Stand up comedian Jen Brister’s first novel focuses on her experience of entering motherhood with her partner, Chloe. Once Jen and Chloe have agreed that they would like to start a family, they begin making the hundreds of decisions every parent-to-be faces, with a few extras thrown in for being a gay couple. One of these decisions was that Chloe would undergo fertility treatment, and when their twins are conceived, Jen finds herself launched into the role of ‘the other mother’. Not the birth mother, not the biological mother, not the adoptive mother, but something other.

Beginning with the couple’s early days together and ending as their boys hit four, The Other Mother is an honest, thought-provoking read. From sperm shopping to the sleepless nights from hell, from the frustration of weaning to the mess of potty training, Brister writes about her experiences in a way that made me laugh out loud. The difference between this book and other parenting books peppered with comedy is that Brister talks openly about navigating the added complexities of parenthood when you are ‘other’. Within the hilarity (believe me, there are some absolute corkers) there is an important message about the fears we have as parents, however we may have become one. The blurb on the back cover says Brister has desperately Googled ‘will my babies love me?’ at 3am; and I think many parents, whether they fit the mould or not, will be able to relate to Brister’s own hopes and fears. A fantastic read and one I’ll go back to again and again.

Comedian Jen Brister is having a baby but she's not pregnant - she's the other mother.
This light and humorous book take us through Jen and partner Chloe deciding to get pregnant and their lives until their offspring turn four.
I won't give too much away but life throws Chloe and Jen a bit of an extra surprise and - as a child-free person - I was amused by her 'no shit' approach to, well, shit.
I do have to say I might avoid this if you're pregnant!!
There's also a serious side to this autobiography. What is your role as the other mother (not the one who gave birth) and how do you reconcile your own choices with the opinions of a pretty conservative world?
Jen Brister writes amusingly and this is a gentle read. I picked it up and put it down over a week and it was an amusing bedtime diversion into very different lives.
Ps. I particularly liked the description of holidays: I now appreciate their true worth without kids!