Slipping Through My Fingers
On Mothering Teens, Making Mistakes and Learning to Let Go
In her third book, Emma charts the process of separation from her daughters as they come towards the end of their teenage years and prepare to leave home. So closely bonded with her daughters, she struggles to come to terms with the reality of her firstborn spreading her wings, while also wondering how on earth her youngest daughter will manage without her ever-present sister and partner-in-crime by her side. Along the way comes Emma’s thundering realisation that everything is not actually all about her. Warm, hilarious and bursting with love, Slipping Through my Fingers is an ode to motherhood, a celebration of
teenage irreverence, and a study of the exquisite heartache peculiar to letting go.
Excerpt:
‘As I watch you on the beach, on the cusp of adulthood in that magical and exquisitely painful state of transition between what you were and what you will become, I want you to know how amazing you are. You’re at the point in your life where you sometimes still crawl into my bed at night because you’re scared of death and can’t comprehend the
magnitude of your existence on this earth; whilst on other nights you sneak in late, slightly drunk telling me how much you love me, and asking for fried chicken - although you are a vegetarian. Stuck between beer and sweets. Where the growth of your limbs and shaping of your body are happening in and around you, and you don’t have the slightest grasp of your astonishing beauty, both inside and out.’
Emma Says:
‘This book comes from a truly special part of my being, from the mother place. It’s unique in that I am writing it in real time as I live the experience, building up to the point of separation. I marvel at witnessing the transition to adulthood with all of its pain, drama, intensity and hilarity, and I see a thousand lifetimes reflected back at me in the maelstrom. It’s the greatest privilege of my life to be part of the storm.’