How Hard Can It Be?
Kate Reddy is back! The follow-up to the international bestseller I Don’t Know How She Does It, the novel that defined modern life for women everywhere. This time she’s juggling teenagers, ageing parents and getting back into the workplace, and every page will have you laughing and thinking: It’s not just me.
Mail on Sunday’s Books of the Year
Kate Reddy is counting down the days until she is fifty, but not in a good way. Fifty, in Kate’s mind, equals invisibility. And with hormones that have her in shackles, teenage children who need her there but won’t talk to her and ailing parents who aren’t coping, Kate is in the middle of a sandwich that she isn’t even allowed to eat because of the calories.
She’s back at work after a big break at home, because somebody has to bring home the bacon now that her husband Rich has dropped out of the rat race to master the art of mindfulness. But just as Kate is finding a few tricks to get by in her new workplace, her old client and flame Jack reappears – complicated doesn’t even begin to cover it.
How Hard Can It Be? is a coming of age story for turning fifty. It’s about so much more than a balancing act; it’s about finding out who you are and what you need to feel alive when you’ve got used to being your own last priority. And every page will leave you feeling that there’s a bit of Kate Reddy in all of us.
”'Made me laugh, wince, shudder and shed a tear!” - SOPHIE KINSELLA
”'Revolutionary … Both funny and unflinching” - ELIZABETH DAY, Daily Telegraph
”'As sharp and witty as ever … hugely enjoyable” - Daily Mail
”'How Hard Can It Be? is that rare thing: a sequel that matches and even surpasses the original” - Daily Telegraph
”'Once again, countless women will recognise themselves … Pearson has a gift” - The Times
”'Filled with smart insights into ageing parents, female friendships, tricky family dynamics and failing marriages … Kate makes good company” - New York Times
”'Ms. Pearson writes with great wit and verve” - Wall Street Journal
”'Pearson features menopause as nearly its own character in this laugh-out-loud yet all too realistic romp through midlife concerns about aging, sexual appeal, careers for older employees, and family care issues. Spot on” - Library Journal, Starred Review
”'Brilliantly well observed” - INDIA KNIGHT
”'Written with a light touch and verve … Pearson makes a sharp point about the lack of value and status that society places on the onerous job of a stay at home mother … in these pages, there is a raw honesty” - Financial Times
”'Sparkling, funny and poignant, this is a triumphant return for Pearson and hopefully not the last we will hear of Kate” - Daily Express
”'It is this relatable quality of Pearson’s story, along with laugh-out-loud zingers on nearly every page, that makes this sequel shine. How Hard Can It Be? is witty, current and a good reminder that age can be a trump card, even if you need reading glasses to see the deck” - Washington Post
”'Few sequels beat the original, but How Hard Can It Be? does so hands down … zesty, razor-sharp and hilarious. It’s full of such quotable casual profundity on the female condition I couldn't read it without a pencil to underline the abundance of great lines. Get ready for Kate!” - TINA BROWN, magazine editor and bestselling author
”'Funny, heart-breaking, wise and delightful” - SOPHIE HANNAH