My party outfit was so fancy I couldn’t even use the toilet. Some joker still told me I looked ‘comfy’
I like a compliment as much as the next woman. But why do they so often leave us smarting, asks the comedian, actor and writer Jessica Fostekew
A new start after 60: ‘I won MasterChef – and finally learned to believe in myself’
Life as a retired banker bored Irini Tzortzoglou, so she decided to enter MasterChef. She trained hard, won the competition and now works as a chef, writer and public speaker
After my sister died I didn’t know what to do with my furious pain – but poets and horses led the way
I was heartbroken and angry but horse riding and medieval poetry revealed the quest I was on, says Clover Stroud
Books are my refuge, but I had to overcome dyslexia to write the stories I was bursting to tell
Nobody could read my writing but, desperate to conjure another world, I eventually became an author
‘Some people are freaked out’: how Laetitia Ky tackles abortion, sexism and race with her extraordinary hair
From vacuum cleaners to menstruation, the Ivory Coast artist and activist creates incredible sculptures with her hair to tackle taboos. She talks about how learning to love her natural hair taught her to love being a black woman – and western criticism of her work
Tones and I is not alone in wishing people would stop making a song about that tune
When music artists come to loathe their megahit, it’s a sure sign they’ve made it to the top of the pop industry
The Anatomy of Anxiety by Ellen Vora review – the physical basis of mental health
A psychiatrist explains how distressing states are often rooted in bodily dysfunction – and what it means when they aren’t
Skin Deep by Phillipa McGuinness review – a fascinating study of our largest organ
This wonderfully eclectic book covers everything from cancer to cosmetics, racism to skin hunger, with curiosity and intelligence throughout
Not Going Quietly review – healthcare activist Ady Barkan takes ALS to congress
Documentary follows Barkan, who has motor neurone disease, as he campaigns for better public healthcare in the US
Hitting the high notes: the lessons of all singing from the same sheet
Singing with others is a joyful thing, even in difficult times, writes Joe Moran