
Chapter One
You didn't become a parent to spend every morning
at war.
The alarm goes off and something in your chest tightens. The shoes are missing. The cereal is on the floor. Someone is already crying. You hear your voice get sharp again, and you promise yourself tomorrow will be different.
Tomorrow comes. Nothing changes. By 8:15 you're apologising in the car, wondering why this one hour of the day feels heavier than everything else combined.
You are not a bad parent. You've just been handed no plan for the hardest hour of your day.
- The pre-school countdown that ends in tears
- The same three fights on repeat before 8am
- The guilt that follows you straight into work
- The quiet fear that you're becoming a parent you don't recognise



