‘Dad’s extravagant spending almost ruined me’
Money flowed into my childhood home. It was the 1980s – era of the yuppie – and in our house in the Essex countryside, the supply seemed…
‘Four maternity leaves took an unimaginable toll on my life’
More than £70,000. That’s the basic cost of raising a child to the age of 18 for couples in the UK, according to the Child Poverty Action…
‘How can I tell my overweight friend that she’s slowly killing herself?’
Dear A&E, One of my best friends is obese and has been for some time. Our circle of girlfriends – who, by the way, are not body…
‘He told me that my body belonged to him – and I believed him’
There was violence in my home growing up. Not at first, when I was very young, but by the time I started school, it was there –…
‘At 41 I had life-saving cancer surgery – and was left with a life-changing swelling condition’
At the age of 41, my life was turned upside down. Following a routine smear test in 2000, I was diagnosed with stage 3 cervical cancer. Sitting…
‘I removed my age from my CV to get a job in midlife’
I’m not ashamed of being in my 50s, and I’ve never tried to look younger. I haven’t exactly lied about my age during my job hunt, but…