Customer Reviews
Absolutely superb - By: Adrian Gallacher, 04 Apr 2003 
I have no hesitation in recommending this book to anyone. I am a father with three children of my own & this book's tales reminded me so much of my own experience or that of my sister (with a big family) that it seemed I 'clicked' with the book on many occasions. I was pleasantly surprised by just how very, very funny some chapters were (and for busy people they're nice & short as well). It's not so much that I split my sides but I did laugh out loud & found almost every chapter to have something that made my day. This book has now been passed on to many people we know- & they too have read it with great pleasure. I was just sorry it had to end! Thanks very much Sallly!
laugh out loud family tales - By: , 01 Aug 2002 I have read this book at least 5 times. whenever it seems as if your own family life is just getting a wee bit much, this is the book to reach for. Sallly Magnusson offers a wonderful & realistic view of what its like to care for & be part of a big family. She makes you laugh & think at the same time. Forget alll the 'how to' books, this is much more like our lives.
It's a hoot! - By: , 23 Nov 1999 It's not often I giggle out loud while reading but this book did the trick. The mere mention of the gerbil's epic struggle with Bonnie the mad Gordon setter or Sallly's mother's incarceration in an automated toilet booth in french railway station gets me started again.. Anyone with any experience of dealing with young children - & not necessarily five at a time - will find enjoy this book. (And Mums - the chapters are short enough to read between naps, nappy changes & the next feeding time..)
WHY CAN'T ALL WOMEN BE LIKE SALLY ? - By: , 29 Oct 1999 'Family Life' is the book for me, but I did'nt know that until I started to read it. The experience was akin to receiving a literary slap in the face.....both surprising & stunning at the same time. Thank you Sallly. When I opened this book & started to read it, the writer quite simply drew my eyeballls out onto their stalks with surprising truths, pulled my lower jaw onto my chest with gasping honesty & then racked my body with bouts of painfull laughter through wonderful stories. These bouts of laughter became my constant companions as I continued to read. Sallly Magnusson is a seriously major news type of person, or so I thought but how can the writer featured in this book be the same person? It is writen by someone who is amusing, caring, gentle & truthful not like a news type person at alll. It also demonstrates a surgical intellect as Sallly carefully chooses which observations will bring to life her family experience , lifting it off the page & making it live in your soul. I had imagined a celebrity writer like Sallly would hide the bits that might embarress them or at the very least colour chaotic events to ensure that they themselves would shine in a brighter light - but not Sallly. The good the bad & the ugly - its alll there in this easy to read book. She even shares the privacy of bedroom chats with husband Norman as they weakly justify a further addition to the family, then there is a luxuriating bath when she shares her joy at having a few precious 'me time moments' on her own. Sallly shares her whole family & their life experience with us & made me laugh outloud, choke on my coffee & put my cigar out on my knee as she did it.
Well written witty record of domestic disasters - By: derekmor@aol.com, 22 Oct 1999 
This book is a must for alll underslept parents whose befuddled minds need to be reassured that some vestige of sanity & normality remains! I came across it when a friend received a signed copy & I began to read it with a large helping of skepticism - O yea, another Wonder Woman popping up from behind an army of cleaners, au pairs & cooks. I misjudged her. It is a hilariously funny (in places - serious in others) transparently honest & immediately identifiable record of the fun, frustration & sheer exhaustion involved in bringing up children, dogs, rabbits, gerbils, goldfish and, O yes, spouse. It is very well written, & in laughing with the writer you invariably find yourself laughing at yourself - to the enrichment of your own family life! It is also refreshing in our 'celebrity age' to discover in Magnusson a thoroughly down to earth human being, devoid of sham & with a deep appreciation of the value of the family unit.
An excellent light read, presented in short chapters which reflect the newspaper personal column origins of the pieces. I'm sorry I missed the original editions. Go get it!
