TPL Book Review: I Don't Know How She Does It: The Life of Kate Reddy, Working Mother by Allison Pearson

As a working mother myself, this was a book that I always planned on reading. The only problem is I am sometimes too busy to read. The film version of this book is in theaters and I thought that since I'm a read-the-book-before-seeing-the-movie kind of gal, I thought I better check it out. Not that I will have time to see the film.

This is the story of working mom Kate, a financial professional in England (the film version is set in the US), and her struggle to balance a career and family life. It's not working out so well.

She fake-bakes pies for her daughter's school function to seem like she has a better handle on her life than she does. She struggles with jealousy of their nanny, as many of her working mother friends do. Her marriage is falling apart, since her husband doesn't feel like much of a contributor with the kids or the finances -- think Tom and Lynnette of Desperate Housewives. Of course, her relationship with a handsome American client isn't helping matters much. 

The book is hilarious, though sometimes the English lingo and email shorthand was hard to follow.

I felt desperate for her to get a handle on her life, to finish those mental checklists at the end of every chapter. I laughed. I cried. As is the daily routine.  

It's a good look at how real women think and the enormity of what it means to be a working mother in the corporate world. 

This book is the next step up from Bridget Jones' Diary and Sex and the City, after they have kids.