'I STILL GET IMPOSTER SYNDROME'

BUSY MOTHER, DOCTOR AND NOW AUTHOR EMILY ANDRE TELLS US WHY IT WAS SO IMPORTANT TO MAKE TIME FOR HER LATEST PROJECT

- SAMUEL McMANUS-MAXWELL AND STEVEN MURPHY

With two young kids and a job as an NHS doctor during a time of extreme pandemic-related pressure, Emily Andre already has her work cut out. Add to this writing a column for OK! and TV appearances as a medical expert, and we wonder where she found the time to write her first book, Growing Up For Girls, a guide for parents and teens to puberty and the tricky journey of growing up.

“There were a few late nights writing,” Emily – who is know professionally as Dr Emily MacDonagh – laughs as we catch up with her to hear all about her new project. “I’d get started once the kids had gone to bed.”

But burning the candle at both ends had an unexpected outcome for the 32-year-old and her husband, music star Peter Andre, who are parents to Amelia, seven, and four-year-old Theo. She is also step mum to Pete’s teenage children Junior and Princess.

“The book actually made Peter more able to talk about this sort of stuff, especially when it comes to relating back to your own children,” Emily confides. And her husband will no doubt be helping her out as she begins work on the follow-up, which is a boys’ equivalent.

As well as chatting about her latest project, the doctor admits working on the NHS front line has been “challenging”. But, typical of her “glass half full” mentality, she says, “If I can make a difference, then that makes it worthwhile for me.”

Here, Emily talks about tackling teenage angst, the challenges of the pandemic and her hopes for 2022…

Hi Emily! How do you balance being a doctor, mother and now an author?