Focusing on the madness, absurdity and utter chaos of being a parent, the Parenting Hellbook will publish in October 2022 in hardback, ebook and audiobook, and will feature some special guests. This was selected as the first read for a parent book club I joined (appropriately) and it was really funny and quite endearing at times. I always enjoyed the Parenting Hell podcast (before it moved to Spotify and I couldn’t bring myself to move all my podcast listening over to Spotify too). I would give this book a 4 star review for the audio book version due to the interviews with parents, wives and Michael, plus the off the cuff remarks and larking about between Rob and Josh during the reading of the book.

If you listen to the podcast as I do, I was so ready to hear Lou and Rose’s side to some stories what are mentioned. It probably is quite amusing for a 20-something gal who wants to be childless forever to be so entertained and attached to a podcast (and subsequent book) about parenting.

I am a mum, daughter and now a grandmother and the stories, and feelings are so relatable, the added interviews with Lou and Rose (their wives) their parents and Michael (the podcast producer) were all great added chapters, the banter was fantastic and you can see why they are so fulfilled in their hectic lives, it may not be a literary masterpiece however it is everything I wanted it to be. It's just so relatable - I don't even particularly like other people's kids and I think this is why this works. I had listened to a few of the podcasts before jumping into this book, and it really is a continuation of the conversation.

Now we have been given a book deal it is probably the time for me to admit to myself that complaining for an hour a week to Rob about my life has become the most successful thing I have done in 14 years in comedy. Josh says“Now we have been given a book deal it is probably the time for me to admit to myself that complaining for an hour a week to Rob about my life has become the most successful thing I have done in 14 years in comedy. I would say there there is a lot more seriousness in the book than the podcast but still humorous and it was also great to have the addition from the family and see how parenting changes across the generations but at the crux of it all…it is all about the children and them being happy. However I did appreciate that they tried to discuss less common topics like going on holidays with kids, or P*** s*** and sick hahah. Filled with all the things they never tell you at antenatal classes, Parenting Hell is a beguiling mixture of humour, rumination and conversation for prospective parents, new parents, old parents and never-to-be parents alike.From only having four people in his year at school, to living in a family home where they didn’t just not bother to lock the front door, they didn’t even have a key. We had chapters from Rob and Josh in a conversational style, from their wives Lou and Rose, their parents and even their producer Michael! Parenting Hell by Rob Beckett and Josh Widdicombe is a book based on the parenting podcast they run.