Family
The deep sorrow of losing a sibling
My sister died last summer, before her time, at 58. Her death has left me shaken with sorrow and remorse:…
The rise of the ‘divorce influencer’
On Woman’s Hour recently, Anita Rani and her guests set out to celebrate the positive sides of a woman’s midlife.…
The simplicity and joy of recorded conversations
The simplicity and joy of audio recordings
Why on earth did The Spectator support Brexit?
The temperature has hit 40°C in Crete, where I am writing this, and although there have been no fires, nothing…
Dear Mary: how can I make my untidy twin look better?
Q. I have a public profile and have always looked after my personal presentation, but my identical twin has never…
Why I had to let go of my late sister’s house
Why I had to let go of my late sister’s house
The dangerous cult of ‘toxic parents’
Complaining about ‘toxic parents’ has been a viral hit on TikTok with videos on the topic racking up several billion…
The making of a poet: Wilfred Owen’s ‘autobiography’ in letters
How, between 1911 and 1917, Owen became the dazzling poet we know and love is the story told in Jane Potter’s new edition of his selected letters
The root of the problem
The novelist and filmmaker Xiaolu Guo is attracted by the freedom a New York job promises, but misses the young daughter she has left behind in London
Why British women are turning to Danish sperm donors
How the import of Danish sperm has become big business
Why Britain needs more marriage
Hungary is something of a bête noire in the international community. Viktor Orban and his government have had much-deserved condemnation…
Why I donated a kidney to a stranger
Why I donated my kidney
My Icelandic holiday with Kevin and Perry
I’m currently on holiday in Iceland. I say ‘holiday’, but I’m with my three teenage sons so it’s more like…
Where does a mother’s history end and a daughter’s begin?
Where does a mother’s history end and a daughter’s begin?
Parenting matters. It's about time we were brave enough to say so
The Duchess of Cambridge has been out and about hosting roundtables with very important people, discussing what can be done…
The close friend I never really knew
I have just read an extraordinary new book. It’s by a close and old pal whom I’d count as one…
The tragedy of being a QPR fan
Normal families spend the Easter holidays by the seaside or in the Mediterranean. But not the Youngs. My three boys…
Elegy in a country churchyard
‘I love this old watering can,’ said my sister, sprinkling the miniature rose. ‘Though I do worry about soaking Mum.…
When did brothers and sisters become ‘siblings’?
I never cared much for the word sibling, though I hardly knew why. The reason must be that it was…
Dear Mary: How do I stop my husband spying on me?
Q. My husband has developed an irksome habit whenever he goes abroad without me. We have cameras outside the house…
What really happened when my wife left me in charge
I’m currently standing at the top of Brownie Point Mountain, having spent the past two weeks looking after our three…
