The Sleep Room by Jon Stock review – haunting accounts of horrific medical abuse
A book about psychiatrist William Sargant’s unethical treatments at a London hospital in the 1960s is all the more powerful for its vivid patient testimonies
Alive: An Alternative Anatomy by Gabriel Weston review – our bodies in an eye-opening new light
A surgeon (and TV host) encourages us to take a fresh look at our organs in a smart and forceful study
Maternity Service by Emma Barnett review – a tour of duty in early motherhood
In this valuable, brutally honest guide, the broadcaster argues that a supposedly joyful time is often steeped in drudgery and social isolation
Maternity Service by Emma Barnett review – baby steps
An energetic attempt to reimagine maternity leave swerves hard thinking about social reform
The Age of Diagnosis by Suzanne O’Sullivan review – do no harm
A doctor’s brilliant study of the dangers of overdiagnosis, from ADHD to long Covid
The Age of Diagnosis by Suzanne O’Sullivan review – are we really getting sicker?
A neurologist discusses the dangers of overdiagnosing conditions from Lyme disease to ADHD in an era where technology meets pathology
Go outside, ditch the phone, get humble: my top 10 Scandi life lessons after a decade in Denmark
After 12 years, we’ve said goodbye to one of the happiest countries on Earth. From friluftsliv (the joy of the open air) to janteloven (realising you’re no better than others) here’s what I’ve learned
The Leopard in My House by Mark Steel review – finding the funny side of living with cancer
The comedian reflects on mortality and the new course his life has now taken in this warm account of his cancer diagnosis and treatment
The Inherited Mind by James Longman review – a moving memoir of mental illness in the family
The TV reporter’s struggles with depression and the suicide of his father, whose own father killed himself, prompt this incisive, highly personal investigation
The Big Idea: looking for a better life? Follow your nose
Smell has an outsize effect on our thoughts and moods, so it’s worth paying more attention to it