In this unvarnished account as both patient and physician, award-winning Professor of Psychiatry Linda Gask describes her search for her 'right' place in the world.
Finding True North is a wise and powerful memoir about recovery and the healing power of place. An award-winning Professor of Psychiatry, Linda Gask writes with startling honesty about her struggles with depression and anxiety. In this unvarnished account as both patient and physician she describes her search for her 'right' place in the world.
An illuminating and enlightening book, beautifully illustrating the importance of place on our mental and physical wellbeing.
-- Raynor Winn, author of The Salt PathFinding True North reminds me why I would rather consult a physician who at times struggles herself, rather than one who has remained above the fray.
-- Andrew Greig, author of At the Loch of the Green CorrieQuietly moving... a timely reminder of the stabilising effects of attachment to place.
-- Sue Stuart-Smith, author of The Well Gardened MindLinda Gask's writing and wisdom about depression are like no one else's and I turn to it time and time again to feel the comforting chime of shared experience.
-- James Withey, author of The Recovery LettersIntriguing, poignant and highly readable.
-- Sir Simon Wessely, Regius Professor of Psychiatry, King's College LondonThis is recovery not as a political stick with which to beat the disenfranchised, but self-help and self-care that is truly transformative.
-- Andre Tomlin, Mental ElfFinding True North is beautifully written... It is powerful and moving and quite exceptional.
-- Kate Lovett, Dean of the Royal College of Psychiatrists.Kate Lovett, Dean of the Royal College of Psychiatrists.
-- Prof Tony Kendrick MD FRCGP FRCPsych (hon) FHEA, Professor of Primary Care, Primary Care & Population SciencesSensitive, thoughtful and informed.
-- Professor Wendy Burn President, Royal Society of PsychiatristsInsightful study of solitude, mental health and geography... This book feels like a place of refuge in itself, and I highly recommend it.
* Morning Star *Linda Gask trained in Medicine in Edinburgh and is Emerita Professor of Primary Care Psychiatry at the University of Manchester. Having worked as a consultant psychiatrist for many years she is now retired and lives on Orkney. She maintains a popular mental health blog, Patching the Soul (lindagask.com), and contributes to Twitter as a mental health influencer. She is the author of The Other Side of Silence (2015), which was featured on BBC Radio 4 Woman's Hour and serialised in the Times Magazine. In 2017 she was awarded the prestigious President's Medal by the Royal College of Psychiatrists.