Simon & Schuster UK Ltd.

IntroductionWhen I was a child, studying for my exams, I would pretend I was teaching imaginary students. It was my way to learn.Living is learning, and as I look back at the many layers of experience I collected, I feel ready to share some of the lessons I learned along the way.Living also means...

PROLOGUE Sheffield, Odober 2010 The clocks went back last weekend so it gets dark even earlier now. She curses herself; she should have left more time. She drives a little too fast because she wants to get there before the light goes completely, and if she misses them today, itll be another...

6.11 a.m. 5 January 2012There's no sweeter way to be woken than with a kiss. Sadly this morning the last I'll spend in this house - I'm woken not by the soft graze of a lovers lips against mine, but by the prickly claws of the fat, purring cat lying on my chest.'Morning Harry,' I murmur, tickling...

Dare to be happy/ I tell myself. On my knee, baby Hollie gurgles happily, safe in my arms. To an outsider watching us building sandcastles on the beach, I know we must look like the perfect little family - Mama, Dada, Lexi and baby Hollie, enjoying the sunshine. Little do those people know...