Reassuring hug of a book a joy to read

Needs Adult Supervision by Emily Writes (Penguin, $35) Reviewed by Louse Ward, Wardini Books

Done any parenting? Ever been online? Are you a human, and would like a moment in someone else’s ordinary, extraordinary head space? Then this is the book for you.

Emily Writes is all over the internet and has been ever since she wrote a blog whilst up in the middle of the night, exhausted, joyful and confused, with her 3-week-old baby. She emerged the next morning to thousands of email responses and what happened next was more posts and many more tired parents finding relief in knowing they are not alone.

Since then Emily has written two books, Rants in the Dark, and Is it Bedtime Yet? and numerous blog posts and columns. The mother of two has just released Needs Adult Supervision, her thoughts and experiences on anything and everything from birth experiences, parenting ‘experts’, Mike McRoberts, her rescue greyhound and much more.

The book’s focus, as is Emily’s, is her two children, Eddie and Ronnie. Eddie has had a rough ride with significant health issues and Ronnie, delightfully nicknamed Ham, is neurodivergent. Emily and her husband navigate each uncertain day, minute by minute, hour by hour, and the result is this beautiful book that is full of love and joy and mess and terror.

Emily’s writing is transparently honest and she has said she has worked hard to create boundaries when sharing her family’s lives. The writing is so heart-warming, funny and open that it’s a reassuring hug of a book.

Parents, and humans in general, can never get everything right, but we keep trying, and crying, and laughing. These anecdotes about a little boy and his cat, a big brother comforting a small brother, a woman with ADHD and not much of a filter are hilarious and inspiring. I recommend this book to anyone who would like to have it confirmed that life is messy, that joy can be found in the weirdest of places, and that it takes a village to raise a human and that, most importantly, you don’t have to do any of it alone. Thank you, Emily.