You were always uncomfortable with the rhetoric of emotion, which is quite a different matter from discomfort with emotion itself.

For that matter, thinking of one's self as exceptional is probably more the rule than not.

We need to recognise that slowing population growth is one of the most cost-effective and reliable ways of easing pressure on our environment and securing a sustainable future for us all

Got nothing to do with trying. You like someone, or you don't. If you're 'trying', you don't.

Maybe the greatest favour a spouse can tender is to overlook what you can't.

I have no end of failings as a mother, but I have always followed the rules.

I realize it's commonplace for parents to say to their child sternly, 'I love you, but I don't always like you.' But what kind of love is that? It seems to me that comes down to, 'I'm not oblivious to you - that is, you can still hurt my feelings - but I can't stand having you around.' Who wants to be loved like that? Given a choice, I might skip the deep blood tie and settle for being liked. I wonder if wouldn't have been more moved if my own mother had taken me in her arms and said, 'I like you.' I wonder if just enjoying your kid's company isn't more important.