An Extra Pair of Hands (Hardback)

A story of caring and everyday acts of love

Kate Mosse

An inspiring, moving story of caring from the bestselling author Kate Mosse

'Inspiring' GUARDIAN
'Heartbreaking' INDEPENDENT
'I loved it' ADAM KAY
'Beautiful' MATT HAIG
'Luminous' NICCI GERRARD
'Essential reading' MADELEINE BUNTING
'A celebration' CHRISTIE WATSON

-----

A Best Book for Summer 2021 in the Times, Guardian, and The i
Independent Book of the Month

-----

As our population ages, more and more of us find ourselves caring for parents and loved ones - some 8.8 million people in the UK. An invisible army of carers holding families together.

Here, Kate Mosse tells her personal story of finding herself as a carer in middle age: first, helping her mother look after her beloved father through Parkinson's, then supporting her mother in widowhood, and finally as 'an extra pair of hands' for her 90-year-old mother-in-law.

This is a story about the gentle heroism of our carers, about small everyday acts of tenderness, and finding joy in times of crisis. It's about juggling priorities, mind-numbing repetition, about guilt and powerlessness, about grief, and the solace of nature when we're exhausted or at a loss. It is also about celebrating older people, about learning to live differently - and think differently about ageing.

But most of all, it's a story about love.

-----

'Lifts the spirits without pulling punches' IAN RANKIN
'Irresistible' RACHEL JOYCE
'Questions how and why we fetishise independence when the reality of human experience is always interdependence' GUARDIAN, BOOK OF THE DAY
'Heartfelt, funny and at times heartbreaking. 10/10' INDEPENDENT

Publication date: 03/06/2021

£12.99

ISBN: 9781788162616

Imprint: Wellcome Collection

Subject: Biography & Memoir, Health & Wellbeing, History & Classics

An Extra Pair of Hands (Ebook)

A story of caring and everyday acts of love

Kate Mosse

A rallying cry for carers and the acts of love that hold families together, from bestselling novelist Kate Mosse

'Inspiring' GUARDIAN
'Heartbreaking' INDEPENDENT
'I loved it' ADAM KAY
'Beautiful' MATT HAIG
'Luminous' NICCI GERRARD
'Essential reading' MADELEINE BUNTING
'A celebration' CHRISTIE WATSON

-----

A Best Book for Summer in The Times, Guardian and The i
Independent Book of the Month

-----

Caring is an issue that affects us all - as bestselling novelist Kate Mosse knows all too well.

Kate has cared in turn for her father and mother, and for Granny Rosie, her 90-year-old mother-in-law. Along the way she has experienced the joys, challenges and frustrations shared by an invisible army of carers.

At the heart of this care lie everyday acts of love, and the realisation that, sooner or later, most of us will come to rely on an extra pair of hands.

-----

'
Lifts the spirits without pulling punches' IAN RANKIN
'Irresistible' RACHEL JOYCE
'Questions how and why we fetishise independence when the reality of human experience is always interdependence' GUARDIAN, BOOK OF THE DAY
'Heartfelt, funny and at times heartbreaking. 10/10' INDEPENDENT
'Utterly beautiful' FRANCESCA SEGAL

Publication date: 03/06/2021

£6.99

ISBN: 9781782835516

ISBN 10 / ASIN: B08HHF6J35

Imprint: Wellcome Collection

Subject: Biography & Memoir, Health & Wellbeing, History & Classics

An Extra Pair of Hands (Audiobook)

A story of caring and everyday acts of love

Kate Mosse

An inspiring, moving story of caring from the bestselling author Kate Mosse

'Inspiring' GUARDIAN
'Heartbreaking' INDEPENDENT
'I loved it' ADAM KAY
'Beautiful' MATT HAIG
'Luminous' NICCI GERRARD
'Essential reading' MADELEINE BUNTING
'A celebration' CHRISTIE WATSON

—–

A Best Book for Summer 2021 in the Times, Guardian, and The i
Independent Book of the Month

—–

As our population ages, more and more of us find ourselves caring for parents and loved ones – some 8.8 million people in the UK. An invisible army of carers holding families together.

Here, Kate Mosse tells her personal story of finding herself as a carer in middle age: first, helping her mother look after her beloved father through Parkinson's, then supporting her mother in widowhood, and finally as 'an extra pair of hands' for her 90-year-old mother-in-law.

This is a story about the gentle heroism of our carers, about small everyday acts of tenderness, and finding joy in times of crisis. It's about juggling priorities, mind-numbing repetition, about guilt and powerlessness, about grief, and the solace of nature when we're exhausted or at a loss. It is also about celebrating older people, about learning to live differently – and think differently about ageing.

But most of all, it's a story about love.

—–

'Lifts the spirits without pulling punches' IAN RANKIN
'Irresistible' RACHEL JOYCE
'Questions how and why we fetishise independence when the reality of human experience is always interdependence' GUARDIAN, BOOK OF THE DAY
'Heartfelt, funny and at times heartbreaking. 10/10' INDEPENDENT

Publication date: 03/06/2021

£24.99

ISBN: 9781782838852

ISBN 10 / ASIN: B093CBJP2T

Imprint: Wellcome Collection

Subject: Biography & Memoir, Health & Wellbeing, History & Classics

Read by: Kate Mosse

An Extra Pair of Hands (Paperback)

A story of caring and everyday acts of love

Kate Mosse

A rallying cry for carers and the acts of love that hold families together, from bestselling novelist Kate Mosse

'Inspiring' GUARDIAN
'Heartbreaking' INDEPENDENT
'I loved it' ADAM KAY
'Beautiful' MATT HAIG
'Luminous' NICCI GERRARD
'Essential reading' MADELEINE BUNTING
'A celebration' CHRISTIE WATSON

-----

A Best Book for Summer in The Times, Guardian and The i
Independent Book of the Month

-----

Caring is an issue that affects us all - as bestselling novelist Kate Mosse knows all too well.

Kate has cared in turn for her father and mother, and for Granny Rosie, her 90-year-old mother-in-law. Along the way she has experienced the joys, challenges and frustrations shared by an invisible army of carers.

At the heart of this care lie everyday acts of love, and the realisation that, sooner or later, most of us will come to rely on an extra pair of hands.

-----

'
Lifts the spirits without pulling punches' IAN RANKIN
'Irresistible' RACHEL JOYCE
'Questions how and why we fetishise independence when the reality of human experience is always interdependence' GUARDIAN, BOOK OF THE DAY
'Heartfelt, funny and at times heartbreaking. 10/10' INDEPENDENT
'Utterly beautiful' FRANCESCA SEGAL

Publication date: 24/03/2022

£8.99

ISBN: 9781788162623

Imprint: Wellcome Collection

Subject: Biography & Memoir, Health & Wellbeing, History & Classics

Reviews for An Extra Pair of Hands

'Brilliant ... uplifting, inspiring, a tribute to love'

Elif Shafak Guardian

'Heartfelt and sometimes shocking ... Fierce and tender, her book is a clarion call for an overhaul of our dysfunctional care system'

Must Read Paperbacks Daily Mail

'A beautiful, profoundly moving book about society's most vital glue - care'

Rachel Clarke 

'A must read'

Penny Wincer 

'Essential reading'

Madeleine Bunting 

'I read it in one sitting'

Christie Watson 

'Moving'

Book of the Day Guardian

'An incisive, profoundly humane blend of the personal and the political'

Gwendolyn Smith The i

'A beautiful, emotional and timely read'

Matt Haig 

'A beacon of light'

Nicci Gerrard 

'Keep the tissues handy. 10/10'

 Independent

'Shot through with honesty, heartbreak and joy. I loved it'

Adam Kay 

'Timely'

 Observer

'Lifts the spirits without pulling punches'

Ian Rankin 

'Irresistible'

Rachel Joyce 

'This book will be a huge help to both carers and the cared-for'

Deborah Moggach 

'

Extraordinary

'

Catherine Meyer 

'Wonderful ... uplifting and hopeful'

Cathy Rentzenbrink 

'A heartfelt reminder of why people become carers'

Kate Saunders Times

'Moving'

Book of the Month, Martin Chilton Independent

'An ode to the invisible army of carers holding families together'

 Reaction

'Mosse writes movingly about returning the caring favour and the end that waits for us all'

50 Best Summer Books Times

'Timely and important'

 The Oldie

'Utterly beautiful - honest, tender, and uplifting'

Francesca Segal 

Kate Mosse

Kate Mosse

Kate Mosse is an international bestselling novelist, playwright and nonfiction author with sales of more than eight million copies in 38 languages. Renowned for bringing unheard and under-heard histories to life, she is a champion of women's creativity. Kate is the Founder Director of the Women's Prize for Fiction, sits on the Executive Committee of Women of the World and is a Visiting Professor of Contemporary Fiction and Creative Writing at the University of Chichester. Kate lives in West Sussex with her husband and mother-in-law.

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