchen island instead? For anyone who is pregnant, or trying to weigh up whether or not they ever want to be pregnant, this is a really helpful insight into what you might experience and - importantly - that all of the negative experiences and emotions that you may go through are NORMAL and OK! For those like me who have recently experienced preganancy and newborn life, it is a great book to reflect on what you have experienced so far - and to realise that those times where you think, or thought, you were doing a bad job, you were just / are just a human being and doing the absolute best that you can.Having heard from them, Ellie goes on to get her own opinions off her chest. Through stand-up and sketches, she gives us her hot take on topics such as masculinity, the environment, parties, the news, the Internet and billionaires. Talking to special guest experts including fitness instructor 'Mr Motivator', travel journalist Simon Calder, The Traitors' Amanda Lovett and her own mum, Ellie discusses whether exercise and holidays should be banned, explains why she thinks reality TV is culturally significant and asks whether having kids has ruined her life.
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