Published in Modern Letters·PinnedFatphobia vs Friendship: How Diet Culture Harms RelationshipsDiffering attitudes toward food and body size can put strain on interactions with those around us. As the ‘eating season’ approaches, how can we best tackle this? — Though the Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah and non-theistic holiday season will look very different this year, there’ll no doubt be some familiar occurrences. …Relationships12 min read
Published in Modern Letters·PinnedI Miss Feeling Safe Around StrangersSome cinemas are reopening and — despite wanting to support them — I still don’t feel ready to return — There’s a scene in Mad Men that cuts straight through me each time I see it. Don Draper takes his son Bobby, who’s not feeling well, to the cinema. Martin Luther King has just been assassinated. …Coronavirus10 min read
Published in Modern Letters·PinnedFive Reasons Why So Many People Are FatphobicWhy do many of those who care about equality and social justice dismiss fatphobia as a non-issue? — What stops rational, compassionate people believing that fatphobia exists, and not treat it as the life-threatening problem it is? …Equality13 min read
Apr 16, 2021My Therapist, The Gaslighter: Part OneI was utterly vulnerable when I sought out therapy. I had no idea my fragility would be used against me — I needed something. My father had died six months earlier and after weeks of being immobile, leaden and bed-bound in the immediate aftermath of his death, one day I started to feel less desperate. Not better, exactly; just further away from the edge. I started to pick up the habits…Mental Health4 min read
Published in Modern Letters·Nov 6, 2020The Rest of the World Needs a Biden Win, TooThose of us on the outside look to the US for hope, and for evidence that democratic systems work — and we need that to be true now more than ever On Tuesday night, I stayed up until 2.30am, London time, watching MSNBC’s live election coverage on YouTube. This is…Politics9 min read
Published in Modern Letters·Oct 30, 2020A Love Letter To My CityIt’s been a while since I walked your streets — Dear Norwich, This letter is hard to write. It’s been a while since I last saw you, and I’m worried that you might not recognise me at the moment. My hair is different and it’s autumn now; spring was just peeking out of the branches when I saw you last…20204 min read
Published in Fattitude·Oct 12, 2020Weight Loss ‘Before-and-After’ Images Are Not Inspiring — They’re DangerousWhat does our fascination with fat-to-thin transformation say about us? And can we redirect our attention to more meaningful change? — As a teenager, I pored over the ‘before-and-after’ images of weight loss in my mother’s magazines. They’d be splashed across the cover of every kind of periodical that was aimed at women, enticing them to part with hard-come-by cash with the promise of revealing The Magic Secret of how they…Self13 min read
Oct 2, 202012 Lessons From 12 Months on Medium5. Be discerning about whose wisdom you take on board — 1. Define For Yourself Why You’re on Medium This sounds like such a basic thing to mention, especially as the first point on this list, but I really think it’s the most important. Once I’d written down my reason, I knew what to come back to when my motivation started to flag. Why are you here? Why are…Writing11 min read
Published in P.S. I Love You·Sep 26, 2020My Brother’s Teacher Changed My View of EverythingRosa’s way of living posed the question: what if there are other ways to be a woman in this world? — It was 1983, I was five years old and we’d just moved house. We’d relocated from a large, packed city to a place that was part of the New Town movement in the UK. After World War 2, the government commissioned planned towns to be built across the country, to…Friendship10 min read
Published in Curious·Sep 11, 2020How an Acronym Helps Me Avoid PanicThese four letters always bring me back into the moment — In my early thirties, I was struggling. I’d just left a six-year relationship and was emotionally drained. It took us a long time to separate, to work out that a major source of our pain as individuals was the relationship itself. The first time I locked the door to my…Self5 min read
