I’ve been a working parent for 19 years and have returned to work, both as a full time employee and as a self-employed consultant so, when I was presented with the opportunity to review this book, I was really interested in what gems it might hold.

Practical and Human.

I first became a parent in 2005. There were some great examples around me of those who had returned to work on different arrangements, and I could see that is was possible. I was, however, naïve.  There were so many things I had no idea would happen and hugely change the course of your life and career This book is comprehensive in the thinking and planning and the inevitable rethinking and replanning that might be needed. I wondered as I was reading that this might be overwhelming for many, but at the same time it is so practical, so some will benefit from dipping in and out. Oliver has written this with great sensitivity: it’s not an easy task to write a guide that might account for so many different family situations, adoption, single parents and other caring roles, to name a few. So, if you feel this might not apply to you, I think you will be pleasantly surprised.

A gentle dose of reality.

Many returning parents might be guilty of looking at the situation though rose tinted glasses and then, when the day comes, it is the start of a hot mess and we are all just existing day to day. I was so pleased to see the tough stuff discussed: the insane and unrelenting level of guilt about absolutely everything, the constant changing demands, when they are sick, when you are sick. So many challenges any parent faces and then will continue to face as the family grows and matures. I have yet to find the answer to being at every school assembly, to producing fancy dress at short notice or not being the last parent to collect from afterschool club. But it is possible to work and raise a family in tandem.

At the end of the day…

My kids (aged 6 and 19) will have had different experiences of their working parents but I think this book would have helped me value and accept the importance of great managers and a small army of other parents/ carers that often are the backbone of the working parent.

Grab a copy – it will save you so much time and smooth that emotional rollercoaster that is caring for another human being and working.