The Unfragile Mind

''Francis combines the precision of science with a profound insight into the human condition'' GUARDIAN FROM THE BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF ADVENTURES IN HUMAN BEING AND RECOVERY Between a quarter and a fifth of young people in the UK now suffer a mental disorder. One in four adults are prescribed psychiatric medication. These numbers represent a huge and recent expansion in mental health labelling, but reveal nothing of the experience of those seeking help. In The Unfragile Mind , Gavin draws on conversations with patients, colleagues, and his thirty years of practice to explore the chequered history of psychiatry, the nature of mental health and ill-health, and the problems - including mood disorders, trauma, anxiety and addiction - that he addresses daily. The mind, he argues, is dynamic and adaptive - better addressed not with rigid labels and protocols, but with curiosity, kindness, humility and hope.

Autorentext
Dr Gavin Francis is a GP and urgent care physician with a special interest in mental health. He is the bestselling author of Adventures in Human Being, Shapeshifters and Intensive Care. He writes about health and medicine for the Guardian, London Review of Books and the Times, among others.

Klappentext

Shortlisted for the 2026 Saltire Prize for Non-Fiction
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'I thought Gavin Francis couldn't get any better, but I was wrong. This is his best and most important book' Bill Bryson**
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'Francis combines the precision of science with a profound insight into the human condition' GUARDIAN**

**'This is a book to change lives - and save them.' Ian Rankin

****FROM THE BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF ADVENTURES IN HUMAN BEING AND RECOVERY **

Between a quarter and a fifth of young people in the UK now suffer a mental disorder. One in four adults are prescribed psychiatric medication. These numbers represent a huge and recent expansion in mental health labelling, but reveal nothing of the experience of those seeking help.

In The Unfragile Mind, Gavin draws on conversations with patients, colleagues, and his thirty years of practice to explore the chequered history of psychiatry, the nature of mental health and ill-health, and the problems - including mood disorders, trauma, anxiety and addiction - that he addresses daily.

The mind, he argues, is dynamic and adaptive - better addressed not with rigid labels and protocols, but with curiosity, kindness, humility and hope.