El lápiz que soñó con lobos diariodealmeria.es - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from diariodealmeria.es Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
I had the nightmare again last week, right before the annual celebration.
I’m in a crowd of people and I’m back smoking a pack and a half of cigarettes a day. A wave of utter hopelessness washes over me. How did I get here? I had quit and now I know for certain I’ll never be able to quit again. Then I wake up with such a feeling of relief I could cry.
It was 30 years ago on Jan. 31 that I really did quit after smoking for the previous 30. I started when I was 13, stealing packs of Salems from my mother and then, big hero, sharing them with friends.
Do you suffer from comparisonitis?
Jealous of your friends’ achievements? You re not alone. Novelist Claire McGowan reveals how she got her comparisonitis under control
17 January 2021 • 6:00am
Claire McGowan, left, author 10 crime novels and a number of drama and
comedy scripts, with Angela
Clarke, author of
On My Life, screenwriter and playwright. Shot prior to current Covid restrictions
Credit: Ollie Grove
I stared down at the message from Angela, one of my closest friends, and like me, a novelist. ‘Amazing news! My book is going to be discussed on Radio 4!!’ With a sinking sensation in my stomach, I typed back. ‘Brilliant! So happy for you!’ But was I? Deep down, I had another feeling, one I was ashamed of: jealousy. My books had never been featured on national radio, and my sales hadn’t set the world on fire. Over the following week, as Angela’s novel hit the top 10 bestseller list and sold thousands of copies, my sense of envy deepened, along with