Lessons in love from my new teenage foster daughter

As well as joys, challenges and unusual pets she brought fresh insights to our home. By Jill Dawson

Room to grow: how allotment life can be the best therapy

When his wife became ill, Barney Norris found that growing his own food helped him through the trauma

Cleaning up: the truth about living with nannies and cleaners

‘I hid from the truth about the domestic workers who ran my home, but finally I had to tell their story’

Breast milk donations kept my tiny daughters alive

A drop of breast milk – enough to feed a kitten – fed one mother’s twins, but formal support for donations is under-funded

Inspired by 63 Up, author Tim Lott decides it’s time to take stock

Turning 63, the writer looks back over highs and lows and asks, how can I sum it up?

Learning to overcome my fear of singing was as easy as do-re-mi

I thought I couldn’t sing. Then I discovered there’s no such thing as ‘tone deaf’ – and that singing is not very different to speaking

As a prison doctor, Amanda Brown knows compassion is the best medicine

A mid-life career leap into the prison service opened this GP’s eyes and heart

Want to improve your life? Just learn to say no

We are used to saying yes to please others but it can be harmful not to be more assertive. And imagine what you can do with all that free time

How the sheer hell of ultrarunning led me to a strange peace

He was often on the verge of giving up such gruelling challenges, but eventually Adharanand Finn found that ultrarunning led him to a meditative state

The Heartland review – fascinating study of schizophrenia

Nathan Filer redefines our understanding of the illness