Jen writes for Bristol Woman magazine and blogs at instinctivemum.com. She has published a children’s book about post-natal depression called A Monster Ate My Mum and is currently working on her first novel. As well as completing the Bath Spa University Creative Writing MA she holds a BA (Hons) QTS in Education, specialising in English Literature, and worked as a primary school teacher for fifteen years. When she is not writing she can usually be found in the kitchen, either creating a new dish or hiding from her three children with a packet of biscuits.
Megan’s second baby cries. A lot. After trying everything, Megan discovers that the woodland behind her house is the only place where Constance will be calm. Left alone there, she even sleeps, so Megan takes mothering back to nature with a vengeance. The wood is better at parenting than she is.
The Coin is told from the viewpoint of Megan, who is spiralling into a dangerous depression, her friend Rachel, and her mother Nancy. It explores the way social pressures and family traditions of child-rearing make today’s motherhood an uphill battle.
Motherhood is tough, but what’s the alternative?
Jen-Faulkner