Your couch or mine?
Laurie Taylor remembers a friend with a penchant for psychotherapy.
Mind, Body & Life
The enduring appeal of makeup
We have worn makeup for thousands of years despite puritanical condemnation and the scorn of radical feminists. Why?
Misfit memoir
At heart, Juliet Jacques' transgender coming-out story is about what it's like to be an outsider.
How the advent of the mobile phone has ruined parties
Imaginatively amplified stories of comic disaster have given way to bland shots of people’s faces, says Laurie Taylor.
Could body modification be a pathway to liberation?
Control of the self should not be underestimated as a form of power.
Reaching rock bottom
The meaning of “alcoholism” is disputed. But seven years ago I realised I had a choice: to drink and die, or to stop drinking and live.
The cost of happiness
Powerful interests benefit from our increased willingness to monitor and meddle with our mental states
The devotion of the tennis fan
To his admirers, Roger Federer represents the ideal of perfection in bodily form.
It might be time to hang up my dancing shoes
After taking a tumble, Laurie Taylor discovers a critical new life point.
Into the woods
The rise in “natural” burials has given architects an opportunity to rethink the way humans relate to the environment.