Love Letter To My Friend

In the final episode of series one, host Lisa Smosarski writes back to co-host Alix Walker and they share their reflections on this series of love letters to friends.

Losing a friend to breast cancer at a young age is an unimaginable loss. For Nova Reid, author and inspirational speaker, the passing of her best friend Teneisha Bonner two years ago has left a colossal hole in her life. In this truly emotional episode, Nova writes to her friend Teneisha, sharing the thoughts she wish she could tell her today.

Ravneet Gill - pastry chef, food writer, author and founder of Countertalk -- shares her heartwarming letter full of laughs, written to her university friend Natalie Dormer. Like many friends who met at that time, Rav and Nat were united by a shared love of partying and pasta bakes. But their inseparability at university travelled past graduation and their friendship has seen them navigate the highs and lows of adult life, including the grief of losing Nat’s father and navigating Rav's new-found fame and career success.

When author, influencer, podcaster and mother of three Clemmie Telford, discovered a passion for exercise - for both her mind and body - she didn't know she was about to find a new best friend too. Tackling body image issues and disordered eating, parenting, isolation and sobriety, Clemmie and Kelly bonded with conversations over CrossFit and kettle balls. After three years of tough workouts and supportive friendship, Clemmie has chosen to write her love letter to her friend to fitness trainer Kelly Fysh.

When journalist and author, Rosamund Dean, was diagnosed with breast cancer in the middle of lockdown, her world was truly shaken. Her diagnosis coincided with the departure from her full-time job, and within days the new life she had anticipated was replaced with a gruelling 20 week chemotherapy treatment plan, followed by surgery. One of the first people she turned to upon discovering her diagnosis was her friend, Hannah Marriott. In this honest and touching episode, Rosamund writes to Hannah and shares how their friendship has kept her going through the toughest of times.

In this heartwarming episode, Charlie Brinkhurst Cuff - New York Times journalist and former editor-in-chief of gal-dem - writes to her childhood friend Natalie Buraimoh. As two mixed-race girls growing up in an area on the outskirts of Edinburgh that lacked diversity, they forged a friendship which helped them navigate and learn about their cultural identities. Charlie shares how they have watched one another grow from girls to women, watched as each other builds a successful career and how they also supported one another to retrace their family roots.

In this honest and emotional episode, author, editor and broadcaster Terri White writes to her friend of 20 years, Phil Hilton. In a letter that candidly navigates her life and their friendship, Terri looks back on the evolution of their relationship - from her time working as an assistant to Phil, to the blossoming of their friendship and their shared love of music, dancing and Northern Soul - and explains why it was Phil she turned to when she experienced a breakdown and suicide attempt, whilst working thousands of miles away from him in New York. Together they explore the importance of friendship whilst navigating ill mental health and why a kitchen disco always brings them back together.Warning: this episode features references to suicide, ill mental health and strong language.

When Tulsi Vagjiani was 10 years old she survived a plane crash in which she lost her immediate family and suffered 45% burns to her body. Throughout childhood Tulsi endured countless operations and years of bullying that affected her self-esteem. But when she was 19 she met the person who was to become her best friend in the whole world, the person who always saw the Tulsi behind the scars: her cousin Karissa Vagjiani.In this heart-warming episode Tulsi writes to Karissa about their friendship and how becoming a role model to her younger cousin gave her even more strength and motivation to help others.

In this frank and honest episode, author, podcaster, journalist, radio presenter and flexible working campaigner Anna Whitehouse, (Mother Pukka) writers to her friend Natalie Lee, better known to many as Style Me Sunday, a former midwife turned fashion blogger. Anna and Natalie met in 2015, first connected by their work. But over the following years their mutual professional admiration for each other turned into a candid friendship in which they have supported one another through their hardest times. Two years ago, before Anna was diagnosed with post natal depression following the birth of her second child, it was Natalie that - in Anna’s words - saved her life, who managed to cut through her depression, take her hand and help her find a way out when she felt like she was drowning. In return, Natalie has been on her own journey of self-discovery, of sharing her own vulnerability and challenges, thanks to her friendship with Anna.Warning: this episode contains strong language and candid conversations on post natal depression.