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About the Book

A Note from the Author

I am an ordinary stay-at-home mum with very little free time. I am also the last person in the world to worry about big picture issues. And I love to shop. So when I woke up one morning and realised that my happy, healthy children were facing a very bleak future, I panicked. I started to do a lot of reading on every subject from global warming to global poverty. But most of the books were really dry and detailed – written by people and for people who were already aware of the issues and needed to know the detail of what to do to fix them. I came away in a state of shock, overwhelmed by the scale of the problems, uncertain of my own ability to make a difference - and needing to shop to forget.

I started doing some of the things described in this book – trying to recycle, buying only if I knew the origins of a product were squeaky-clean and even started a small business selling Fairtrade-certified products. The problem was that even to describe my efforts as a drop in a steadily warming ocean would be a gross exaggeration. And anything more intensive would have started to encroach on my time with my children and affected my primary role as a stay-at-home mum.

The solution was obvious. The problems we face are not unique to me. My concern for my children is certainly not an individual trait. Most other mothers are just one very hot day away from panicking about global warming or just one famine-related news item away from donating the family home to charity. And so I wrote this Guide. I hope it helps.

S Mahadevan Flint

How to win a Nobel Prize - A Stay-at-Home Mum's Guide (ISBN: 9810565372, Price: £4.50) is available for purchase on www.amazon.co.uk.