When home is where your heart is

THERE is a quiet revolution in the US, prompted by the recession: well-educated and smart young women are embracing domesticity, according to a new book, Homeward Bound, by Emily Matchar.

This reminds me of a day, 13 years ago, when I was sitting in the oratory of Mount Carmel Hospital, in Dublin, trying to control my rising panic, as I realised that my day-old daughter was in serious trouble.

She was born six weeks premature and, because she was a big baby, at 9lbs 12oz, she was having severe breathing difficulties.