Memoirs of a not so dutiful daughter
This intense autobiography takes us through the life of Jenni Murray, presenter of Women’s Hour.
A tireless women’s rights campaigner, Jenni recalls the events of her troubled past with her frosty relationship with her mother being at the forefront.
Growing up in the 1950s in Barnsley, Jenni was desperate to impress her mother only to be knocked down with insults and put-downs.
She was often criticised and subjected to disparaging comments, describing her mother as difficult, jealous and phenomenally strict. While her father was loving, he was frequently absent from the family home.
It was only when Jenni reached 56, when her mother was dying that she told her that she loved her and that she thought she was beautiful.
Jenni was determined to go her own way and build a life independent of her parents, yet she always felt a sense of guilt – harshly calling herself “an intellectual snob and a liar.”
While she acknowledges that she is not the only woman to have had a difficult relationship with her mother, family history and the times in which they lived made sure that any closeness between them was a near impossibility.
Told in Jenni’s unique and engaging voice, it is a memoir that women everywhere will relate and respond to – a compelling and candid account of how her relationship with her parents made her the woman she is today.