How Hard Can It Be? by Allison Pearson (The Borough Press, £14.99)
Her husband Rich is in the throes of a full-blown midlife crisis, training as a counsellor and preoccupied by his newfound passion for cycling.
Their daughter Emily is having a tough time at school, their son Ben can barely tear himself from a screen and her mother has dementia.
Their new house has become a money pit and, six months shy of the big 5-0, Kate has hit the perimenopause.
Could life be any more troublesome for this paid-up member of today’s sandwich generation?
To resolve the family liquidity crisis, Kate must go back to work. She shaves seven years off her age and lands a job in the City where her inbox pings with an email from Jack, the long-lost love she’s never forgotten.
Full of spot-on observations and pithy one-liners, How Hard Can It Be? tussles with many issues facing women today.
Kate is occasionally blind to what might be obvious to the reader but, as Pearson holds up a mirror to our daily lives, this timely and moving social comedy will make you laugh and nod in recognition.