Emma Barnett Instagram – This interview drops tomorrow.
It isn’t maternity leave. Not really.
It’s service. Maternity Service. Somehow I realised this during the fog of my second tour of duty, that I had fought tooth and nail to experience.
And I was weirdly elated. Elated to a) have had an original thought through the sleep deprivation, the love bomb that is our daughter and the relentless abnegation of self. And b) to have snatched the time between naps, feeding, cleaning, doctor visits, nappies and school pick-ups to explore this thought. And write my account of maternity service – live – as it was happening.
The result is a book I am really proud (and still rather amazed) exists and lands on shelves on March 13. I have read so many powerful books about motherhood and parenting – esp as host of the mighty @bbcwomanshour – but never one expressly on maternity leave and what actually goes down in this love wilderness: mentally, physically and practically.
Maternity service, unlike leave, also never ends. And this framing really helps me dig deep to this day with my mothering of a two and seven year old girl and boy.
In the book I also share stories I have already forgotten or unwittingly erased from that period – having already happily let the rose-tinted glasses descend. More to come and to be discussed. But I would bloody love you to pick up a copy via the pre order #linkinbio and to hear your take. Genuinely. Or when it drops next month from your local bookshop if you have one.
Rest assured- it’s deliberately short but packs a punch.
Here are some parts of the book extract in the @sundaytimesmagazine @thetimes exclusively tomorrow.
Big thanks to The Sunday Times for putting maternity leave on the front page.
✍🏼 @laurafpullman
📸 @saneseven
💄 @emmasleon
👖 @kate_barbour
#maternity #maternityleave #maternityservice #idea #holdthefrontpage #sundaypaper #sunday #sundaytimes #newbook #bookstagram #preorder #women #newmum #motherhood | Posted on 23/Feb/2025 05:16:26
