Journalist Tim Dowling was born in Connecticut and moved to the UK at the age of 29. He is the author of 4 books (so far) including a novel, ‘The Giles Wareing Haters' Club’. For the last five and a half years his popular weekly Guardian column has charted the ups and downs of family life, and his largely unsuccessful attempts to be recognised as a competent father and husband, combining self-deprecating humour with a perverse optimism.

'You'll whoosh through this book with cheery hoots of laughter... Dowling's a very fresh and smart writer... There's a proper laugh every couple of pages... But as well as being funny, which he has to be, Dowling is sometimes plangent... and he is more often than not wise... there's pleasure and treasure here' Sam Leith, Guardian 'There's no denying [HOW TO BE A HUSBAND'ss] enormous readability ... Dowling's frequently hilarious Bildungsroman, detailing his evolution from feckless layabout to equally feckless husband and father, offers wisdom, insight and laugh-out-loud one-liners in equal measure ... Gloriously entertaining' Alexander Larman, Observer 'This isn't a self-help book ... What [Dowling] has done, effectively, is invent an entirely new genre in literature: that of the self-hinder book ... A rare delight.' Spectator 'Less a self-help than a self-hinder book, the Guardian columnist's account of how he has coped with the challenges of matrimony (answer: badly) should really be called How Not To Be a Husband.' Thomas Hodgkinson, Spectator, Books of the Year 'A charming book that claims erroneously, not to be a self-help guide. I've read it. My wife has read it. Divorce has been postponed, at least to Boxing Day.' Sunday Times, Books of the Year 'A charming book' Sunday Times

Journalist Tim Dowling was born in Connecticut and moved to the UK at the age of 29. He is the author of 4 books (so far) including a novel, ‘The Giles Wareing Haters' Club’. For the last five and a half years his popular weekly Guardian column has charted the ups and downs of family life, and his largely unsuccessful attempts to be recognised as a competent father and husband, combining self-deprecating humour with a perverse optimism.

'You'll whoosh through this book with cheery hoots of laughter... Dowling's a very fresh and smart writer... There's a proper laugh every couple of pages... But as well as being funny, which he has to be, Dowling is sometimes plangent... and he is more often than not wise... there's pleasure and treasure here' Sam Leith, Guardian 'There's no denying [HOW TO BE A HUSBAND'ss] enormous readability ... Dowling's frequently hilarious Bildungsroman, detailing his evolution from feckless layabout to equally feckless husband and father, offers wisdom, insight and laugh-out-loud one-liners in equal measure ... Gloriously entertaining' Alexander Larman, Observer 'This isn't a self-help book ... What [Dowling] has done, effectively, is invent an entirely new genre in literature: that of the self-hinder book ... A rare delight.' Spectator 'Less a self-help than a self-hinder book, the Guardian columnist's account of how he has coped with the challenges of matrimony (answer: badly) should really be called How Not To Be a Husband.' Thomas Hodgkinson, Spectator, Books of the Year 'A charming book that claims erroneously, not to be a self-help guide. I've read it. My wife has read it. Divorce has been postponed, at least to Boxing Day.' Sunday Times, Books of the Year 'A charming book' Sunday Times

Journalist Tim Dowling was born in Connecticut and moved to the UK at the age of 29. He is the author of 4 books (so far) including a novel, ‘The Giles Wareing Haters' Club’. For the last five and a half years his popular weekly Guardian column has charted the ups and downs of family life, and his largely unsuccessful attempts to be recognised as a competent father and husband, combining self-deprecating humour with a perverse optimism.

'You'll whoosh through this book with cheery hoots of laughter... Dowling's a very fresh and smart writer... There's a proper laugh every couple of pages... But as well as being funny, which he has to be, Dowling is sometimes plangent... and he is more often than not wise... there's pleasure and treasure here' Sam Leith, Guardian 'There's no denying [HOW TO BE A HUSBAND'ss] enormous readability ... Dowling's frequently hilarious Bildungsroman, detailing his evolution from feckless layabout to equally feckless husband and father, offers wisdom, insight and laugh-out-loud one-liners in equal measure ... Gloriously entertaining' Alexander Larman, Observer 'This isn't a self-help book ... What [Dowling] has done, effectively, is invent an entirely new genre in literature: that of the self-hinder book ... A rare delight.' Spectator 'Less a self-help than a self-hinder book, the Guardian columnist's account of how he has coped with the challenges of matrimony (answer: badly) should really be called How Not To Be a Husband.' Thomas Hodgkinson, Spectator, Books of the Year 'A charming book that claims erroneously, not to be a self-help guide. I've read it. My wife has read it. Divorce has been postponed, at least to Boxing Day.' Sunday Times, Books of the Year 'A charming book' Sunday Times