16 h. ago My mother was a famous feminist writer known for her candour and wit. But she was also a fantasist who couldn’t be bothered to spend time raising me

When Fear of Flying, her autobiographical novel about women’s sexual desires, came out in 1973, Erica Jong was suddenly big news. But growing up as her only child, I had a very different experienceIn August 1978, I was born in a hospital in Stamford, Connecticut. I came out with red hair. This was proof to my mother that I was special. The fantasy of my specialness continued my entire life. I was special even though I was dyslexic. I was special even though I got kicked out of college. I was special even though I was a drug addict. I was special despite my fatness. I was special despite all the evidence to the contrary. I was special because I was a piece of her.I read an interview with my mother in which the interviewer described me as a “stout” toddler. “Stout” means “kind of fat”. I never thought of a toddler as being able to be fat, but there it was. Continue reading...

Politics

4 d. ago Good Samaritan had two teeth knocked out by drug addict he'd tried to help

Scott Kilbride, 30, lashed out when he was caught stealing the man's bank card.

Events

2 w. ago East London gangsters sent drug addict into police station in hopeless ruse to get Nokia burner phone back

East London gangsters sent drug addict into police station in hopeless ruse to get Nokia burner phone back  MyLondon

Events

2 w. ago Former meth addict grandmother who spent 15 years on the drug reveals her shocking transformation after getting clean

Shannon Hughes, 46, from Springfield, Missouri, who spent 15 years on meth now looks unrecognisable after finally getting clean. A doctor said she was in the 'final stages' of addiction and would likely die

Events

2 w. ago Drug dealers GUILTY of murder after addict tried to ‘tax’ them

Jordan Downs and Paul Simmons will be sentenced later this year

Economics

3 w. ago I was on the roof smoking weed as my baby girl fought for her life in hospital

Lying motionless in a hospital bed, surrounded by beeping machines attached by wires to her tiny body, my four-month-old daughter was fighting for her life.

Politics

3 w. ago Ketamine addict who spent £300,000 on drug 'has to pee every minute' and 'wakes up soaked'

Oliver Westall says he was first introduced to the drug, which made him feel 'warm and numb inside', as a child - but his addiction quickly spiralled out of control

Economics

3 w. ago 'Socially acceptable' party drugs nearly killed me. I despair seeing a generation of women think cocaine is normal: JESSICA GADDES

Jessica Gaddes was in the depths of a seven-year drug addiction in her early 20s when her own drug dealer begged her to go to rehab.

Events