Here’s why you should never set ‘reading goals’ in an effort of grim self-improvement
The idea that reading is innately virtuous, other than religious material, is modern
I navigate new places without the internet because I believe in getting lost
I am convinced that way-finding without a phone schools us to pay attention in a way that we lose when we merge with a blue dot on a screen
There’s a clear difference between those who grew up taking photos of themselves and those of us who didn’t
Unlike the generation which has grown up with mobile phone cameras, when I am photographed I look awkward, wooden, smiling like someone who just wants this to stop now
If we really wanted to be good and healthy in 2025, we’d resolve to pester our politicians
Childhood rickets is back in Britain – and it’s not because ill-health is the logical outcome of poor choices
Christmas - and the perfect family life it represents - is an oppressive fantasy
Most families have someone missing even if the table is holly-decked and groaning
Assisted dying: Do we understand it properly?
I’ve seen the slow loss of dignity and the increase of pain that mark the last years of lives drawn out by healthcare in modern society
We should stop moving so fast. Resist where you can. Hold space to grow and digest
We should stop moving so fast. Resist where you can. Hold space to grow and digest
How did ‘granny’ become the byword for dimness? That’s so wrong
Some of the grandmothers I know are a surgeon, a judge and professors, while many others belong to the English literary canon
Eating disorders in later life: Some of my peers have had teenage weight levels for decades
In fact, a locally-made, organic doughnut might well be better than green beans grown with scarce water in Namibia and air-freighted in plastic wrap
I’m a Brexit-era ‘citizen of nowhere’, trying to settle in Ireland
If I have a family tradition, it’s moving, being an outsider, starting again
I was taught to avoid the ‘trap’ of cooking but I take pleasure in domestic life
I long for ways of thinking and writing and cooking that admit in the most serious and simple way, food is love
I had my kids in my mid-20s, which was unheard of among women of my class and generation
I’m making friends who are much younger and much older than me, because many women of my age are still ferociously juggling work and childcare and not free for coffee or a film
Men are deemed more masculine for taking up more space, women more feminine for taking up less
Binary categories hurt everyone, especially those whose natures or physiques are non-compliant
Only mothers who find recognition in professional life seem to be guilty of ‘having it all’
Society considers mums suspected of working by choice to be playing a zero-sum game where career ambition comes at the cost of motherly love
Some say you’re not a writer if you’re not willing to sacrifice your family to your art. Not me
Sarah Moss: Writers have the same responsibilities to family, friends and community as everyone else