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  • Nobody Told Me

  • Poetry and Parenthood
  • By: Hollie McNish
  • Narrated by: Hollie McNish
  • Length: 7 hrs and 14 mins
  • 4.9 out of 5 stars (148 ratings)

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Nobody Told Me

By: Hollie McNish
Narrated by: Hollie McNish
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Summary

There were many things that Hollie McNish didn't know before she was pregnant. How her family and friends would react; that Mr Whippy would be off the menu; how quickly ice can melt on a stomach. These were on top of the many other things she didn't know about babies: how to stand while holding one; how to do a poetry gig with your baby as a member of the audience; how drum'n'bass can make a great lullaby. And that's before you even start on toddlers: how to answer a question like 'is the world a jigsaw?'; dealing with a 10-hour train ride together; and how children can be caregivers, too. But Hollie learned. And she's still learning, slowly.

Nobody Told Me is a collection of poems and stories taken from Hollie's diaries - one person's thoughts on raising a child in modern Britain, on trying to become a parent in modern Britain, on sex, commercialism, feeding, gender and finding secret places to scream once in a while.

©2016 Hollie McNish (P)2017 Audible, Ltd
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Critic reviews

"From a poem about morning sickness to a story about enduring a public toddler tantrum, [Hollie McNish] provides beautifully written solidarity covering both the trials and the joys of being a parent." (10 Best Parenting Books, Independent)

What listeners say about Nobody Told Me

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  • Overall
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A tour de force of a memoir

Straightforward and complex, complicated and reader-friendly. An aural experience and a half. Listen to it for days on end.

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Wish I could give more than 5 stars!

I’ve laughed, cried, smiled in recognition and told so many people how Hollie McNish hits it all bang on. It’s not just motherhood, it’s life she talks about. I think I’m just going to go straight back and listen to it all again from the beginning. ❤️

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brilliant!

this is simply brilliant. I will be recommending this a lot. I think I will listen again straight away too.

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Tears of laughter, sadness & love. Deep&relatable

couldn't wait to listen at night. would put my little one to sleep and put this on sleep timer. I laughed and cried. I shouted and punched the air from being able to relate to something so f***** deeply. the mix of diary entry, story and poetry is amazing. Thank-you Holly.

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a must read for every parent

absolutely loved it. laughed cried felt validated as a mum and all crazy beautiful experience that motherhood entail. Also some really good and poignant poems about our society which really hit the nail on the head . Love it!!

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Amazing must read for all new parents

Makes you laugh and cry, must read for all new parents, Hollie puts into words so much stuff that I felt but couldn’t - amazing!

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Wonderful

The insights, the honesty, the delivery, the poetry, all just wonderful. I would thoroughly recommend.

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Ditch all other parenting books

Ditch all other parenting books, you will only need this one! I wished I would have read this before having my daughter, so honest, beautiful, raw and hilarious. It is a love letter to the one true love of life, your child. I listened to this after moving house with a two year old and feeling more than lonely. Hollie felt like the best kind of friend, making me realise we all feel like we are doing it wrong, but we are all doing the best we can. Thank you for this book, I think I may just have to listen again and again and again

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Modern day poet

Thoroughly enjoyed this book.
Love her poems - beautifully written, full of emotion and depth and so relatable, not pretentious.
This is beyond parenthood. Topics covered include sexism, feminism, racism, sex, income equality and the struggle and frustration to shield our children from society's absurd prejudices.

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A must for first time mums!

Absolutely loved this book, through a lot of laughter and tears. Hollie brought all my thoughts and feelings about being a new mum to life, in a way that I could have never expressed myself. Wonderful.

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