"If we looked at each other as friends, how much gentler and more positive might our experience of life be?"

"His disappearance felt like a personal loss, so I was very pleased to read the news last week that he will be starting a new job in the UK from January as a presenter on London’s Virgin Radio. And even better news for Irish listeners, the show will be simulcast on Dublin’s Q102."

"It is possible to enjoy ourselves without perfect bodies, perfect dresses, and perfect Instagram pictures..."

It’s easy to understand why having to change our routines makes women angry - why should we have to curtail our lives? But most of us just do it because we’d prefer to feel safe than brave 

"So much of our time feels committed to getting things done, completing tasks, and if we’re not completing tasks we’re feeling guilty about being unproductive. Obviously the demands on our time change at different stages of our lives."

"The memory of love, whether it is for a little pet or for the greatest relationships of our lives, is the only balm I know of for grief..."

It can be hard to find self-belief and confidence in your forties, hard not to lean into the comforting embrace of invisibility, hard not to think you’re past a lot of things, actually. 

'How telling it is in our current world that the thing that causes a stir is a female face devoid of makeup, something so rare that it causes international headlines'

"I’m not even sure if it’s about gaining confidence so much as it’s about shedding anxieties about yourself and worries about what other people might think of you."

The Qashqai has served me well for these past years but it’s an old car now and as a family of six we were starting to outgrow it.