She was Anna and that was it. There was not a vain bone in her body. She dressed simply, but always in good taste. She never gossiped. And she was appreciative of whatever was done for her.

She didn't make a million by inheriting it. She saved it.

She always said that she should get a newer car, but she never did.

My body has held up like I can barely believe,

Then there was the realisation that I didn't actually feel that much better when I was thin(ner). In fact the 'thin' version felt worse because I lived with hunger clawing at my stomach all the time, and in fear that I was going to get fat again. After years of neuroticism I'd finally understood those who loved me would continue to put up with me fat or thin, and those who didn't ignored me. As a middle-aged woman I was pretty much invisible anyway. To pass unnoticed through an image-obsessed society is surprisingly liberating.

Women today are bombarded with so many messages, like we should have Naomi Campbell's body and Madeleine Albright's career.