The story of a year in the lives of Charlotte, Karen and Nan, none of whom can quite believe how things have turned out. Why is it all so difficult? Why do the most ridiculous mistakes have the most disastrous consequences? When are you too young to be a mother? Both hilarious and wise, The Bad Mother's Handbook is a clear-eyed look at motherhood - and childhood - in its many guises, from the moment the condom breaks to the moment you file for divorce or, more optimistically, from the moment of your baby's first cry to the moment you realise that there are as many sorts of mother as there are children, and that love sometimes is the most important thing of all.