Bedside Reading

Send us Fan MailCould this be one of the most devastatingly beautiful books I've ever read? A rollercoaster of emotions from hope to despair and back again. A love story about a woman who is fatally flawed, doing her best, loving and losing and a small boy whose world in 1980s Glasgow is bright vividly to life in Douglas Stuart's wonderful first novel.Helen Blomfield was the perfect guest to explore this novel with.  An Occupational Therapist ACP (my first OT guest)  working in Primary Care with a deep interest in health inequalities Helen also has the family connection of being the daughter in law of photographer Robert Blomfield who captured many images reminiscent of the cover photo and scenes within this novel.  We talked a little about the exhibition of his photos which you can see here: https://www.robertblomfield.co.uk/Follow Helen on Twitter https://twitter.com/helenblomfield8If you are interested in health inequalities the charity Fairhealth have some superb resources and learning modules here https://www.fairhealth.org.uk/The memoir of the little girl in the photo Helen mentions is https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2983372-what-daddy-didRESOURCES FOR SUPPORTING YOUNG CARERShttps://www.childrenssociety.org.uk/what-we-do/our-work/supporting-young-carershttps://www.carersuk.org/help-and-advice/practical-support/getting-care-and-support/young-carers-and-carers-of-children-under-18https://www.actionforchildren.org.uk/our-work-and-impact/children-and-families/young-carers/We also discussed Deborah Orr's wonderful memoir Motherwell https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/jan/08/motherwell-a-girlhood-deborah-orr-review

Send us Fan MailAbsolutely brilliant to talk to Jay Baruch about his fabulous book Tornado of Life.  We talk about making time for stories, narrative arcs and why uncertainty is the most fascinating part of everything we do. Exploring the concept of creativity as a clinical skill and discussing the anatomy of stories was all part of our fabulous conversation, I hope you'll enjoy itFollow Jay on twitter here https://twitter.com/JBaruchMD

Send us Fan MailI really loved my conversation with Associate Professor of mental health and self confessed "book pusher" Charley Baker about Eleanor Oliphant is completely fine  Gail Honeyman's wonderful novel about loneliness, friendship, belonging and acceptance.We explore Charley's opinion that novels are by far the best way for everyone to explore feelings and opinions and I left our conversation with lots of other books to add to me to-read list.Follow Charley on Twitter here https://twitter.com/charleybaker1LONELINESS RESOURCEShttps://www.campaigntoendloneliness.org/resources-2/https://www.marmaladetrust.org/

Send us Fan MailIt was a huge honour to have this book and this guest to launch series 3.  I was approached by Ru's publicist to ask if I might consider speaking to him and was sent my first ever pre-publication copy of a book. What an absolute treat the book was, I absolutely adored it and speaking to Ru himself was just a delight.  When he became an undertaker, Rupert Callender undertook to deal with the dead for the sake of the living. What Remains?  is the brilliant, unforgettable story of the life and work of the world's first punk undertaker - but it is also a book about ordinary, everyday humanity and our capacity to face death with courage and compassion. To say goodbye to the people we love in our own way.And in becoming the world's first 'punk undertaker' and establishing the Green Funeral Company in Devon, Ru Callender and his partner Claire challenged the stilted, traditional, structured world of the funeral industry: fusing what he had learned from his own deeply personal experiences with death, with the surprising and profound answers and raw emotion he discovered in rave culture and ritual magick.

Send us Fan MailWatching Brene Brown's "power of vulnerability" TED talk was a life changing moment for me as a clinician and when I started reading more of her work I was blown away. I didn't think there could be a book of hers as good as "Daring Greatly", I was wrong. Atlas of the Heart is such a beautiful book in the way it looks, it feels, the illustrations and oh my word the content within.It was such a treat to discover that Anna Baverstock had loved it as much as I had.  We talk about language, meaning, connection, empathy and so much more. Something to reflect on in terms of interactions with patients as well as colleagues.  Follow Anna on twitter here: https://twitter.com/anna_annabav especially her amazing doodles and pictoral representations of the books she's been reading

Send us Fan MailSam Guglani's novella Histories captivated me from the moment I picked it up and having reread it more than once has compelled me and made me think so much. It was a huge treat to welcome him onto the podcast to talk about the book and especially how it came to be and to share some of our favourite moments.Medicine Unboxed Sam's incredible festival is back in May 2023, have a look at the website for some brilliant audio and video recordings from previous events https://voices.medicineunboxed.org/Follow Sam on Twitter https://twitter.com/samirguglani

Send us Fan MailA warm welcome to Manchester based GP registrar Lava Yuki who grew up in Ireland and is an almost exact contemporary of the writer of this week's book.   Evanna Lynch is best known for playing Luna Lovegood in the Harry Potter film series and her memoir The Opposite of Butterfly Hunting  is a compelling story of what happens when you lose your creativity and how Anorexia Nervosa can erode someone's identity so profoundly that they lose sight of themselves. It is also moving, funny, engaging and full of life and hope.Lava very generously shares some of her own lived experience of Anorexia as well as of being a Harry Potter mad teenager and growing up in Ireland in the early 2000s.Follow Lava on twitter: https://twitter.com/lava_yukiIf you are looking for some resources to support a patient, a friend, a relative or yourself with an eating disorder the RCPsych have a great section here https://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/members/your-faculties/eating-disorders-psychiatryThere's also NICE CKS https://cks.nice.org.uk/topics/eating-disorders/The RCGP have an elearning module here: https://elearning.rcgp.org.uk/course/info.php?id=173we also recommend the national eating disorders charity BEAT  https://www.beateatingdisorders.org.uk/Locally to where I work we have the superb charity First Steps whose website is a mine of resources even if you aren't fortunate enough to be in Derbyshire https://firststepsed.co.uk/

Send us Fan MailMy guest today is MedTwitter royalty in the form of Bethan John. Follow her brilliant twitter self here: https://twitter.com/msbethanj We talk about Kristen Neff's brilliant book Self Compassion and why doctors seem somehow so hardwired to be perfectionists who put themselves down at every opportunity. 

Send us Fan MailIt was a huge pleasure to welcome Dave Hindmarsh to Bedside Reading to discuss The Culture Code  by Daniel Coyle. Dave is the brains behind GP Templates:  https://www.gptemplates.co.uk/Follow him on twitter here: https://twitter.com/gp_templates We talked about healthy vs unhealthy cultures, why it's sometimes easier to recognise bad leadership than practise or teach good leadership.We talked about the RCGP Veteran Friendly Programme  https://elearning.rcgp.org.uk/mod/book/view.php?id=12533Dave also mentionedThe Warrior Programme - https://www.warriorprogramme.org.uk/

Send us Fan MailSheffield GP Jo Maher and I know so many people in common that it felt only right that we should finally meet in person in order to record today's episode where we explore Helen Macdonald's essay collection Vesper Flights as well as talking a bit about her earlier book H is for Hawk.Jo and I explore the power of nature, why being outside is so good for the soul and think about the risks of the countryside and the natural world becoming the preserve of the wealthy rather than something for us all.Follow Jo on twitter http://www.twitter.com/jomaher8