Read Chapter 1 of Truth Be Told

The Hadid family was an effortful one. Even minor occasions and trivial achievements were marked with a rigid persistence. Birthday cards arrived precisely on the … Read more

On the joy of mediocrity

Making the case for not going pro “Nobody achieves anything great by being happy and cozy,” says climber Alex Honnold in Free Solo, the Oscar-winning … Read more

I’m exhausted by my (and your) opinions

I learned of the Christchurch mass shooting last month as soon as I woke up on the morning of 15th March. I was still in bed, my head still on my pillow. I reached for my phone and saw that my sister had forwarded a video to our WhatsApp group chat. I pressed play, but stopped the clip as soon as I saw the barrel of a gun go up – in POV as if I were a player in a first-person shooter game.

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Why I don’t sound working class (even though I am)

Years ago, I was watching the film Quantum of Solace in a charmless London cinema. As MI6 agent Strawberry Fields greeted James Bond on screen, I leaned over to my boyfriend and said, “Bless her, she’s trying really hard with the accent.”

Later, he asked what I meant by this. I shrugged. “It’s obvious the actress isn’t posh,” I said. “She was trying a bit too hard.”

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