The burden of being the favourite child

shapes who you are

WHEN Dad said that he and Kirsty were having a baby, I was surprised. Mum had always described Kirsty as “a career woman” and, when I asked her what that meant, she said Kirsty was very focused on her

BACK in my day, they called it misbehaving!” Linda, my glamorous mother-in-law, quips, her blonde highlighted bobbed hair bouncing. I chew on the side of my cheek to stop the words inside me from esca

Autistic. That was a word that my parents didn’t share with my sister Liz or me when we were children. They offered no explanation as to why our older brother Lionel rocked, or bit his hand when agita

Our celebrity agony aunt, Vanessa Feltz, tackles your problems with her usual wit, wisdom and humour

I’M a reasonable woman, I like to think. Having been around for three decades now, I’ve seen a bit of life. Take my job, for instance, in the shoe shop – we get all sorts of customers. Most are lovely