Ah yes, Scott, I felt that too. Real relatable stories will pull your reader in.

If I were to ask my husband about being beautiful at any time, or whether I am going to wow some people at a party with the gorgeous creation I am wearing, he'd have no idea what to say.He's not that sort of person. To him beauty is all about the person you are. I think your mother was trying to get that message across.

As an example, a friend's daughter was very pretty when she was little, but she wouldn't step across the threshold of the preschool she attended, or indeed through my door, until somebody told her she was pretty.

These days she is an emotional cripple, still pretty but with an unfulfilled need to be cosseted about her looks.