Everything I Know About Love

We had absolutely nothing in common. But he wanted to be my first proper boyfriend, and when I was nineteen that was a good enough reason to go out with someone.

Many times, I would invent a person in my head and create our chemistry as if writing a screenplay, and by the time we’d meet again in real life, I’d be crushingly let down. It was as if, when things didn’t go as I imagined, I’d assumed he would have been given a copy of the script I’d written and I’d feel frustrated that his agent obviously forgot to courier it to him to memorize.

The worst feeling in the world is being dumped.

People told me how great I looked, over and over and over again. Every compliment fed me like lunch.

I never felt overweight, but my body type was often muddily described as ‘a big girl’.

Intensity and intimacy. How could I have got them so mixed up?

For some, the sound that defined their adolescence was the joyful shrieks of their siblings playing in the garden. For others, it was the chain rattle of their much-loved bike, hobbling along hills and vales. Some will recall birdsong as they walked to school, or the sound of laughing and footballs being kicked in the playground. For me, it was the sound of AOL dial-up internet.

And, finally, thank you to Farly, without whose unwavering cheering and championing I would not have written this book. You are – you always will be – my favourite love story

To lower your heart rate and drift off on nights when sleep feels impossible, dream of all the adventures that lie ahead of you and the distances you’ve travelled so far. Wrap your arms tightly round your body and, as you hold yourself, hold this one thought in your head: I’ve got you

Intimacy is the goal; laziness is not