My Mum's a Twat

By: Anoushka Warden

Narrated by: Susan Wokoma

Length: 1 hr and 7 mins

Publisher's Summary

My mum wasn't always a twat. But sometime after I turned 10, everything changed. She stopped taking me shopping. She regularly forgot my birthday. And she thought she could heal people.

One girl’s funny and honest account of losing her mum to a cult.

Susan Wokoma performs in this teen-spirited and gangsta-rap-fuelled survival guide to growing up with an actual twat as a mum.

Written by Anoushka Warden, directed by Debbie Hannan and music by The Last Skeptik, this version was produced by Fight in the Dog and Showroom Productions for the Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2019.

My Mum’s a Twat premiered at the Royal Court Theatre, London, in 2018. It was produced by Royal Court and Amy Powell Yeates.

Photograph by Alisa Connan, Camera Press London.

©2019 Anoushka Warden (P)2020 Audible, Ltd

A sad tale of advertising & religious manipulation

I don't understand the posturing, there's an African person on the cover and the story is about an Anglo woman who's mother falls prey to a cult. I'm always looking for more representation on this platform. The misleading cover was unnecessary and disappointing because the story holds up on its own. While slightly boring it isn't a bad hour of listening.

Spoiled ten yr-old traumatized by mediocre parents

Susan Wokoma did a great job reading, but was the only interesting part. Brief intro to a child with limited coping skills pissed that her selfish, mentally-absent mom quit spoiling her and selfishly moved away leaving her with her emotionally distant father. No development of any themes, and all characters were just props or a list of names (siblings got a sentence each--we're assured they were a tight group but who could tell-- stepdad Moron/Colin/Kevin, who apparently knocked her down once and dressed badly, and two friends who could have been anyone). Events were a summary and got a dull treatment: summers with mom were poorly supervised so teen found some PREDICTABLE trouble. Is Anoushka Warden going to write a book someday about this stuff, or is this hollow outline all she has to say? Is the narrator on the cover instead of the author because Warden is hiding her (labored metaphor) scars in more than one way, or because Audible hoped Susan's photogenic charisma would spackle the cracks?
There's just no story here, and any event mentioned could have supplied one. At 18 the writer is just about what she was at ten, but she isn't dealing with her (fairly vanilla-sounding) trauma or telling a real story.

Venting Free Range Style

Rather than begin with a review of the author's contribution to 'My Mum's a Twat', I'll begin with a one word summary of the narrator's contribution to this book: Excellent!
Susan Wokoma has a truly lovely voice, a talent for timing, execution and inflection, and is a charismatic narrator with the ability to make the listener feel as though he/she is a good friend and the one, specifically, to whom Susan Wokoma is speaking. This narrator is the sole reason I listened to this audiobook until it was finished. And this narrator is the only redeeming quality this "book" possesses. I gave the book an overall 2-star review (wish I could have given it 2.5-stars because that is the average of the Story review and Performance). I gave Susan Wokoma's Performance 5-stars. I gave the Story a 1-star review only because there is nothing lower than 1-star allowed.
The Story itself is nothing more than a public therapy session authored by a woman with some rather severe, deep-seated and unresolved childhood issues, including abandonment, and a lot of anger for her mother.
Anoushka Warden did indeed endure a terrible childhood that must have been very painful and that left deep emotional scars and issues that evidently still need to be resolved. However, in this she is sadly not unique. Many adults have endured terrible childhoods, often much worse than that of Anoushka Warden's. I speak from personal experience, having myself lived thru a nightmare childhood of physical and emotional abuse. In some ways it would have been beneficial to me if my parent had abandoned me. The specifics are different, but as a whole I understand.
And if the Author had written her story with some measure of maturity and demonstrated that she had found a way to heal and grow as a person, and not to repeat the same terrible mistakes that her own mother had made, and that she wished to share her experiences with her readers/listeners so that we too might benefit from reading/listening to her experiences and how she was able to deal with them, perhaps even rise above them, then I would applaud her. But she didn't do that. Instead, Anoushka Warden's book, 'My Mum's a Twat' is nothing more than a public therapy session of complaining, whining, berating and insulting directed towards her mother and she comes across as feeling that we should be surprised and outraged that she, specifically, had to go thru those things and that a parent could be so terrible. She seems to feel that she is unique in living thru a crappy childhood and that people would feel privileged to listen to her immature and unhealthy complaining. There is nothing engaging or redeeming about this bitch session of a book, except the amazing narration.

wow wow wow

It is really difficult to pull off this type of memoir without sounding maudlin, and self-pitying. the weird thing is she is full of self-pity, and anger, but you don't care because she is also full of spunk, and self-awareness, and understanding of her mother's vulnerability to the cult's influence. I just couldn't help rooting for for this young woman.

If About a Boy was a mouthy girl in therapy group

Remember Nick Hoult in the movie About a Boy, where he copes with being a teenager in London under his granola, hippie mum? Imagine if Hugh Grant’s character never came along and instead precocious Hoult was lost down a path to delinquency. Now imagine Hoult’s Mystikal rap-loving self as a profane twenty something woman unloading on her therapy group, raging for the whole hour about how her mum joined a cult when she was ten and she effectively lost her mum and her innocence. She tells her tale from age 10 to 20 with F bombs and words like c*nt and twat. You can sense her frustration and anger at her mum, but really more at the cult who preyed upon her. You also see the screwed up mess of a childhood left to her, including hard drugs, sex and crime before age 15. This is Sandra Bernhardt or Andrew Dice Clay raw, where the “humor” is visceral and cuts deep. This biographic cautionary tale of cults and parenting is worth a listen as an Audible freebie, if you can stand the sharp, biting edges. The narrator’s streetwise British accent was perfect, although I felt the acidic monologue played better at 1.3x speed.

Short but enjoyable

The performance is fantastic, really brought the story to life and made it real, enjoyable to listen to. I was enthralled for the whole story. Only gave 4 stars because I feel like there could've been more to the story.

Well done and I agree!

This book was expertly read and written. Confused as to why the reader is on the cover. And yes, your Mom is a Twat!

what's a twat?!?

Seems like it is a mother who doesn't mother or follow the conventional guidelines of motherhood and an angry daughter who felt the abandonment. How not to be a twat, don't join a cult and abandon your children.

Terrible

The only good thing I can say is that I was able ro finish it. Otherwise its a story of a spoiled brat who tragically loses her mothers affection and turns to sex and drugs. The worse part was hearing how she almost starved a cat to death. Just pass on this one

not sure why it is amazon content

This is a good performance of a mostly boring story. I understand that it was a play. I the transition to audiobook lost some of the appeal.

Dreadfuk

Pointless. I can see why it was so short, she had nothing to say. The worst book I’ve ever listened to.

Enjoyable, but short.

Really enjoyed this book, my only issue is that it is so short. Loved the narrator and style of writing. Whilst I have not been in a similar situation, the way it has been written allows me to easily relate to the character.

Loved this!

This is such a great listen. A hilarious portrayal of a childhood/teenage experience and the sad, disappointing relationship with her mother, dealing with some unusual and traumatic situations. This maybe short, but its short and sweet and does not fail to deliver. This is a memoir, not an autobiography. Remember that. It's supposed to be short.

Complete rubbish

I’m not bothered by the constant cussing but the story is drivel. Don’t waste your time on this.

Hilarious and Thought Provoking

Wonderfully honest and frank; a window into a fascinating life experience. I would highly recommend a listen 👍