“My friends are always conscious of what people think of them. As though life is something that has an audience.”

“I lay for hour thinking about London, my old bedroom and the Dad-shaped hole in my life.”

“He was one of those people who completely changes when they smile. Like the sun had come out.”

“He was already fading. I knew that it wouldn't be long until he was just a vague image, however much I tried to cling onto his memory.”

“It seemed like five minutes later we were here, the Land That Time Forgot, watching the removal van disappear round the corner like a last hope.”

“Just for a moment, amid all the bad stuff, this was a happy place again.”

“I knew now that we were never going to be a proper family again.”