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Lou Beckett talks to Sara Pascoe

Barrel of Laughs: Lessons from a Default Parent – Surviving the Front Line of Family Life

Hay Festival 2026, 

A candid, funny and relatable look at what it means to be the ‘default parent’. Lou Beckett, wife of comedian Rob Beckett, enjoys a no-holds-barred chat with comedian and mother Sara Pascoe about the emotional and logistical burdens of being the parent who plans, pre-empts, organises and remembers, and offers community to others in the same position.

Beckett’s book Lessons From a Default Parent contains advice and reflections on parenting, and provides comfort to the people depended on the most and appreciated the least. Beckett is a mother of two and ex-secondary school teacher, as well as a mostly silent participant on her husband’s podcast Parenting Hell.