Mother Ship

Mother Ship

'Heart-wrenching, heart-warming and heartfelt' Adam Kay, author of This is Going to Hurt

Summary

'Heart-wrenching, heart-warming and heartfelt - Mother Ship is a beautifully crafted, warts-and-all love letter to our wonderful NHS' Adam Kay, author of This is Going to Hurt

After her identical twin girls are born ten weeks prematurely, Francesca Segal finds herself sitting vigil in the 'mother ship' of neonatal intensive care, all romantic expectations of new parenthood obliterated.

As each day brings a fresh challenge for her and her babies, Francesca makes a temporary life among a band of mothers who are vivid, fearless, and inspiring, taking care not only of their children but of one another.

Mother Ship is a hymn to the sustaining power of women's friendships, and a loving celebration of the two small girls - and their mother - who defy the odds. A comforting and encouraging read, especially for others enduring the same experience.

'A heart-wrenching insight into what must have been such a fragile, overwhelming and terrifying time - yet there's humour in there too. Beautiful' Giovanna Fletcher

'A beautiful, lyrical memoir that navigates the unpredictable landscape of NICU and the will to survive' Christie Watson, author of The Language of Kindness

Reviews

  • A heart-wrenching insight into what must have been such a fragile, overwhelming and terrifying time - yet there’s humour in there too. Beautiful
    Giovanna Fletcher

About the author

Francesca Segal

Francesca Segal is an award-winning writer and journalist. She is the author of two critically acclaimed novels, The Innocents (2012) and The Awkward Age (2017), and a memoir of NICU motherhood, Mother Ship (2019). Her writing has won the 2012 Costa First Novel Award, a Betty Trask Award, and been longlisted for the Women's Prize.

Segal says: 'Writing this novel was a deliberate reaching out for joy. The world can feel very bleak, and bringing Tuga to life became my own magical portal to wide beaches, crystal seas, endless sunshine, and most vitally, to a warm, eccentric community of good people mostly just trying to do their best. Tuga de Oro was a refuge for its first settlers, and I hope will offer refuge for readers, too.'
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