Author Archives: susan

I’ve been to Japan. Ten days in the South, on the islands of Kyushu and Shikoku. Our guide, Yusuke, called these places ‘the last frontier’ of Japan, especially Shikoku which has around 3.8 million people (out of a total Japanese … Continue reading →

This is a book about how the world opens up once you realise you’re never going to sort your life out. It’s about how marvellously productive you become once you give up the grim-faced quest to make yourself more and … Continue reading →

We spent last weekend camping in a bend of the river at our friends’ farm, not far from where we live. It’s a sheep property; you have to open three gates as you navigate your way down the rutted track … Continue reading →

I’d hate to be misunderstood: I’m looking for a man but without the least romantic interest. It’s long over. These days, more than a year since we parted, I think of him as a specimen. Today I’m on a field … Continue reading →

Like many autistic people, I knew I was ‘different’ from a young age – and I knew that different was not a good thing – so I constantly tried to be more like people wanted me to be… In an … Continue reading →

Having played to her heart’s content, Chibi would come inside and rest for a while. When she began to sleep on the sofa – like a talisman curled gently in the shape of a comma and dug up from a … Continue reading →

I’m not just an observer any more. I’m realising that I care about the team. A very different book about teenage boys. Yesterday evening, I loaned my library copy (yes, I know; bad) to a trusted and fast-reading friend, and … Continue reading →

Dying is the secret wish of the survivor. I don’t just mean by suicide, although that had become the most attractive exit strategy. I’m talking about the need for danger. The impulse to shipwreck the miracle of being alive. I … Continue reading →

I want to look through the eyes of a bird. Would its world be the same colours as my world? Would everything bend and ripple like a crazy mirror at the fair? Most birds have eyes that face sideways, so … Continue reading →

“Nunc et in hora mortis nostrae. Amen.” The daily recital of the Rosary was over. For half an hour the steady voice of the Prince had recalled the Sorrowful and the Glorious Mysteries; for half an hour other voices had … Continue reading →