For years, even as her dazzling talent brought her fame and adoration, Florence Welch was beset by self-loathing. Here she relates how she finally called a truce in her internal war.

By Florence WelchOriginal Source: vogue.co.ukSometimes I’ll recall something stupid I did as a teenager – like trying to get a face tattoo at 14 – and I’ll have to sit down and catch my breath. Because I can’t believe I got away with it, that I survived those years. Or maybe I didn’t? But at least I’m still alive.It takes a while to understand your worth. I got sober when I was 27, a few months after my birthday party, where my mother made a speech – a plea, really – to my friends to try to keep me alive and out of the notorious “27 club”. After she’d finished, I put my face in my cake and got into the shower fully clothed. That day, I would never have believed my 30th birthday would be a sober, calm affair with nice friends and nice food that I actually ate; that I would have already waved the white flag at the party, one arm fluttering from the floor, I surrender, I’m done. After all, I’d been planning the alternative...click here to continue reading