‘Mum, What’s Wrong with You?’ cover art

‘Mum, What’s Wrong with You?’

101 Things Only Mothers of Teenage Girls Know

 Preview
LIMITED TIME OFFER

3 months free
Try for £0.00
£8.99/mo thereafter. Renews automatically. Terms apply. Offer ends 31 July 2025 at 23:59 GMT.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for £8.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly.

‘Mum, What’s Wrong with You?’

By: Lorraine Candy
Narrated by: Lorraine Candy
Try for £0.00

£8.99/mo after 3 months. Offer ends 31 July 2025 23:59 GMT. Cancel monthly.

Buy Now for £12.99

Buy Now for £12.99

Confirm Purchase
Pay using card ending in
Switch payment method
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.
Cancel

About this listen

 Sunday Times bestseller

‘The mothering manual we all need’ Claudia Winkleman

Mums: are you feeling lonely, confused or worried? Are you panicking that maybe you’re getting everything wrong? Does it, in the words of Lorraine Candy’s own teenage daughter, ‘suck to be you’ (Mum) right now?

Welcome to the most challenging part of your parenting journey: the teenage years.

It was all going so well and then, out of the blue, the little girl you love to the moon and back turned into an irrational, fire-breathing dragon. She lives in a messy pit of wet towels and sticky mugs, hoarding other people’s phone chargers and eyebrow tweezers, while rudely rejecting maternal intervention or affection.

Do not worry. You’re not alone. Parenting columnist Lorraine Candy, a mum of four (including three teens), is here to help. Her warm and witty family memoir will lead you to a more harmonious parenting place. Alongside a wealth of hilarious personal anecdotes, Candy offers you useful, easy-to-follow, well-researched guidance from experts.

This is a survivor’s guide for mums. This book will help you connect with your daughter and feel good about your mothering as you raise the bright and brilliant young women of tomorrow.

©2021 Lorraine Candy (P)2021 HarperCollins Publishers Limited Motherhood Parenting & Families Relationships Teenagers Funny Witty Feel-Good Thought-Provoking Inspiring Mental Health Health Comedy

Listeners also enjoyed...

 Menopausing cover art
Raising Girls cover art
How to Talk So Teens Will Listen and Listen So Teens Will Talk cover art
Parenting the New Teen in the Age of Anxiety cover art
Buddhism for the Unbelievably Busy cover art
Help! I’m a Teenager cover art
Parental as Anything cover art
Understanding ADHD in Girls and Women cover art
Parenting a Teen Girl cover art
Normal Schmormal cover art
But You Don't Look Autistic at All cover art
The Making of You cover art
Scatter Brain cover art
Our Autistic Lives cover art
The A-Z of Survival Strategies for Therapeutic Parents cover art
From Mother to Daughter cover art

Critic reviews

‘Parenting is a massive tsunami of inadequacy. This book is a gentle, supportive hand to help us ride that tsunami, both personal and objective. I found it deeply comforting’ Davina McCall

'This book is for all mums of teenage girls who are still standing despite the daily takedowns, the hourly scrutiny of our various failings and the moment-by-moment dissection of our useless boomer existence. It will make you want to run into the street shouting "See? It's not me – it's HER!"' Jackie Clune
All stars
Most relevant  
This book is amazing and I am literally recommending it to anyone that will listen. Totally spot on and it has completely changed my outlook on life with my teens! I no longer feel alone. Have been a big fan of Lorraine Candy since stumbling across her midlife podcast but now post this book I just want to give her a massive hug and say a huge thank you!

A must read book!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I’m a father of a soon-to-be 13-year-old girl I have found this book extremely insightful and helpful and I’m grateful for the offer who has recorded their experiences and passed insights on to a wider audience I highly recommend this book

Amazing

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I’m not a parent and accidentally came across a sample of this which made me lol. I ended up listening to the whole thing. It’s so well written and narrated. I laughed in parts and other parts I just wanted to give the author a hug. I hope her teens will make up for it in her old age. She deserves it.

She’s such a nice person

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Recommending this to all my friends of daughters. I laughed, I cried and I took on board a wealth of facts and tips and reassurance. A fantastic read, entertaining, informative and well worth a read/listen.

Amazing! Every Mum of tweenies needs to read this!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
OMG, this book is fantastic! The author could have written it just for me! It’s well worth a listen for any parent of teen girls.
Even if you’re not looking for ‘advice’ it’s just nice to hear the author talk about the everyday stuff and know that your family is ‘normal’.
P.s. don’t be put off by the sample, which I thought was a little dry. The author / narrator does a great job of relating to the listener and discusses many topics I’ve been too embarrassed to talk to my own friends about.

What a fantastic listen. The nearest thing to an instruction book for teens. Read and relax. Your family is ‘normal’

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Listening on the tube I would find myself laughing, literally, out loud with many strange looks, such were the brilliant descriptions of the antics of Gen Z teens. So helpful, my husband is now listening too and Lorraine has produced an up to date handbook for managing your teen. Listen to it now!

Absolutely fantastic book on teens

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Mixed feelings - on the positive side, I enjoyed the gentle and humorous tone, and it certainly covers a lot of ground. I didn't agree with a lot of her advice, but she does make it clear that you have to do what is right for you and your children, because they're all unique individuals. With her high-flying showbiz career and affluent lifestyle, it's not particularly relatable for the average family. It seems her children have been brought up in extremely privileged surroundings, enjoying a type of uber-cool London lifestyle that most people can only dream of. Unfortunately, her teenagers often come across as rude spoilt brats. That said, Lorraine seems like a genuinely lovely person and speaks with so much warmth and love about her family. Worth a listen, as it's always good to hear different perspectives.

Interesting - but not very relatable

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
This is an incredibly helpful, reassuring and funny book. Like an old friend arriving with a life raft- it’s comforting and practically informative- it made me cry and laugh and crucially, also made a difference to the way I was parenting immediately. After a rough few months I couldn’t be more grateful to have learned from these insights and be reaping the positive rewards in my relationship with my daughter, I can’t recommend highly enough

A truly life changing book-

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
This book has helped me to understand some of the very difficult situations my teenage girl is currently going through. The connection with the author through shared experience is powerful. The first chapters resonated so strongly I cried. The thoughtful, clear advice on picking your battles and how to talk about difficult things have been game changers for me. I’m so glad this book was recommended to me and I plan to gift it to every mother of a teenage girl I know. Thank you Lorraine for this light hearted but well crafted guide.

Essential reading for mothers of girls

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I didn't want it to end. Full of practical and relatable tips! Thank you Lorraine

A must read! Made me laugh and feel less alone

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews