The Mother And Daughter Diaries

by Clare Shaw

The Bad Mother's Handbook meets The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time.

Sixteen-year-old Jo makes lists to manage her world, but somehow she still feels out of control. But she has found one way to cope: watching what she eats—or rather, what she doesn't eat. And she's losing weight...but not quickly enough. Lizzie, Jo's mum, doesn't make lists. She's too busy being a single mum, hating her ex-husband's new wife and trying to keep an eye on Jo—who seems to have stopped communicating with her altogether.

When Jo is diagnosed with anorexia, Lizzie is desperate with worry and their lives spin out of control. Jo needs help and she needs it now.

Beneath Jo and Lizzie's fears and frustrations is a funny, warm and insightful story about a mother and her daughter who go on a journey to find themselves—and each other.

333 pages

First published January 1, 2008

About the author

Clare Shaw began by writing Parenting Books, including Help Your Child Be Confident and Talking and Your Child - published by Hodder. Her first novel, The Mother and Daughter Diaries was published by Mira and then Clare became a playwright. She has had plays performed at venues such as The Pleasance, The Cockpit and New Wimbledon Theatre. Her new book - SAGEISM - is published in June 2015 by Indigo Dreams. It's a funny and poignant book packed with information, research and humour to help middle aged and older women cope with all that life throws at them. It's feminism for the over forties and it's uplifting, funny and informative.
Clare lives in Essex with John and has two daughters - Emma and Jessica

Reviews

[Sharon Louise · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was surprisingly good. I thought it was going to be a bit of complete fluff and even though it still had that element it actually had a more serious undertone. It was quite a decent read.

[Jacqueline · Rating 2 out of 5]

One star for good intention on bringing awareness of the benefits of journaling to eating disorders. One star for being easy-to-read.

The title of the book is misleading. I thought it would be dairies shared between the mother and daughter. But there isn't any of it. Starting somewhere in the middle of the story, they were sending emails to an unknown person who claims to be a therapist.

Jo the daughter has an eating disorder and Lizzie the mother is trying to help her while having struggles on her own. I find the book unrealistic as the story doesn't reveal how Jo's anorexia developed, so it doesn't make sense of how it was 'cured'. Lizzie is an over-controlling mother who lies a lot to others of how good her life is. The story is full of cliches (Lizzie bumping into her ex-husband's mum a few times accidentally?) and I find myself skipping lines throughout just to reach the end of the story. And the ending is just dull and unsurprising.

I don't think I've gain new perspectives on eating disorders that I thought I would.

[Madeleine Baker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book. It is poignant and at times moving but is also very funny in parts. It tells the story of a teenager with an eating disorder but half the book is told from the mother's point of view. You don't have to be interested in eating disorders to enjoy the book but it was recommended by someone who has experienced this problem. The characters are well drawn and there is a kind of spiritual/magical feel to parts of the book. This is really a cross over book like the Curious Incident - to be enjoyed by adults and teenagers alike. Highly recommended.

[Laura Blume · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is very good. Throughout the book we can see the diverences between two women- mother and daughter. We see the relationship change and we understand why and how it changes because of the events in the novel. I think it's a must read because everyone can somehow relate to it even if the problems they have to face themselves are nothing like the problems in this story.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this when I was about 12 and it was interesting to read into the perspective of the mother- as being a teenager, it can be difficult to see from your parent's point of view...
I really enjoyed it and would recommend.