The Mother of All Jobs cover art

The Mother of All Jobs

How to Have Children and a Career and Stay Sane(ish)

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The Mother of All Jobs

By: Christine Armstrong
Narrated by: Christine Armstrong
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About this listen

When Christine Armstrong became a mother, it never occurred to her that she would want to stop work or even work part-time. But the truth is, combining work and small kids is hard.

From the broken breast pumps on business trips, to hiding chicken pox from the nursery, to the heartbreak when you come home and realise your baby smells of the childminder. When Christine Armstrong tried it, she found herself desolate with misery.

Determined to make it work, she looked for answers by interviewing other working mums and found that she wasn't alone. These are the stories of the women who shared everything (and we mean everything) and what they want you to know.

The Mother of All Jobs ignores the glossy lives presented on social media and in magazines to show that, while it's not always pretty, working mothers can thrive if they have the knowledge others learnt the hard way. As practical as What to Expect When You're Expecting and as human as Bridget Jones's Diary, this audiobook is grounded in real stories that every working parent can relate to, cringe at and learn from.

©2018 Christine Armstrong (P)2018 Audible, Ltd Gender Studies Motherhood Parenting & Families Relationships Social Sciences Women in Business Workplace & Organisational Behavior Workplace Culture Business Career

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All stars
Most relevant  
Everyone needs to read this - not just women vaguely thinking of having kids or working mums or even full-time mums - dads, managers, CEOs, and any member of society and work. It's a balanced, informative and well considered read, that's presented in a palatable way, and I'm already recommending it to just about everyone I meet.

I wish I read this 5 years ago!

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A great relief to hear that everyone struggles at some point with the balancing act of life with children. A good listen for any mums and dads feeling guilty about working or not working and wondering how the hell they are going to negotiate children, work, new family life structures and keeping a bit for themselves and their sanity over the years.

Factual, funny, honest, insightful

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This book was a real challenge to read, in a very positive way, it challenged my thoughts and perceptions and certainly highlighted that not every white male addresses the issues raised in the book the same way that I do/strive to. I found the writing style abrasive at times, and quite exclusionary to non-white, non-female, non-middle class audiences, but can very much see what it was trying to do.

Challenging (in a good way)

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This book is aimed at those with high flying careers and how to juggle this alongside children - small or large. However it also makes a much bigger point about modern day society and how woman are still far from equal in the workplace and that being quite impossible in the existing framework for home/work set in another era. The question is can we really “have it all” with being utterly exhausted and still knowing who the kids are. Brilliant book. I enjoyed it so much that I listened and then bought the paperback. High end career or not, every mother and Mum to be should listen and take note!

Excellent book!

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This doesn't give much practical advice about what to do but it made me feel a lot less alone with my problems and it was helpful hearing a lot of other women's stories and how they tried to achieve a work-life balance. Overall, I really liked it.

Interesting and thought-provoking

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Loved it so much, I've bought a hard copy for me and all my friends. Thank you.

Only wish I'd read it sooner! A game changer.

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This is a well researched and accessible book, which you can dip into as required or listen from start to finish to allow informed decisions on how to balance career/life/kids even before birth. Im on maternity leave with a 4 month old, and I work in comms for a magic circle law firm (which listeners will know is a bad combo for work/life balance!) however I am ready to make my demands, hold my nerve and build a career to work with, not against, my new family life. Thanks you Christine for all the advice!

Informative and honest

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Literally this book reads like my life in so many ways...

The real-life examples that Christine shares from her interviews have made me laugh out loud and realise that there are many women in the same situation as me.

I’m not the whole way through yet so hoping that there are useful tips and suggestions to come re how to navigate your way through the work / mum juggle... but for the moment I’m enjoying realising that it’s not just me...

Thank you Christine for writing such a sympathetic book in a way that is less ‘woe is me’ but just superbly real and witty!

This is my life!

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Inspiring agency in a society that is not we’ll set up for working parents, this book has helped me not sleepwalk back into working life after maternity leave.

A tough listen (in a good way)

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I think this book was very well written, and well- researched, and it was very interesting to read the perspectives of lots of different mothers. I get the feeling that the primary target audience for this book is white middle class mothers, so as a black middle class mother, the book unfortunately did not help me address alot of the problems I face, so I regretfully have to give it 3 stars. The only other small complaint I have is that the author quoted a lady as saying "We Indian people are so fertile", and then subsequently went on to have fertility issues. I completely agree that the indian lady shouldn't have said that. I also think the author could have shown a little bit more compassion towards her. The lady making a small, offhand comment like that does not mean she "deserves" the sad, painful reality of fertility problems, as the author seems to suggest.

Good!

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