Wisdom of the ages: we must keep listening to the elderly
There are wonderful encounters to be had with them
Single women are happier – here’s why
People are too obsessed with being part of a couple
Addicts love talking about their addiction – but haven’t we suffered enough?
When did alcoholics forget the bit about being anonymous?
I hate fishing — but was hooked by the story of the Yukon’s salmon
‘Help!’ I thought, when I read the Author’s Note. ‘It’s about salmon, and I hate fishing.’ But by the first…
Wham bam, thank you Ma’am
Why do Americans seesaw between violence and politeness?
What Katie didn’t do: how Hopkins was silenced in Lewes
Miss Hopkins should not have been gagged
Why women fall for philanderers and abusers
Why women fall for philanderers and abusers
Brava Bella Pollen
I like Bella Pollen for her open-mindedness, self-deprecation and verve. Given her early success as a fashion designer — top…
The drug that my Asperger’s son loved turned his life upside down
My son loved his new treatment – but it changed his life for the worse
Emma Donoghue’s novel The Wonder reviewed
Emma Donoghue’s novel Room was short-listed for the 2010 Man Booker prize and made into a film in 2015. Inspired…
The pleasure of keeping — and rereading – diaries
The pleasures of keeping them, rereading them – and publishing them
How to Measure a Cow — and escape the shadows of the past
Margaret Forster, who died on 8 February, excelled at writing about complex relationships between women. Even old friends, she demonstrated,…
Is the Slender-billed curlew already extinct?
This unusual book is beautifully written, produced and illustrated, but its subject — the small Slender-billed curlew — is strangely…
The trials of living with a High Court judge
This intensely written memoir by Adam Mars-Jones about his Welsh father, Sir William, opens with the death of Sheila, Adam’s…
Elisa Segrave’s diary: A prison visit to a friend
Off to prison to visit a writer friend, first jailed led some years ago for trying to find a hit…
Alexandra’s Fuller’s parents are the stars even when their daughter is divorcing, in this sequel to the bestselling Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight
‘Double ouzo, hold the Coke,’ Mum ordered at the Mkushi Country Club bar, during spanikopita night. ‘My daughter’s a lesbian.’…
No pains spared
Matthew: A Memoir, by Anne Crosby
Remembrance of girls past
Past Imperfect, by Julian Fellowes
Scared of Christmas presents
In this fascinating book about her two autistic sons Charlotte Moore describes what would be a nightmare life for most…
Angels and ministers of grace
Despite its provocative title, this is not a salacious book. Any reader hoping for disclosures about Woolf’s lesbian love affairs…