# Why Mummy Drinks

By Gill Sims · Why Mummy, book 1

Profile: https://hahafiction.com/books/why-mummy-drinks-b7d741fc/

Ellen is turning thirty-nine, with two children to wrangle and a husband who loves gadgets. Her diary follows the year before forty as she tries to make room for her own wishes amid Peter and Jane’s demands.

## What makes it funny?

Ellen begins the school year certain she can become a model parent. Almost immediately, the missing lunch boxes and her disgust at green tea start to undermine the plan. Her confidence lasts longer than the preparations warrant.

### The comedy at work

Sims puts Ellen’s imagined daily schedule beside the one her family actually allows. School runs, arguments and apparently perfect parents online keep giving her fresh reasons to complain, while the diary lets her say the impolite part out loud.

### Try this if…

The familiar frustrations of raising young children are the appeal here, especially for readers who enjoy an exasperated narrator venting in short diary entries.

### Good to know

Drinking and swearing recur throughout. Ellen’s resentment can be sharp, and the frequent alcohol references may matter as much to your enjoyment as the parenting jokes.

## What to expect

- Genre: Contemporary & literary
- On the shelf: Diary & letters · Family comedy
- Kind of humor: Satire · Situational comedy
- Audience: Adult
- Format: Novel
- Length: 352 pages
- Audiobook: 11 hr 7 min
- Published: 2017

## Sources & further reading

- Book information: [Book details and opening passage](https://books.google.com/books/about/Why_Mummy_Drinks.html?id=zrC-DQAAQBAJ)
- Library catalog: [Listening Books audiobook](https://www.listening-books.org.uk/book/why-mummy-drinks/2000)
- Book information: [British Comedy Guide edition details](https://www.comedy.co.uk/people/gill_sims/shop/7475/gill-sims-why-mummy-drinks)
- Review: [Drink and Drugs News review](https://www.drinkanddrugsnews.com/why-mummy-drinks-the-diary-of-an-exhausted-mum)
- Review: [Buried Under Books review](https://buriedunderbooks.co.uk/review-why-mummy-drinks-by-gill-sims)