An irresistibly moving, funny and urgent memoir about the reality of caring for your parents, when you can barely care for yourself.‘Hilarious, bitter, poignant and profound, this is the human condition laid brilliantly bare, like an existential soap opera – only with more laughs.‘ - Philip Hoare, author of LeviathanIt was the kind of phone call we all dread.Your elderly father has been admitted to hospital. He’s not well and he needs your help. Your mum is about to be left at home alone. She needs you too. The answer? Drop everything. Go. Help. The reality? Not so straightforward. Suddenly, you’re a kid again, stranded in the overheated house you grew up in.They need you 24/7, that much is obvious. And you want to help, of course you do. But soon your life starts to unravel almost as quickly as their health.In between bouts of washing, feeding, cooking and fighting there are days that test you, days where everything goes wrong and days where everyone, miraculously rises to the occasio