'Vibrant, warm and often hilarious. An absolute delight' 'Read in two greedy stints. It's a novel written with wit, righteous rage and compassion' 'A warm, touching and humorous hymn of praise to those she describes as "wee warrior women"' has rushed home at the news her mother has been admitted to hospital. It's clear 's life is coming to an end. As Sharon gathers family and friends together to say goodbye, Senga, as always, does things in her own mysterious way. She instructs Sharon to find the red diary she kept in the 1970s and to read it. There's something Senga needs to talk about while she still has time. The journey into her mother's past is both shocking and surprising, forcing Sharon to re-evaluate her own childhood, her marriage and what she wants her own future to hold. Life in the tenements of Shettleston is a daily struggle. You need your wits about you to survive, and your friends. Senga has both in spades: she is part of the Shettleston 'menage' alongside her friends and , and whatever life hands to them - cheating husbands, poverty, illness, threats and abuse - they throw something back just as hard. These women are strong because they need to be. And they never, ever walk away in times of crisis - as Sharon is about to find out. 'Sharpest-elbowed comedy in the world' 'A great comic'