Reader's Digest UK February 2023

We all put on a bit of an act sometimes. Whether it’s to avoid an argument with a family member, impress the boss, or just get out of a sticky situation—being your “authentic self” at all times is not always easy. The occasional camouflaging of our natural personality is a survival instinct driven by the need to fit in. But when does it become unhealthy? Could your social masking behaviour be taking a toll on your mental wellbeing and sense of self-worth? On p42, Victoria Stokes speaks to experts on this fascinating phenomenon and examines its links to autism. Identity crisis is something Sam Riley knows a thing or two about, as you will learn from our interview on p18. The British actor who found fame after portraying the late Joy…

We pay £50 for Letter of the Month and £30 for all others LETTER OF THE MONTH NEW TRADITION I took great comfort from Dr Max’s “Breaking with Christmas Tradition” article. With my family spread over different counties, choosing a central location to meet for pre-Christmas dinner made good sense. For many years, I drove my mother to the venue and we spent a wonderful afternoon sharing a special time with my two siblings and their families. It became a Christmas tradition. Sadly, both my mother and sister passed away in 2019, and our family had lost two vital anchors. I desperately tried to cling to the past, wanting to keep some sense of normality. After one painful Christmas meal, where my eyes constantly wandered to the spots where my loved ones would have sat, we…

WOMEN’S INSTITUTE The Women’s Institute, what a fabulous bunchof ladies they are, organising events andactivities both near and far. A true British establishment that makes us soproud, we want to stand tall and shout aboutits virtues out loud. Lots of fun, laughter and many friendships areenjoyed, cups of tea and biscuits keep theflagging spirits buoyed. Baking cakes, bric-a-brac sales, just a few oftheir endeavours, bringing people together toenjoy life’s little pleasures. Passionate and driven for a shared worthycause, they deserve our support andendless applause. So, to all the very special WI ladies, abig thank you, let’s raise a glass for allthe great work that they do. JANE ROBINSON, Hartlepool Swimming On a bleak wet Tuesdaymorning he closes his eyesand remembers steppinginto the ocean at DawlishWarren then screaming withthe cold where they heardall the way in Exeter cityand yet invigorating…

Olly Mann presents Four Thought for BBC Radio 4, and the podcasts The Modern Mann, The Week Unwrapped and The Retrospectors MY SON’S SEVENTH Birthday is fast approaching, so conversation at my gaff has naturally turned to organising his party. For his first five birthdays, we hosted at home, repeating the same well-rehearsed formula: close family and friends, Costco cake, plastic tablecloth featuring whatever superhero he was into at the time, one of those tin-foiled cheese-and-pineapple hedgehog things, beers for the grown-ups. It was great. But then, he got old enough to have an opinion about the guest list and venue. So, for his sixth birthday, we upped the ante and booked the local trampoline park. This worked out well, because his friends knackered themselves out from jumping, and therefore didn’t notice…

SAM RILEY IS happy that the public doesn’t know much about his personal life beyond the fact that he lives in Berlin, is married to Romanian-German actress Alexandra Maria Lara and that they have a young son named Ben. “My wife is a very well-known actor in Germany but they don’t have the same culture of scrutiny,” says the West Yorkshire-born actor, who met Alexandra when she played a journalist in his screen debut Control in 2007. “Fame is not something either of us has courted because it’s a double-edged sword. There are a lot of good actors who are successful but who you don’t know very much about at all.” Sam smiles, seemingly forgetting the blockbuster success of the two Maleficent films he has appeared in. “Plus I’ve never really been…

MY EARLIEST CHILDHOOD MEMORY IS WATCHING THE MICKEY MOUSE CLUB on the lower level of a bunk bed with my brother and mother. I would have been nearly four at the time and I vividly recall it was a Sunday evening and Mum was pregnant with my sister. At first we lived in the Castle Hill middle-income housing project in the Bronx and it felt like a real community, with playgrounds and playing fields amid all the buildings. WHEN MY FATHER’S INCOME INCREASED WE MOVED TO RIVERDALE, which was a more plush part of the Bronx and, prophetically perhaps, our building was called Skyview. One day I came home and there were people protesting against Black families moving in. That was in 1964, when I was six years old, and that…