Standing up to cancer?

I am not completely stupid. I know celebrity culture is here to stay. As my children frequently remind me, ‘It … More

A day he won’t have

I had bumped into a friend at the cash machine. We greeted each other, as we always do, with a … More

Dear Arthur Frank I’m writing to say thank you for your extraordinary book At the Will of the Body. It is … More

I am really bad at doing one thing. If I am chopping an onion, I am listening to the radio. … More

A Tuesday, appropriately. (Tuesday being the day I was formally diagnosed.) Poetic, it strikes me now. But at the time, … More

After they left, the house went very quiet. No one really knew about the quietness but me. I played a … More

The way I found out, just as with my diagnosis, was via a segment of a conversation about other things. … More

On certain afternoons I am certain it has come back. A twinge in my right side, where the pain … More

We walked into the brunt light, towards the hospital. The air was dry, February-cold. Traffic was going about its business. … More

‘I am so, so sorry.’ ‘You’re going to be fine.’ ‘Fight it, you know you’re a fighter.’ ‘Are we going … More

This is a momentous week. It marks the tenth anniversary of the day I was told I had cancer. To … More

The thing about having cancer was that it was pretty obvious what was going on. I had been feeling fairly … More

‘So you’re not going to write about it?’ ‘I’ve been writing about it for years. Two whole books of it! … More

I had bumped into a friend at the cash machine. We greeted each other, as we always do, with a … More

Let’s love today, the what we have now, this day, not today or tomorrow or yesterday, but this passing moment, … More

I am taking a break from writing brand new blog posts over the summer. Instead of posting new work I … More

What I want is to – to be present. That’s what I’ve learned. I want to strive for presence, now, … More

Tomorrow I will be taking part at the Wenlock Poetry Festival in an event with Roz Goddard. We will be … More