I stumbled across some inspiration a few weeks ago. I was listening to an interview on the radio about the shortlist for the Women’s Prize for Fiction 2023. The person being interviewed, a judge on the panel, mentioned that many of the books were debut novels, and of those, most were from women over fifty. I recently read ­– and really enjoyed – Lessons in Chemistry. I was rather blown away to discover that this was Bonnie Garmus’ debut novel, and that she was 65. I find this deeply, poignantly, reassuring.

Here’s another thought. In Hebrew, the word for life is “chayim” (cf. Fiddler on the Roof). But linguistically, this is a plural form, suggesting that each of us has lives, lived concurrently and consecutively. Life, and the journey through it, is not a singular thing. It is a cacophonous simultaneity of many existences, identities and dreams. There is never just one story. Never just one life.