Read Chapter 1 of Truth Be Told

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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

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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

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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)

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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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