Mumb

What goes on in these four walls is none of their concern, shut your mouth and keep it shut is what you need to learn…

MUMB: a personal exploration of the dark side of motherhood and what it means to be a woman.

To read MUMB is to sit at a rickety northern kitchen table with an old mate, as she shares the intimacies and heartaches of being a woman of a certain age, doing her best and sometimes failing; of striving, coping, suffering and surviving. While you scoff cinnamon buns and try to ignore the smell of the unemptied cat litter. It is a book full of love and honesty. - Julie Hesmondhalgh

Cathy Crabb cuts through the Gordian knot and makes it get over itself with salty chips and a hug. Satisfyingly forthright, authentically working class and funny, you’ll recognise chunks of human nature you didn’t know you knew. - Jackie Hagan

This wonderful collection of poetry is a generous and honest plateful of love. Cathy Crabb writes beautifully, feels deeply and is not afraid to share the darker sides of being a mother. - Janice Connolly AKA Mrs Barbara Nice

Like its title this collection is intriguing - it’s initially simple but says a lot! There’s variety, plays on words, haiku, it’s personal and universal, simple but deep. It’s full of love - celebratory - and full of truth - disturbingly. There’s frost in every cardboard fold. There’s warmth in every page turn. Although this collection is centred around motherhood, it is a must read for anyone who was ever a child! I own many poetry collections on my shelves. This one will be staying well within arms reach! - Joy France