In this inspiring, topical and painfully funny memoir, Not a Fictional Mum asks what it is that really makes a mum? What Makes a Mum? is a less conventional journey of being mothered and reaching motherhood, from teenage foster care, struggling with infertility and navigating the adoption process. Not a Fictional Mum reveals the policies and statistics that led her to campaign for change, and what emerges is a picture of resilience, determination and hope. A personal account and a manifesto for change, What Makes a Mum? looks at family beyond genetics and offers a guiding hand to anyone in the long and sometimes agonising pursuit of becoming a mother.