‘Sorry I don’t have better news,’ the doctor apologised. ‘But you’re going to need surgery.’

I laughed hollowly. ‘It’s okay, I’m used to getting fresh diagnoses every other day. In fact, you can put this new one on my tab!’

The news about surgery wasn’t all bad; surgery was a long-awaited answer to a chronic problem, and I was grateful to finally have ...

I have an inner critic. It hisses in my ear when I’m doing well, mocks my efforts and tells me I may as well give up now and become a hermit who lives in the woods, collecting berries and communing with squirrels. It gives me an even worse time when I’m doing poorly, playing the old record about how I’m useless and unloveable and no one will ever want me. Its broken recor...

‘Are you going to Fringe?’ a friend asked.

I had just moved to Adelaide and never heard of Fringe before. I was from Sydney, a city known for its bustling night life and seedy streets. We did not have many festivals in Sydney, apart from the famous light show known as Vivid. But apparently, Adelaide was different.

‘You absolutely have to go to Fringe!’...