Guests talk to Harriett Gilbert about books they love and loath, at the Hay Festival 2026.

I molested my ex

But my mother's behaviour may drive me to it

The limits of reconciliation

Is this self-sabotage?

On repetition, unfinished emotional business, and the strange grief of releasing someone who never really saw you

A mother writes about ideology, identity, and watching a child drift away—and what love looks like when you can’t intervene.

You Can't Change Them! You Can Only Change Your Own Behaviour

Children's emotional outbursts

When You Have a Very Strong Desire to Move House!

The struggle of the blended family

The Parental Cost of "No-Contact"

How we make meaning in the space between circumstance and choice

Goodwill to all Women

Looking beyond dating “advice” to the deeper emotional patterns shaping who we choose and who chooses us.

I've told him I'm unhappy and nothing changes.

Trauma bonds explained

Fun fun fun

Sometimes jealousy is less about the present moment and more about an old fear being touched

Midlife gear change needed

Two problems to mull over

The examined life and the anxiety that comes with it

What do you think? Let me know in the comments.

When mom won’t let go

And it doesn't match reality

And Single Women are Happier than Married ones…Here’s why

Might be the meaning of death

Or sexual harming?

Let’s unpack this a bit shall we?

Even well intentioned secrets can create distance

Insidious bullying, spot it and don't put up with it.

Not every relationship has to be all or nothing

Not every relationship has to be all or nothing

Love of your life? Or just an escape.

What's it's for and how to do it

Keep telling yourself the same story? You'll stay stuck

Keep telling yourself the same story? You'll stay stuck

What's it's for and how to do it

Full archive of all the posts from Philippa Perry.

And the children disapprove

So was mine, and this is what happened

The answer is not sentimentality!

The answer is not sentimentality!