Something I'm Not [Hardcover]

A complex odyssey that is ambitious in scope, carefully structured and highly accessible. It trumpets the courage needed to make - and stand by - difficult, life-defining decisions, as well as the hereditary effects of unresolved trauma and the importance of friends to our mental well-being … Negotiate[s] all this without resorting to psychobabble or sentimentality, and still boast[s] authenticity and poignancy. --The Sunday Telegraph

Sparkling … Amber is a strong and sympathetic heroine and her friends are well-rounded individuals and recognisable contemporary types … Beresford's deft plotting and warm and witty writing makes this an assured debut. --The Daily Mail

If you've had enough of reading about yummy mummy, this tale of one woman's missing maternal urges provides a welcome antidote to the glut of babbling baby books … there are no dribbling anti-child clichés in this heartfelt take on how friends can be the new family. A refreshing and thought provoking peak at people who'd rather have a cat flap than a kid. --Handbag.com

'Sparkling ... Bereford's deft plotting and warm and witty writing makes this an assured debut'

'Shrewdly characterised and written with verve'

'Addresses one of the most universally-recognisable subjects - the mother-daughter relationship - with a heartbreaking tenderness and clarity'

'Shrewdly characterised and written with verve'

To her friends, Amber leads the perfect life with her successful marriage, powerful job in London and her immaculate style. But as more of her friends fall pregnant, and her best friend Dylan announces his decision to adopt a baby with his gay lover, Amber's carefully structured world begins to fall apart. Intricately crafted and sensually evocative, 'Something I m Not' is a sharp, contemporary novel that discusses the way the psychological scars of the past pass through the generations of a family. With a charming and complex heroine, a group of friends heading towards midlife, some of whom are only just finding out who they really are, 'Something I m Not' is a subtle novel that poses the questions most women are too afraid to ask.

Lucy Beresford is a psychotherapist, broadcaster, and writer. She has written for the 'Literary Review', 'Sunday Telegraph', 'The Spectator', 'The Times', 'Daily Mail', and 'Psychologies' magazine. She has appeared regularly on TV and radio discussing mental health and general psychology issues.