Published in Human Parts·PinnedMember-onlyShame, Shame, ShameAlcohol, ambition, and giving our power away It’s a weekday in Autumn, 2008, and the world — my world — is ending. I am wearing my Shame Trousers. Walking pyjamas. Mystery bottoms. I acquired them a few months ago, in time for festival season. Then, they were loose, slouchy, sitting…Sober10 min readSober10 min read
Oct 10Drinking ProblemOn 23rd June, 2022, I drank a sad, soapy, £17 gin and tonic in a hotel bar in Malmo, and thought ‘I think I’ve had enough.’ I was on holiday, on a supersized midsummer city break in Scandinavia. In Copenhagen, I’d had wine flights, white beer, sipping gin. In the…Mental Health8 min readMental Health8 min read
Dec 29, 2021Why I Ran Away To SeaAfter two years of major change, a reflection on how and why we move… I believe that we retreat to the edges, the peripheries, because we are frightened. The world leaves us rubbed and worn; we cling to the sides. I was always going to move to the seaside, for…Mental Health4 min readMental Health4 min read
Dec 18, 2021Hopeless, helpless, humanI can’t remember if it happened in the December 1992, or 1993. If I was nearly eight, or almost nine. If it was the news at six, or at seven. I was not watching the television, but I was in the room, and it was on. And I didn’t change…Anxiety4 min readAnxiety4 min read
Jun 27, 2020Before your book comes out…My first novel is published early next year, and I keep finding myself getting embarrassingly, self indulgently obsessed about things that are completely beyond my control. I wrote this to myself, a list of things to remember as an attempt to maintain sanity and equilibrium over the next few months…Writing Tips3 min readWriting Tips3 min read
May 7, 2020Member-onlyLockdown and the unsolicited advice epidemicIt came to a head last night, when a sweet, well-meaning friend suggested that I go for a walk. I’d been prickly all day. Loose where I should be tight, and tight where I should be loose. My feelings were all over the place, and I had no thoughts or…Mental Health7 min readMental Health7 min read
Feb 16, 2020We can’t afford to ‘just ignore’ bullies any more. We need to investigate our cultural bullying problem.Once or twice a month I receive a phone call from Good Morning Britain, asking if I’d like to appear on the programme and take part on a debate. For me, going on television is slightly scarier than going to the dentist’s, and slightly less awful than going through a…Social Media5 min readSocial Media5 min read
Published in Human Parts·Jan 28, 2020Member-onlyHow to Keep Dancing When the World Says You Shouldn’tI dream of dancing. It breaks my heart that I’ve never been very good at it. — “What were you doing? What were you thinking?” she asked. “Dan… cing?” I pushed wet hair out of my stinging eyes and shook out the cotton skirt of my dress. Even in the dark, I could see that its hem had become stained and sticky, a location-specific blend of ash…Failure10 min readFailure10 min read
Aug 21, 2019“It’s more than lying. It’s controlling.” Beware the man who calls you a ‘psycho’My worst ex boyfriend isn’t the one who took me to a kebab house with all of his pals on Valentine’s day, and then forgot his wallet. He’s not the one who took me to my favourite pub, the one I could see from my bedroom window, and told me…Relationships4 min readRelationships4 min read
May 21, 2019Please stop asking me about my careerThey called themselves “interns”. We called them “workies”. They would come into the office for two weeks, shy or garrulous, enthusiastic or resentful. I remember the brilliant ones — Sally, who wore home made diaphanous kimonos and asked sweetly phrased existential questions on quiet afternoons, Anita, who rang every PR…Careers11 min readCareers11 min read
