‘Would that all journeys were on foot’: writers on the joy of walking

Will Self on London, Fran Lebowitz on New York, Helen Garner on Melbourne and other writers’ love letters to urban pedestrianism

Everyday Madness by Lisa Appignanesi review – an unsteady journey from grief to love

What happens to your sense of self when your partner dies? An engaging memoir of loss

Mind power in Auschwitz – and healing decades later

Her mother’s wisdom helped Edith Eger create a happy inner life in Auschwitz – but true healing meant going back there

Help Me! by Marianne Power review – can self-help books really change your life?

Power’s expanded blog on living each month according to a different manual floats over Bridget Jones and Fleabag territory

How walking – and then a pilgrimage – lifted Guy Stagg’s depression

A 60-mile trek brought deep calm. So the author headed for Jerusalem, 5,500 kms away

A new generation follows the pack as tarot makes a comeback

Onstage readings, elaborate books and artworks thrive in an ‘age of uncertainty’

I was scared of losing my sight… then writing brought me clarity

After being told disease would destroy her vision, Paola Peretti wrote a children’s novel – and found a template for life

In these dark times, embracing laughter is an ethical choice

Laughter has optimism embedded in it. It allows us to see that, while we are all human and we fail, we can change

‘I tried to drill a hole in my head’: how Lydia Ruffles recovered from unbearable migraines

The symptoms were so debilitating that she had to stop working and barely left the house. Now, her diagnosis has helped her forge a new career as a novelist

Best ‘brainy’ books of this decade

Writers and experts select their favourite book on physics, feminism, medicine, health, economics, psychology and more