In The Other Mother, Brister explores the process of becoming a mum when you’re not the mum who gave birth. Didn't know a lot about Jen Bristow before listening to this book. Knew she was funny, and am fairly sure I knew she had at least one son, having caught part of a set she did on Live At The Apollo. For what this is worth, also knew she was part of a group of comedians I instinctively like - a pal of Sara Pascoe, Sarah Millican, Suzi Ruffel and Jessica Fostekew. Brister was born in Kingston upon Thames, Greater London, in 1975 to an English father and a Spanish mother. She has three brothers. [2] Brister was raised as a Catholic [3] and went to all girls' Ursuline High School, Wimbledon. [4] She then went on to Richmond College. [5] Her Spanish-born mother is a frequent target of her comedy shows. [6] Stand-up career [ edit ] I never remember jokes. Saying that, my son told me a hilarious joke about a helicopter and some jelly … No, it’s gone. Why a targeted screening programme for a common virus could help new born babies with hearing loss. It's called CMV. Most of us have had it, harmlessly...it feels like a cold but if you're pregnant it can have serious consequences - most commonly deafness. It's more common than Down's affecting 1000 babies a year in Britain but few health professionals know about it. Paediatrician, Dr Tamsin Brown has gathered health professionals together in the East of England and set up a targeted screening programme which she hopes will support the case for nationwide screening.

Comic Maureen Younger, who is hilarious and has a unique approach to common sense. Like the time we arranged to meet in Southwark. After waiting 10 mins outside the tube station I phoned to find out where she was. “London Bridge,” she said. Apparently I hadn’t specified where in the borough of Southwark so she’d taken a guess. You can’t fault her logic. The funniest dream I’ve ever had … Brister studied drama at Middlesex University, London, where, in the mid-1990s, she took a course in stand-up comedy, the only one of its kind at the time in the UK. Other famous graduates include Alan Carr, Dan Renton Skinner of the Dutch Elm Conservatoire and Shooting Stars, and Clare Warde of the Runaway Lovers. Brister's first gig was at the end of her third year at university in 1996, [7] at the King's Head in Crouch End, London.

CMV

From the heartbreak of failed IVF and the often-uncomfortable realities of being pregnant with twins to the horrific truths about childbirth or in Chloe’s case caesarean sections, there is very little Jen Brister doesn’t cover in her account of becoming parents. Two of my own daughters are in a same set relationship and both are currently in the process of getting IVF treatment and this book has helped me understand what they will be facing. I may even let them borrow my copy of Jen's book!!!

The Other Mother deconstructs the romanticisation of motherhood, especially within a household that does not seem to fit into the mould of a “traditional family”. As a lesbian couple, Jen and Chloe go through the painful processes of sperm selection and IVF, only to transition to the ever more challenging process of parenting. This journey is filled with as many miseries as it is laughter. Throughout this book, the complexities of motherhood are explored in great detail with a captivating sense of humour (including cleaning babies’ nappies in public places!). The author made me vividly feel the “realness” of a life I was previously unsure about. Changing the way we bring up our boys - Jen Brister - TEDxBrighton". youtube.com. Archived from the original on 21 December 2021 . Retrieved 28 May 2019. We’d chosen to go down the IVF route and use sperm from a bank rather than from someone we knew. I felt completely fine about becoming a parent without the biological connection, but I did have some neurosis about whether my children would like me. I’ll be honest with you: lots of people don’t. I needn’t have worried, though, because as soon as they were born, I realised that these gorgeous _(_prune-faced) little lads needed me more than I could have ever imagined, and I was compelled to rise to the challenge of being their parent. This author is, without any doubt, THE most under rated female comedian EVER!! She is totally hilarious. Gilson, Edwin (1 June 2018). "Brighton comedian Jen Brister on #MeToo: "I found out things I never knew" ". The Argus . Retrieved 28 May 2019.

Podcast

I really enjoyed this book. From the first few lines, everything about it is drenched in the love that Brister so obviously has for her family, which is beautiful. The way she writes highlights her love for them even when, at times, things are (quite literally) shitty, and you just can't underestimate how heartwarming and reassuring that is. Stand up comedian Jen Brister’s first novel focuses on her experience of entering motherhood with her partner, Chloe. Once Jen and Chloe have agreed that they would like to start a family, they begin making the hundreds of decisions every parent-to-be faces, with a few extras thrown in for being a gay couple. One of these decisions was that Chloe would undergo fertility treatment, and when their twins are conceived, Jen finds herself launched into the role of ‘the other mother’. Not the birth mother, not the biological mother, not the adoptive mother, but something other.