Human drama - both fictional and real...
Real human drama - Chef Antony Worrell Thompson has displayed classic symptoms of extreme stress by shoplifting. People show all sorts of stress-related behaviour and often it's completely out of character. I can only wish him well
And later today my weekly ‘Love Clinic’ goes live on iVillage UK - this week I've answered a woman's dilemma about her boyfriend who ‘compartmentalises’ his relationship with her from his relationship with his ex and his children.
I'm not being sexist but on the whole men are better at compartmentalising their lives - and sometimes being “better” at that actually makes things worse. Sounds like this guy needs to stop treating his girlfriend like a second-rate person and let her into his life fully.
To fictional human drama - finished Aminatta Forna’s The Memory of Love last night in bed as I couldn't sleep [I never sleep well when a family member's flying - I know, silly - and one was flying back from the States overnight].
This had rave reviews but I found it quite convoluted at first... stuck with it and it got better and better.
If you like human dramas with a 'factional' backdrop - this is set in the bloody turmoil of an African nation’s partial rebellion - you'll probably enjoy this.
In it we see the stories of two generations of people unfold against this violent and frightening backdrop - and how these two generations crossover with each other.
It's one of those books that grows so stick with the first few chapters and then hopefully you'll enjoy it.
TODAY’S TIP: thinking about the woman who contacted me at my Love Clinic - if you're being compartmentalised – put into a little box and you never meet your partner’s children, family, friends, etc. - or if you're doing it to someone else - then you need to realize at the heart of it is a fear of chaos.
You fear everything ending up chaotic if you allow these different parts and people of your life cross over.
Face this fear now and allow those you love to help you find a balance between these different aspects of your life whatever they happen to be.
Take care, Pam x