Tanith Carey

The rise and fall of agony aunts

Photo-Illustration: Coral Hoeren. Photos: iStock 
issue 07 January 2023

What better barometer of the nation’s psyche could there be than the questions in an agony aunt’s postbag – and the answers they receive? ‘My transgender brother is furious over my choice of baby name’, ‘My Remainer husband is refusing to get a new passport’ and ‘My leftie wife is condescending and annoying’ are just a few of the timely examples from one recent broadsheet column.

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Written by
Tanith Carey

Tanith Carey is the author of books including Feeling 'Blah'?: Why Anhedonia Has Left You Joyless and Never Kiss a Man in a Canoe: Words of Wisdom from the Golden Age of Agony Aunts.

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