The Three of U.S.: A New Life in New York

THE THREE OF U.S.

A New Life in New York

JOANNA COLES

&

PETER GODWIN

DEDICATION

For TAG, whose pram is in the hall

CONTENTS

Cover

Title Page

Dedication

Preface

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

January

About the Author

Also by the Author

Copyright

About the Publisher

PREFACE

At the risk of degenerating into Oscar speak, we would like to thank the following: our agent, Gil Coleridge and our editors, Val Hudson and Andrea Henry, for doing their respective jobs with such elan; Jane Thynne and Andrew Solomon for allowing us to quote from their emails; and our New York friends (especially Dani Shapiro, Michael Maren, Suzanna Andrews, Dana and John Tierney, Andre and Leina Schiffrin, Ron Gallen, Betsy Fagan, Sheenah Hankin and Tom Masland) for their patience and humour in dealing with our incessant questions; Sheila Kitzinger and Dr Miriam Stoppard for letting us quote from their work. We are also grateful to be able to quote from Dr Seuss and from the websites of BabySoon.com and BabyCenter.com.

Joanna would like to thank Alan Rusbridger and Roger Alton at the Guardian, for posting her to New York. And Peter Stothard and Sandra Parsons at The Times, for continuing to accommodate her dispatches.

The Three of U.S. is not a forensic record – occasionally we have changed names, dates and other identifying details, largely to prevent intrusion. But this principle is defined in the exception. Our labour coach, for example, is so instantly identifiable to any of the scores of New Yorkers who have passed through her ante-natal academy, that to change her name would be pointless.

Joanna Coles

Peter Godwin

Manhattan 1999