Welcome to the website of Sally Emerson, novelist, anthologist and travel writer

Sally Emerson is the editor of New Life, an anthology for Parenthood, a selection of prose and poetry for perhaps the most important of all life's events, the arrival of a new person on the planet and the joy and chaos which follows.

The readings in this anthology follow each twist in the path to parenthood: from the anticipation and anxieties of pregnancy and birth to the joys and fears of welcoming a baby into the world. Contemporary voices mix with the great names of literature - from Dickens to Sylvia Plath; from John Lennon to Laurie Lee - to provide songs of celebration in times of happiness, reassurance in times of uncertainty and a firm footing in times of change. Drawing on the words of writers old and new, New Life sheds light on the common experience of parenthood, reminding us that new life begins not only for a baby but also for those sharing the journey.

This completes Emerson's trilogy of anthologies which take you through the great stages of life: birth (New Life), love (Be Mine, an anthology for lovers, weddings and Ever After), death (In Loving Memory, an anthology for Memorial services, funerals and just getting by). Overwhelmingly these books offer real help and honest consolation from some of the greatest writers in eloquent and robust poetry and prose. Some of the poems and prose you will know but much will be new and most will be inspiring.