Alan Arkin on Hollywood success: ‘I was miserable pretty much all of the time’

In his mid-30s, the actor was living the dream, but was far from happy. As he publishes his memoir Out of My Mind, he talks about turning his life around – and the disgraced guru he pinned his hopes on

Meg Mathews: ‘I feared my colourful 90s life had caught up with me’

She felt anxious, depressed and overwhelmed, until she realised it was the menopause, writes Sophie Heawood. Now Meg Mathews is on a mission to get women talking about it without shame

Failosophy by Elizabeth Day review – the feel-good ‘failing-well’ industry

‘Look at me now!’ Elizabeth Day is a witty, likable writer, but can failure always be turned into a positive?

Labours of Love by Madeleine Bunting review – a humbling book about care

Care, paid and unpaid, is at the heart of society, now more than ever ... this is a moving and absorbing in-depth investigation

Gail MacColl Jarrett obituary

Other lives: American editor and author who retrained as a relationship counsellor on her move to the UK

Happiness, a Mystery by Sophie Hannah review – solving the most profound puzzle

The crime writer sifts through theories on happiness from life coaches and philosophers, and has an epiphany

The Labours of Love; The Courage to Care; The Care Manifesto review – our compassion crisis in focus

Madeleine Bunting and Christie Watson bring personal experience to bear on heartbreaking studies of the UK’s ailing care system

When comfort reading won’t cut it: books to restore hope in humanity

From Man’s Search for Meaning to a celebration of life in the face of death, Cathy Rentzenbrink picks the books that confirm her faith in people

The wellness realm has fallen into conspiritualism – I have a sense why

There is a reason behind the collision of new age ‘light and love’ and the conspiratorial world of QAnon, writes Sarah Wilson

The best books to inspire compassion

From Hanya Yanagihara’s A Little Life to a manifesto by Elif Shafak … Christie Watson explores kindness and courage in the face of suffering