Woman's Hour - 05/11/2010

Presented by Jenni Murray Guerrilla Mum: Parenting a child with special educational needs and getting the proper institutional and educational support is not something most of us prepare for. It is, however, something many of us end up doing. Ellen Power is one such mother and she's written a book about her experiences. Pam Johnson is Community Development Manager in the Midlands and North West for MENCAP - the UK charity for people with a learning disability. Comedy vs Tragedy? Which is the best guide to living? It's an argument older than the Stoics and Epicureans or the Cavaliers and the Roundheads, and has raged from Athens to Eastenders - and again it's the subject of a debate at BBC Radio 3's Free Thinking Festival taking place this weekend. Jenni is joined by two of the protagonists: Natalie Haynes, taking the side of the tragedians, and Janey Godley for the comedians. After 11 years, the writer Polly Samson has just published a new book of short stories entitled Perfect Lives. She talks to Jenni about the collection and why it's taken her so long to write it.