The Other Mother: A wickedly honest parenting tale for every kind of family

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Ian Moore is a comedy circuit veteran, who now divides his time between gigging in the UK and living in France as an author.

I had one of those asymmetric haircuts for a while. I thought I looked so cool. I remember going to my mum’s house and her answering the door saying: “I think your hairdresser hates you.” The funniest joke I’ve ever heard … This is going to sound very earnest, but the absolute best thing about touring is having an audience who have invested their money and their evening to spend with me. I am never not amazed and grateful that people turn up. Matthews, Nammie (31 May 2018). "BN1 chats to… Jen Brister". bn1magazine.co.uk . Retrieved 28 May 2019. I can't begin to imagine how hard it must be to raise twins, regardless of any other hurdles or added complications that may come with anyone's personal situation, whether that be through IVF conception or prematurity or parental disagreements. Quite frankly, this book has given me a deeper appreciation for not only the parents that I work with but also of literally any parent that I see pushing a pram down the high street.Changing the way we bring up our boys - Jen Brister - TEDxBrighton". youtube.com. Archived from the original on 21 December 2021 . Retrieved 28 May 2019. Comedian Jen Brister writes about her personal experience of motherhood from the time she and her partner Chloe decide to have children, through the birth of their twin sons and those early sleepless nights, up to the boys reaching four years old. She shares the highs and lows of that time, the expectations of others and also her own misguided expectations, and how what she has learned in that time has shaped her current perspective.

It's about two friends, John and Owen, and it's written in the first person by John who's talking about his best friend Owen, who is an odd boy - he is very, very small, he has almost iridescent, luminescent skin and a very, very odd voice. A sort of high-pitched nasal voice which is illustrated in the book every time that Owen speaks - it's in capital letters! I can hear him. Donaldson, Brian (26 October 2018). "My Comedy Hero: Jen Brister on Victoria Wood". list.co.uk . Retrieved 28 May 2019. She has written and performed seven solo shows around the world, including at Melbourne International Comedy Festival, Norway Comedy Box Festival, Comedy Club Asia, Adelaide Festival, and the Edinburgh Festival. She has toured extensively, with comedians Kerry Godliman, Francesca Martinez, and Roisin Conaty, and Frankie Boyle.

Bottom line, it's a book which in no way sets out to make her especially likeable, but through which her likeability seeps anyway, almost against her will. It's a book of laughter, logic and love which gives the hearty finger to pretentiousness and guff - which frankly feels like just the right mood with which to scream towards 2020. Recommended, this one. If you're a parent, some of it will strike shivers of remembrance or cameraderie fown your spine. If you're not, you'll still enjoy it while feeling slightly smug. In The Other Mother, Brister explores the process of becoming a mum when you’re not the mum who gave birth. A brand new comedy short, “Past Caring” written by Jen and Rosie Jones will be aired on SKY TV later this year. Hawkins, Si (8 November 2018). "First Gig, Worst Gig - Jen Brister". comedy.co.uk . Retrieved 28 May 2019. Don’t worry about what anyone else is doing. Put your head down and focus on being the best comedian you can be, not what panel show you can get on, or how many likes you got on TikTok. Just get good at comedy because they can only ignore you for so long.

Paskett, Zoe (5 December 2018). "Jen Brister interview: 'I was strangling my career, but I don't give a f*** anymore' ". Evening Standard . Retrieved 28 May 2019. Its success has led to the commission of two more books in the series, starting with Death and Fromage due out in July. As a self-described ‘beige lesbian’, Jen Brister offers an insight into what it’s like being the ‘other’ mother in the relationship and the questions she often has to answer. She also goes some way to fill a gap in a growing group of parents who have a slightly different experience to heteronormative couples. From conceiving outside of the ‘norm’ to deciding what to call yourselves as parents (to avoid the confusions of children yelling mummy at two people), Jen Brister captures a snapshot of what parenting looks like in our modern society. Jordan says: “I absolutely love this book, it's storytelling at its finest. From start to finish, it’s heart-warming, harrowing and just one of the best books, if not the best book, I've ever read.The travel, the crap food, the crap hotels, the nights after a show where you’re a bit wired, can’t sleep but have no one to talk to. I did enjoy Brister’s snide comments on preachy parents and mumfluencers- as an absolute cynic, I’m here for that! As you would expect from a comedian, Brister writes with wit and peppers her narrative with funny episodes. Her tone is honest and open, inviting the reader to empathise and engage with her and her situations. I particularly enjoyed the times when she wrote about being a non-biological parent - the careless assumptions of others, her feelings as she bonded with her sons, the way she viewed her partner as a mother - as these made the book original and heartwarming.