My grandmother’s support – and Creole cooking – helped me to love myself when I didn’t know how

When I felt lonely growing up, my grandmother’s company and cuisine were a soothing balm

The big idea: why we should spend more time talking to strangers

We focus on friendships, but encounters with those we hardly know are vital too

A dinner party for dead guests serves up surprising connections

My friends came to a silent supper with their dead friends and relatives so that we could grieve our loved ones together

‘A call to action to love ourselves’: how women in their 50s can leave the shadows

As roles and circumstances change, women in their 50s can look inwards and find a deep acceptance of themselves

How Roger Deakin’s love of water inspired me

The great nature writer and outdoor swimmer has been a huge inspiration to many with his focus on ponds, lakes and rivers

Managers must monitor team workload but they also need to look after themselves

When managers can’t fix all the problems faced by their teams, it’s time to reach out for support from peers and senior leaders

The new hot spot: why we’re all falling for the warm embrace of the sauna

I travelled to Nordic forests and windswept archipelagos to understand the health benefits of the sauna – no wonder it’s becoming popular in the UK

10 questions to ask a teenager to start an important conversation

We asked experts in teen mental health how to talk about everything from the environment to screen time with adolescents

‘There’s bombshell after bombshell’: will Blue Therapy be the wildest reality TV ride of the year?

After three million people tuned in for the online version of this therapy show for Black couples, Channel 4 have turned it into an explosive series. Brace for controversy

A sting in the tale: weaving with nettles helped turn grief into joy

Recovering from the loss of his wife, Allan Brown turned his hand to an ancient craft

How I learned to tell my own story as a South Asian woman

As a child, I wanted to belong, but didn’t see brown girls like me in culture. I’d like space for our stories to be told, too

Running marathons helped me write my novel

The sport helped with my tenacity, and my creativity too

The big idea: are memories fact or fiction?

Truth and illusion are woven together as we tell ourselves into being

His friend’s murder rocked Hua Hsu’s life – and made him the person he is today

Twenty-five years after the senseless killing of his friend, the author and journalist finally feels a sense of peace

Is there such a thing as ‘the one’? And if so, might it be possible to conjure them into view?

The idea that you can ‘manifest’ your soulmate by ‘raising your vibration’, once the domain of New Age spirituality, is common among gen Z social media users. Juliana Piskorz wonders whether to give it a go