Edel Coffey on the inspiration behind award-winning novel Breaking Point

The Irish Book Award-winning novel exposes the pressures we put on women, and in particular mothers. Here, in an extract chosen by the author, we publish one of her most emotive chapters, and she explains the inspiration behind it

In ‘Breaking Point’, Edel Coffey’s debut novel, one of the main characters, Adelaide, is struggling to balance being a mother with her return to work as a journalist. Picture: Bríd O'Donovan

Re-entering the workforce after having a baby is comparable to getting inducted into an extreme sport. How can a job you did competently and with ease mere months before suddenly seem like alien terrain? How can you feel so guilty about leaving your baby to go to work? And then, how can you feel so guilty about leaving the office to pick up your baby from creche?

In my debut novel Breaking Point one of the main characters, Adelaide, is struggling to balance being a mother with her return to work. She used to love her job as a journalist. It was the place she was most confident and fulfilled in her life. But now she feels out of place, uncertain of herself and her abilities, and afraid of putting a foot wrong in case anyone might think she’s lost her edge.