Only those with skin as thick as elephant hide can hope to sail through their teens unscathed by self-doubt and bouts of depression.

I recognise my old self in a lot of the letters I get from single women who are unrealistic about what they want.

In my late teens and early twenties, I thought having children was possibly the most irresponsible thing you could do because I thought that the world was a dreadful place; I thought the sooner we all got off the planet, the better.

Once you've raised a child to adulthood, you can only be as demanding as your offspring allow.

You have to grow thick skin and that only comes with time and learning.

In romance, we feel the need to zoom in and expound on our partner's foibles in intimate detail; in friendship, we tend to do the opposite, avoiding confrontation through fear, lethargy or both.