Ask your mum questions and you may discover… yourself
When Elma van Vliet decided to start asking her mother about her life, the results were remarkable
Good Reasons for Bad Feelings review – a new approach to mental disorder
Randolph Nesse’s insightful book suggests that conditions such as anxiety and depression have a clear evolutionary purpose
Nicci Gerrard: ‘Dementia is more scary when you try not to think about it’
The Observer journalist on her father’s dementia, caring for campaigners, and facing her fears in her new book
What will you be reading next year? London book fair’s star attractions
Salman Rushdie’s take on Don Quixote, Elton John’s memoirs and a study of criminals in Broadmoor – a selection of the biggest and most interesting books announced at the fair
‘I have the right to tell this story’: Lukas Dhont defends his trans film Girl
His film about a transitioning dancer was set for the big time – until it was called ‘the most dangerous movie about a trans character in years’. Does the director have any regrets?
Now self-help books are aimed at men – but they have rarely actually helped anyone
While people need to talk about anxiety and depression, these tomes turn social problems into competitive self-improvement
Is porn making young men impotent?
Up to a third of young men now experience erectile dysfunction. Some are turning to extreme measures such as penile implants – but is kicking their pornography habit the only solution?
Why the sleep industry is keeping us awake at night
We’re told that getting eight unbroken hours of sleep will protect us from cancer and dementia, and make us happier. But are we being sold an impossible dream?
International Women’s Day: our pick of the best articles on women’s global fight for equality
Our editors’ curated selection of recent Guardian journalism on female empowerment and issues affecting women around the world
The quirkier, the better: why blue plaques lift my spirits
Every time I read one it is as though the street has opened like a textbook