To all the women and men, paid and unpaid, who have helped to look after our children while we’ve been at work.
To Rev George Pitcher, who passed my proposal to Bloomsbury. To Charlotte Croft, my editor at Bloomsbury, who emailed back to say she wished she’d read this before she had kids. To Jane Eden, for her brutal, witty and wise reviews of many drafts. To Eve Harris, for her endless meticulous research and emotional support. To my colleagues, who have kept the Jericho Chambers ship sailing while I’ve been in east London hammering my keyboard and drinking tea. To Sarah Clarke, Karen Doherty and Dee Armstrong for generously sharing their robust insights. To my great friends for restoring my sanity and making me laugh every day: Alex, Clare, Danielle, Elaine, Josie, Gillian, Jill, Rebecca, Sarah, Sukhi and Vicky (plus a few who specifically requested not to be named!).
To Chris, my husband, for being the best decision I’ve ever made and never mentioning the irony of writing a book about parenting while leaving the lion’s share of the parenting to him. And to our three girls, who remind me daily that being their mother is more important than any job.