Wife in the North - Softcover

O'Reilly, Judith

3.23

480 ratings by Goodreads

Softcover

ISBN 10: 158648639X ISBN 13: 9781586486396

Publisher: PublicAffairs, 2008

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When Judith O'Reilly, a successful journalist and mother of three, agreed to leave London for a remote northern outpost, she made a deal with her husband that the move was a test-run to weigh the benefits of country living. In the rugged landscape of Northumberland County, O'Reilly swapped her high heels for rubber boots and life-long friends for cows, sheep, and strange neighbors.

In this tremendously funny and acutely observed memoir, O'Reilly must navigate the challenges and rewards of motherhood, marriage, and family as she searches for her own true north in an alien landscape. Her intrepid foray into the unknown is at once a hilarious, fish-out-of-water story and a poignant reflection on the modern woman's dilemma of striking the right balance between career and family.

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About the Author:

Judith O'Reilly was the education correspondent for The Sunday Times of London, where she also reported on politics and news, and worked undercover on education and social and criminal justice investigations. She is a former political producer for ITV's Channel 4 News and BBC2's Newsnight. A freelance journalist, she started her blog www.wifeinthenorth.com in 2006. She lives in England.

Review:

Susan Barnett, host of NPR's "51%" "A wry and engaging look at what happens when an urban loving writer/journalist leaves it all behind so her husband can fulfill his dream of life as a country squire. O'Reilly has the sass of Carrie Bradshaw with kids... endearing, irreverent and neurotic. She's a woman you just know you'd like." "Minneapolis Star-Tribune," August 15, 2008 "A thoughtful, lyrical writer... O'Reilly walks a fine line here with great skill." "Minneapolis Star-Tribune" "A thoughtful, lyrical writer...O'Reilly walks a fine line here with great skill." "Buffalo News," August 3, 2008 "A compellingly readable, funny, wry, ultimately heartbreaking saga of womanhood, motherhood and the things we do to humor the ones we love the most. Best yet, it's gorgeously written. I'll say that again: gorgeously.... O'Reilly's a lovely writer of poignant scenes and funny bits of dialogue, and she has a knack like few writers do for capturing the shimmering, stressful moments that make mothering the unique challenge and burden and utter exaltation that it is.... Why did O'Reilly move, crate and barrel, to the country? The answer, it turns out, looks like love. Did she stay? You'll have to read the ending--brave, moving, revelatory--to know for sure."

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