Conville & Walsh

Himself a child of divorce – his father long vanished, his mother battling depression and somehow promoted to coparenting a younger brother when a teenager – Nick Duerden was happily living as a life-long adolescent when his girlfriend first broached the subject of children. And after years of procrastination, and of fending off love, Nick at last found himself grudgingly facing fatherhood.

Welcome, then, to THE RELUCTANT FATHERS’ CLUB, Nick’s very personal – and very funny – journey from disbelief to paternal love. Resolving that not all men want to be spoken down to by books which make repeated references to Match of the Day and jokes about beer and breast milk – Nick cleverly uses that platform slowly to come to terms with the whole terrifying business. Throughout, Nick makes a great guide, looking beyond all the happy clichés to the fiery hell of night feeds, projectile vomiting, gas and air – and, worst of all, responsibility. By turns a book about unspoken fears and about the admission of parental love, THE RELUCTANT FATHERS’ CLUB is a wonderfully open call-to-arms that will appeal to readers of William Leith and Rachel Cusk.