I started researching this book when my children were small – 3 years old and 4 months old, to be precise. It was hectic, but academic research mainly fit in with family life. I would work in the evenings at the dining table, on the sofa, at the library if I was lucky. Space in any family home is at a premium, so I took what I could; a little corner that could be sacrificed and claimed. The space was tangible evidence of who I was outside of motherhood.