Memoir
Memoir
idea
My three decades alone, basking in the company of a mountain
I live alone in a mountain cabin. Is my solitary life an indulgence, a form of madness or a route to spiritual fulfilment?
by Susanne Sener
Love
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What I’ve learned about relationships as an agony uncle
I am an agony uncle. This is what I’ve learned about men, women and how relationships work in my 10 years of giving advice
by James McConnachie
Memoir
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Learn the art of journaling and archive your life
Journaling is an art and a daily practice that allows you to write your life and find your way, one sentence at a time
by Sarah Boon
Identity
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I rebuilt my self-esteem by changing the story of who I am
I once clung to a dubious family legend to help me cope with a difficult childhood. I’ve since found a better story to tell
by Patricia Olsen
Altered states
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My synaesthesia is no mere quirk but a self-shaking strangeness
My initial is pale pink, the month of June is cerulean blue: synaesthesia gets my senses crosswired, and makes me who I am
by Catherine Taylor
Ageing
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How I met my mother: dementia brought back her true self
In dementia, my mother lived with the friendly ghosts of her past – and I got to know her as someone other than just my mum
by Ina Kjøgx Pedersen
Psychoanalysis and the unconscious
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The power of slow therapy, revealed in two pioneering memoirs
Two therapy memoirs by Lucy Freeman, an overlooked mental health pioneer, remind us of the value of slow, convoluted therapy
by Elliot Jurist
Pain
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Chronic pain forces a strange dance: performing wellness for others
Living with chronic pain has taught me that pain is boring for others and that our bodies are fragile containers for life
by Jude Cook
Therapeutic relationships
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My failed analysis gave me confidence and taught me when to quit
What does successful psychoanalysis look like? I’d read all around Freud and I didn’t know, but then neither did my analyst
by Lisa Levy
Pleasures and pastimes
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On the consolatory pleasure of jigsaws when the world is in bits
It’s not memory that makes us human but meaning-making. When life falls apart, jigsaw puzzles help us put some pieces back
by Melanie McGrath
Stories and literature
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Time, like memory, is fickle: days wrap back on themselves
Time, like memory, is structurally fickle: days wrap back on themselves. The experience of it is hardly ever chronological
by Grace Linden
Memory and nostalgia
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In a journey through time I’ve seen the past imprinted on the present
Memory allows us to break free from chronological time, to extend ourselves beyond a single life to embrace earlier generations
by Vicky Grut