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The first summer I …

Writers tell us about a summer where everything changed for them

  • Diyora Shadijanova

    Getting an allotment totally changed my summer – and radically altered my relationship with food

    Diyora Shadijanova
    I’ve relearned the meaning of seasonality – and how fragile the natural systems that sustain us really are
  • Olivia Lee

    I thought I’d spend the summer on a beach with my boyfriend. Instead, I was single – and walking on hot coals

    Olivia Lee
    Following a breakup, I needed to find my ‘inner warrior’. What better way to do that than by facing my fears with a group of women, says Olivia Lee, a Scott Trust bursary recipient
  • Jo Bateman

    Sea swimming was my saviour. But the dumping of sewage changed everything

    Jo Bateman
    My daily dips were a game-changer for my mental health. Now I’m suing the water company that’s deprived me of them, says Jo Bateman
  • Ammar Kalia

    After our mum died, we maxed out the credit cards and went on safari in the Serengeti

    Ammar Kalia
    My dad, my brother and I worried it might look weird to take our grief on holiday. But it felt right, says author Ammar Kalia
  • Illustration: Joost Stokhof/The Guardian.

    I am well off, but have never felt able to enjoy it. This summer, I’ll change my relationship with money

    Lola Mendez
    Wage dysmorphia is common among those who, like me, have developed a scarcity mindset – but it stops us from thriving
  • Saima Mir

    I dared to leave my three young children and spend a month with strangers – and it was blissful

    Saima Mir
    Motherhood had stripped me of everything that came before. In a small Italian villa, I was reunited with my old self, says writer Saima Mir