"Is finding happiness in life just a process of undoing all of the influences of the world until we eventually find our way back to the children we once were, the point in time when we were free to be truly, unselfconsciously ourselves?"

'I remember hearing Madonna’s song ‘Like A Virgin’ on the radio and asking my mother what a virgin was. She told me it was a flower and that was the end of the conversation'

"Some say the real reason people loved the show was because it represented women in a way they hadn’t been seen on screen before — as imperfect, sexual and emotionally ambivalent beings, just like their male counterparts."

"Maybe we don’t want to attract the attention of the gods, or even worse, the neighbours, who might think in celebrating ourselves we are getting notions — that most heinous of Irish crimes."

'We live in a world of fast food, instant downloads, and next-day delivery - it's no wonder we expect the same from our bodies'

"I worked in offices for a good 15 years, and I do realise it’s not all roses. The way someone’s nose whistles as they breathe. The sound of two fingers pounding loudly on a keyboard. How someone puts on their make-up and paints their nails whilst sitting at their desk..."

"It gives us the time, flexibility, and head space to do those things well while leaving us with enough free time to give us options. Essentially, saying no to some things gives us freedom."

We’ve achieved so much but for me we still come a cropper on motherhood. That’s the point at which the real un-becoming happens

I started work in the Noughties, when jobs were freely available and money was for spending. Frugality was almost a dirty word. 

Time to clean out the closet for new memories