Coming soon: The Mental Load Diaries by Cat Sims

BOOKS NEWS

Credit: Tash Busta Photography

Gallery Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster UK, has acquired the rights to The Mental Load Diaries, the memoir-based non-fiction debut from writer, podcaster and content creator Cat Sims. Michelle Signore, Deputy Publishing Director at Gallery acquired world rights from Anna Dixon at YMU Group.

The Mental Load Diaries brings to light the devastating impact the ‘mental load’ - the often-invisible emotional work needed to manage and maintain a household - can have on women, their mental health, family life and relationships. 

Blisteringly candid and full of her trademark dry wit, Cat Sims (aka @notsosmugnow) opens up about her own personal struggles with the mental load, revealing how it ultimately drove her to addiction and a crisis point in her marriage.

Designed to provoke honest conversation and to make women feel seen and less alone, The Mental Load Diaries is about the reality of carrying too much and what happens when you finally decide to put some of it down, giving you the confidence to know it is possible to shift the balance. 

Cat Sims said: “This isn’t a self-help book. It’s not a book to beat men over the head with. It’s a no-holds barred, deeply honest account of my experience of trying to understand the world as a woman, a wife and a mother. It might not give you the answers, but it will definitely make you realise that you're not the only one who feels frustrated and lost in the bed they've made and have to lie in.”

Signore added “I’ve long been a fan of Cat’s content and the mental load as a concept is something that she has really helped to shine a light on. I’m thrilled that she’s chosen to share her story about the day-to-day burdens of family life, and how they can build up over time to dramatic and tragic effect. Cat’s writing is at once hilariously self-deprecating and breathtakingly honest, comforting while also empowering, echoing the experience of many women and allowing them to see themselves within her story.”

Cat Sims is an author, podcaster and content creator. She has built a loyal following by documenting the beautifully chaotic reality of being a 40-year-old woman, wife and mother – saying the things the rest of us are too afraid to admit. She is also the founder of Not So Smug Now, an online platform dedicated to making women feel seen and to proving that no matter how shitty they feel about things, they are never the only one. Her podcast, You’re Never The Only One, is now in its second season and runs alongside her popular Substack feed.

The Mental Load Diaries will be released in hardback, ebook and audiobook formats on 3 July 2025.