Bedridden, and unable to move, I realised that I had spent my life running from misery. It was time to confront it ‘Victorians embraced grief with gusto – exemplified by Queen’s Victoria’s mourning of her husband.’ Prince Albert’s funeral, 1861. Photograph: Print Collector/Getty Images ‘Victorians embraced grief with gusto – exemplified by Queen’s Victoria’s mourning of her husband.’ Prince Albert’s funeral, 1861. Photograph: Print Collector/Getty Images Sat 8 May 2021 07.00 EDT Last modified on Sat 8 May 2021 07.15 EDT Propped up by pillows and turned at intervals, like a pork chop on a grill, I endured a period of enforced bed rest a few years back when my world shrank to four walls. During what doctors termed a “high-risk geriatric pregnancy” I was incapacitated, developing sores on my hips and tailbone (despite the flipping) and an overwhelming melancholy.