This was a fun and entertaining read.
A book about all the hurdles, stigmas and social opinions about mothers in their late 30s and 40s.
It's still very sad that people in general don't mind their own business and feel the need to interfere or say dumb things. I like to live after the motto: You do you. And in the end, who cares? The older I get the less I care about other people's opinion. I wish the main character would have been a bit more resilient. She took most of it with a good sense of humor 🙂 and I certainly giggled a few times throughout the story.

Thanks Netgalley for providing me with a free eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I was super excited to read this book especially considering I’m an older mom. While I found her writing to be very witty, even hysterical at times (I laughed out loud so many times I woke my husband up), I found the constant reminder of her “advanced maternal age” somewhat annoying. She talked about how these articles about older moms made her feel negatively about herself and yet all she talked about was how her age negatively impacted her experience. At one point I wanted to yell” we get it, you’re 43!”. So as much as I would love to give this a glowing review it just didn’t meet the mark for me.

Would I read another book by her? Totally, because she does seem like she’s a great author and again, she’s super witty but next time she might want to take a general stance on whatever topic her book is on.

Thank you to Netgalley for a pre publication copy. In return for an honest review! #Thesecretdiaryofanewmum(aged431/4) #netgalley

Cari, a editor and author, writes a memoir about the first 2 years of life with your first baby when everywhere around you the "lows* of being a parent over 35 is surrounding you.

The red striking background and large title, so perfectly named, drew me straight into this book.

This book is a page turner. You want to follow Cari through the highs, lows alongside the best, the worst and the ugly of life with a newborn.

This book does exactly what it says on the tin. A lovely read which will have you laughing out loud, reading out loud and then crying out loud and sometimes all at once.

I really enjoyed this, I even had a few laugh out loud moments with the book, which I have to say I didn’t expect. Whilst I don’t have children, this is exactly what I would expect from them!

Thank you NetGalley for my complimentary copy in return for my honest review.

I enjoyed parts of the book. Although I am not in my forties, however, I found many similarities between my and the author's experiences. Overall the book was very entertaining and offers some good guidance. I have expected the book to be more educating, however, the author's writing was focused on her personal experience and outcome. I found good info in the book. It was like discussing my own experience with a friend.

I did feel bad for the author, she went thru a rough experience not just pregnancy-wise, but more mental discouragement and judgment. It is sad to see there are people who would judge the new mother because of her age. And instead of accepting the judgment, an author took this experience and made it into a book. I applaud her for her sense of humor, for standing up to the "bullies" and proving that motherhood may be challenging in the forties, but not less exciting and enjoyable.

Good and quick read. Thank you NetGalley for a free and advanced copy of the book.

I've just become a mum so was excited to read this. It was an on read. I felt some parts were not realistic & the book was slightly too long

The Secret Dairy Of A New Mum (Aged 43 1/4) by Cari Rosen..The title gives you and idea what the books about, I’d never heard of the author, was simply drawn by the topic and the cover. So this book is about Cari becoming a mum for the first time and how that effects her life and the way her age comes into that, when really it shouldn’t. I started off liking this book, it seemed to have potential in that it read well , it had the narratives voice that lifted from the page and throughout it was an easy read. Some parts were funny and some parts were relatable. However though it was a good easy read for me it felt bland. I felt ok great I’ve read it but so ok what’s to read next. For me there is nothing that sets it apart from other similar books, books that as either a new mum or not, you finish reading having taken something away from it that you’ve learnt, loved, remaster to and want to share with your other mummy friends. Don’t get me wrong there are parts I can relate to in this book, even though I was 38 when I had my daughter, like Cari I was the older mum of the group. I also related to the point being made that being an older mum isn’t always a choice for some woman, like for me I met my husband when I was 29/30 and then unfortunately we had a couple of miscarriages. I also relate to the terminology that is used for older mothers, so there was a lot of things I could relate to, however the flow that I felt at the beginning, didn’t continue for some reason and I wonder looking back if it’s because it read like a book fiction rather than reading someone’s experience of being a mum. To be honest if I was a first time mum, or not, whatever your age I personally got a lot more out of other what I call ‘mummy’ books than I believe this one provides. Would recommend other books before this one unfortunately.

Read and reviewed in exchange for a free copy from NetGalley. Although I like memoirs of this kind despite not being a parent, I struggled with this one. That said, I liked the epilogue giving an update ten years later.

It was fine. I didn't connect with the main character. I did enjoy it, but it didn't love it. Maybe because I'm not in the age range as the main character or haven't been through motherhood.

I loved this book! It was heartwarming and strong. It was exactly what I needed with everything going on in the world! A happy little escape!

The book was pretty funny at times. As an older mom I was expecting this to be a good read. But it was exaggerated and untrue for the most part. Childish diary style. Read it to about 70% but could not finish it.

The Secret Diary of a New Mom by Cari Rosen was a bit of a struggle for me. While funny, a lot of the British references were a bit lost on me in th US.

thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 stars

It was funny but kind of depressing if you ask me and I hope that women who try to have a baby even if they are in their forties won't be discouraged by this book. I know many younger women find so much more difficulties when they have their babies. The age is not a problem if you don't make it one.

For me, she was really a cool, fun mom and I think that she gave a lot of importance to what the others may think about her pregnancy and her age that's why she found it so difficult. It's your body, it's your life do whatever you want with it and don't give a damn about anyone, I mean when she decided to have a career before having a family she didn't care about other people's opinions, so why when she decided to have a baby.
She has to think about the other women who feel broken because they can't have kids and if you ask them that their only chance would be at 40 years old, I'm sure their answer would be a big YES!

I don't know, I'm just talking, I found it difficult to stay interested in this book and the author's situation but if I was I would have had my baby with pride at my forties or whatever age and didn't care what the society may think.

I liked this book mainly because it was well written but the topic got me annoyed. I wish that she will live happily ever after with her little girl and get rid of her age complex.

The touching, honest, and laugh-out-loud account of what it's like to become a first-time mum after 40. Whatever your age, becoming a mum for the first time brings excitement, anxiety, and numerous challenges. But how do you cope when, to top it all off, you discover you are almost old enough to be the mother of everyone else in your birth prep group?

Laugh out loud type of book, brought a smile to my face, light-hearted and very funny with the current climate of homeschooling, etc. I would recommend to others, definitely the type of book to sit and read with a glass of wine, in the bath, around the pool, or on the beach. Very enjoyable, the cover is eyecatching and appealing.

This lady has a wonderful sense of humour. It was a very light read, but sweet, entertaining and heart-warming at the same time.
Many thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

I like the journey we are lead on by the author. It’s the first two years of her having a baby and it’s got some highs and lows too. A really good read

I LOVED THIS BOOK!

This was really fun and adorable to read. Even though it is a memoir, it read like a chick-flick piece and I really enjoyed it. If you are a fan of Sophie Kinsella, for some reason, this author really reminded me of her! I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, laughed out loud, and just generally loved it!

Thank you to Netgalley and Duckworth Books for an advance copy of this book in return for an honest review.

The touching, honest and laugh-out-loud account of what it’s like to become a first-time mum after 40.
Whatever your age, becoming a mum for the first time brings excitement, anxiety and numerous challenges. But how do you cope when, to top it all off, you discover you are almost old enough to be the mother of everyone else in your birth prep group? As one in five babies is born to a mum over 35, and the number of women over 40 giving birth has doubled, The Secret Diary of a New Mum (Aged 43 ¼) is Cari Rosen’s timely and hilarious account of becoming a first-time mother in her 40s.
Whether it's deftly side-stepping questions about your age and baby number two, weeping as younger counterparts ping back into their size ten jeans within thirty seconds of giving birth, or your doctor suddenly referring to you as ‘geriatric’ – Cari approaches the shared experiences of many mothers with insight, humour and honesty.

I enjoyed this book although it wasn't quite what I was expecting. She has an unconventional writing style in that sometimes she refers to her daughter by name but mostly as 'The Baby'.' I found this odd. why not just call the baby by her name? Admittedly there were some laugh out loud moments in the book (Baby Bio!) but nothing in the book that was particularly age significant, especially when such a large point of the title is the author's age.

Like I say I enjoyed it, would I rush to recommend it to others? Probably not, it just doesn't live up to the promise of the title.

Super honest and relatable! I’m pregnant right now and a lot of what Cari Rosen described, I could completely relate with! Funny, witty and honest - a great book all around! Would definitely recommend to any mum or mum-to-be!

Lighthearted funny take on late motherhood! A quick easy read that will make you laugh, remind you of the baby days and refresh so many memories! Although I had my children in my twenties I had friends that didn’t have children until their forties snd the experience was very different for them!
Totally agree with the author as long as the child is happy loved and content the mothers age is immaterial, I just feel for all the new mums during this pandemic who have so much to contend with, far greater worries than the mothers age!
Thank you netgalley for this early read.