Key themes are:
1. Wanting to be a good parent despite your childhood trauma: This theme speaks to the universal desire to break the cycle of negative experiences and provide a better life for one's children. Many individuals grapple with the challenge of overcoming their past while striving to create a nurturing environment for their children.

2. Becoming a parent abroad: Parenthood in a foreign country can bring unique challenges, including navigating cultural differences, building a support network away from family and friends, and potentially raising children with multiple cultural influences.

3. A strong and good relationship breaking down due to the effects of becoming a parent: The strain that parenthood can place on relationships is a common experience for many couples. Adjusting to the demands of parenting, changes in priorities, and shifts in dynamics within the relationship can all contribute to this theme.

4. The anxiety of a first-time mother: Parenthood is often accompanied by a range of emotions, including joy, excitement, and anxiety, particularly for first-time parents. The responsibility of caring for a newborn, combined with the uncertainties of the future, can lead to heightened feelings of anxiety and insecurity.

5. Having to find a way to settle down in one location after being used to travelling and moving around: Transitioning from a nomadic lifestyle to settling down in one location can be a significant adjustment for individuals accustomed to travelling and exploration. This theme explores the challenges of finding stability and a sense of belonging in a stationary environment.

6. Illness: Coping with illness, whether it affects oneself or a loved one, is a profound and universal experience. This theme delves into the emotional and practical challenges of navigating illness while simultaneously fulfilling the responsibilities of parenthood.

7. Becoming a parent with a working-class background with someone from a wealthier background: Differences in socioeconomic backgrounds can add complexity to relationships and parenting dynamics. This theme explores issues related to financial disparity, privilege, and the desire to provide for one's family regardless of socioeconomic status.

Kerry's realisation about her son growing up amidst contrasting worlds highlights the nuanced experiences of many modern families who find themselves navigating a middle ground between scarcity and abundance. The portrayal of renting, stability, and the balance between indulgence and moderation in raising children reflects the realities faced by numerous individuals in their 20s, 30s, and 40s as they navigate the complexities of modern parenthood. Overall, these themes offer readers an opportunity for introspection, empathy, and connection as they relate to the joys and challenges of raising children in today's world.

The E-Book could be improved and more user-friendly, such as links to the chapters, no significant gaps between words and a cover for the book would be better. It is very document-like instead of a book. A star has been deducted because of this.

This is a first for me by the author and one I enjoyed and I would read more of their work. The book cover is eye-catching and appealing and would spark my interest if in a bookshop. Thank you to the author, publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.

Newborn by Kerry Hudson

I loved Kerry's previous book, Lowborn, and this was a brilliant follow-on from that, chronicling her journey into motherhood and beyond. The writing is as beautiful and honest as always, and really brings to life the challenges of pregnancy in a pandemic whilst living in Prague and subsequent ill health. I loved the descriptions of Prague, the people she encounters and most of all her family life. I couldn't put it down and can't wait for the next instalment (hope there is one!). Very VERY highly recommended.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book.

I love the author’s work, particularly her previous memoir Lowborn which is such a powerful and emotional read so I was thrilled to have the opportunity to read Newborn.
At the start of the pandemic Kerry is pregnant and with and her partner Peter, living in Prague and navigating an unfamiliar rental housing market and health care system as the country is locking down. Newborn describes Kerry’s pregnancy journey and what it’s like to be a mother whilst living with a history of trauma and coping with chronic health issues. As with all of the author’s work it is beautifully and honestly written. So much of it resonated with me- the childhood trauma and being a mother with a chronic illness - and I felt very emotional throughout. However there is also so much joy here, even when in pain Kerry finds the joy and gratitude in her life with Peter and their son. A moving and hopeful memoir that will stay with me for a long time. Highly recommended.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this digital ARC.

I would read anything by Kerry Hudson - in fact I have read everything by Kerry Hudson - so I jumped at the chance to read Newborn. It's a short but powerful account of new motherhood, with the perfect sentences that make her work so rewarding.

I was delighted to receive this ARC from the publishers and NetGalley. Last year I read Lowborn, the memoir of a childhood spent in poverty. This was a profoundly moving book which I felt should be on the syllabus of every social work and education course to give insight into what many children go through in their lives and what trauma can do to them. Newborn is the follow up to this book and is mainly about Kerry's pregnancy and the first two years of her son's life.

When the pandemic hit, she and her husband were in Prague, one of the first cities to lock down. This resonated with me. My husband was there for work when this happened and he was lucky enough to be able to change his flight so as to get home just before this happened. Kerry was pregnant in a country where she didn't know the health system nor did she speak Czech. We follow her as she negotiates her way through a worldwide pandemic in a strange land.

Prague is beautifully described. This is my favourite city and one i've visited numerous time. But of course it's not merely the tourist city that's described here and Kerry describes it with real affection along with the people she meets on her way.

Her stay in the city is not easy.. She finds out she has gestational diabetes. She has to have a Caesarian section, the early months of her beloved son's life are exhausting and her marriage almost fails. As if that isn't enough she becomes increasingly breathless and is diagnosed with a life threatening condition. This would test the most resilient of people but to have to cope with this when she has no network of friends and family around is remarkable. She does cope though and this is the most uplifting part of the book: you can come through childhood trauma and nevertheless provide a stable and loving family for your own child. Throughout the book her love for her son and for her husband shines through.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC. .

Having read the authors previous works of both non fiction and fiction I was really looking forward to reading this as I found her previous work to be insightful, tender, heartbreaking and very well written. Despite being very grim in subject matter I found her previous work had an overwhelming sense of hope. Some may have classed it as poverty voyeurism but I felt it was a true personal account told with care. I was really pleased to be approved for this upcoming works ARC. However I sadly let down when I read it.
I follow Kerry’s journalism of which I really enjoy, it always leaves me thinking and I think her writing style is wonderful it has a real truth to it in a chatty style. I like her use of grammar and sentence structure she is a beautiful writer, she shows real class. This book has all that style but what let’s it down is the subject matter/story it’s too personal while she makes she really valid points and reflects on her past it’s comes as across as a little self indulgent. It’s not so much a journey about becoming a mother but more of a update on her personal battle with her past, of which is interesting reading but it’s not really fitting in a book format I think it could have been better explained in a longer read article. There isn’t much about the actual challenges of the journey to parenthood beyond her own personal demons so if you are looking for a mother to be book this isn’t it nor is it the social political examination of motherhood. While the writing is strong and I hear her voice this book wasn’t for me there was a real air or repetitiveness, self indulgences and it lacked proper points or flow. Disappointed but will still follow Kerry’s works. It would be have been one star but I gave of bonus star for the kitten story( currently googling how to support cats in Georgia) and the fact I really like Kerry as a journalist.

I've previously really enjoyed Kerry Hudson's writing so was excited to read this one. Unfortunately, it wasn't for me. Newborn is about establishing a new life for herself with her husband and the difficulties of having a child and the strain it put on her marriage. It's quite a short book but it feels like a story that won't be of much interest to anyone other than the people involved in it.