Mother Ship

'Heart-wrenching, heart-warming and heartfelt' Adam Kay, author of This is Going to Hurt

Francesca Segal author

Format:Paperback

Publisher:Vintage Publishing

Published:5th Mar '20

£8.99

Available to order, but very limited on stock - if we have issues obtaining a copy, we will let you know.

Mother Ship cover

A dramatic, moving and life-affirming memoir about motherhood, the NHS and what it means to care

‘Heart-wrenching, heart-warming and heartfelt' Adam Kay, author of This is Going to Hurt

After her twin girls are born early, Francesca Segal finds herself keeping vigil by their side in hospital, all romantic expectations of new parenthood obliterated.

'Heart-wrenching, heart-warming and heartfelt - Mother Ship is a beautifully crafted, warts-and-all love letter to our wonderful NHS' Adam Kay, author of This is Going to Hurt

After her identical twin girls are born ten weeks prematurely, Francesca Segal finds herself sitting vigil in the 'mother ship' of neonatal intensive care, all romantic expectations of new parenthood obliterated.

As each day brings a fresh challenge for her and her babies, Francesca makes a temporary life among a band of mothers who are vivid, fearless, and inspiring, taking care not only of their children but of one another.

Mother Ship is a hymn to the sustaining power of women's friendships, and a loving celebration of the two small girls - and their mother - who defy the odds. A comforting and encouraging read, especially for others enduring the same experience.

'A heart-wrenching insight into what must have been such a fragile, overwhelming and terrifying time - yet there's humour in there too. Beautiful' Giovanna Fletcher

'A beautiful, lyrical memoir that navigates the unpredictable landscape of NICU and the will to survive' Christie Watson, author of The Language of Kindness

A heart-wrenching insight into what must have been such a fragile, overwhelming and terrifying time - yet there’s humour in there too. Beautiful * Giovanna Fletcher *
[Segal] writes with delicate eloquence, combining passion and comic understatement so deftly that this feels the only way the book could have been written… I don’t think I’ve turned the pages so urgently in a book about motherhood before -- Lara Feigal * Guardian *
A beautiful memoir: wise, moving and profoundly humane. Segal writes with such exquisite clarity that each word is a gift, each sentence a votive offering. Mother Ship moved me to tears, but it also taught me the unassailable power of decency and kindness when life is at its most fragile and vulnerable. A book that left me changed for having read it * Elizabeth Day *
As gripping as a thriller and as moving as a love story -- Amanda Craig * Spectator *
A compelling and emotionally taut exploration of what it means to be a parent in unexpected and challenging circumstances... The pages of Mother Ship are filled with love, anguish, despair and hope in the face of adversity. As a memoir, it is both insightful and moving; as a diary of 56 days in neonatal care, it is an exquisitely written paean to motherhood -- Hannah Beckerman * Observer *

ISBN: 9781784709464

Dimensions: 198mm x 129mm x 18mm

Weight: 202g

288 pages