Time Out

Mother of one and professional writer Saoirse is still adjusting to the demands of motherhood, four years after the birth of her daughter, Anna. Living in the claustrophobic London suburb of Woodvale, and being surrounded by passive-aggressive mum-wars, isn’t helping. Neither is her increasingly pent-up anger at her once-perfect husband. Her only comrade in arms, best friend Bea, is the one thing keeping her sane. When Saoirse’s agent asks her to pitch for a book, she is horrified to discover the topic is motherhood.

Mother-of-one Saoirse is just about holding it all together - combining part time work with the school run, while her husband, David, gets to focus on his career. But when David loses his job, everything has to change. With no hesitation, Saoirse suggests she takes on the role of main breadwinner. After all, how hard can it be? But there’s a problem with keeping too many balls in the air - eventually one is bound to drop.

When her husband, David, announces he’s been offered a job in New York, Saoirse is thrilled. The glamour of the big city, the shopping, the culture, not to mention the free Manhattan apartment and business-class air fare - what’s not to like? There’s just the small matter of making it work for their daughter, five-year-old Anna, who isn’t so keen to leave her friends and school behind. The Big Apple in the middle of summer isn’t quite the holiday Saoirse envisaged, and with David away with work, solo ex-pat parenting pushes Saoirse to her limits.