Mariella Frostrup

“Normally, the thin-skinned have an endless array of excuses for why their workaday interactions are so much harder to bear for them than for the rest of us. In the eyes of the self-suffering, they are being victimised, used and always abused, when they're actually experiencing exactly the same body blows as the rest of us.”

“The sight of parents, children and grandparents all descending on a tented field to enjoy the pleasure of ideas and books renews my faith in humanity.”

“If I was a man, I don't know if I'd settle down long before I was 50.”

“My parents split up, and a lot of things going on in the outside world made me want to immerse myself in an alternative world.”

“For many, long-term friendships, rather than family ties, are the foundations for sustainable lives.”

“Every adult has the right to choose who they wish to spend their lives with, and we're all capable of making mistakes, but no one escapes with their self-regard intact.”

“Coming from a broken home, I wanted to be as sure as I could be that my kids would have two parents who will stay together and bring them up.”

“Personally, I think there's a lot to recommend being friends with your ex, and I'm glad to admit that I'm living proof of its possibility.”

“In the city, I wake bolt upright in the small hours, convinced that intruders are marauding through our apartment despite Swiss bank-style security arrangements.”

“Once you've raised a child to adulthood, you can only be as demanding as your offspring allow.”

“There are many ways to make the most of your time on the planet, and propagation of the species is just one of them. If you're convinced that it's the key to your happiness, there are routes open to you, whether with the help of modern medical science, marrying into a readymade one, or through fostering and adoption.”

“Loneliness and rootlessness are just symptoms of an insecurity that assails us all when hitting this midlife moment. The world appears intent on blanking you out.”

“In person, George Clooney lives up to all your expectations.”

“There are two ways of approaching your time on this planet: one is to sit around waiting for something to happen that will make sense of your existence, and the other is to get out there and find purpose for yourself.”

“As a species, we tend to be doers, forever shaping and reshaping the world to better suit our purposes.”

“Men want children later, but women can't rely on being able to. So I'm all for scientific advances and the help they can give people.”

“Every friendship goes through ups and downs. Dysfunctional patterns set in; external situations cause internal friction; you grow apart and then bounce back together.”

“You're allowed to have gravitas when you've got the wrinkles to prove it, but not when you're attractive and younger - or, at least, you have to fight really hard to prove you're capable of productive thought.”

“Having lived a full and stimulating life before I had my kids, I've relished every minute I've had to spend with them and felt a degree of confidence in dealing with their trials and tribulations to date.”

“From Mozambique to Chad, South Africa and Liberia, Sierra Leone to Burkina Faso, feminism is the buzzword for a generation of women determined to change the course of the future for themselves and their families.”