JAN WOOLF applauds the necessarily subversive character of the Palestinian poster in Britain
Finding True North: The Healing Power of Place
Insightful study of solitude, mental health and geography
FIGURES IN A LANDSCAPE: The Standing Stones of Stenness, Orkney
MARTIN GRAHAM welcomes a comprehensive history of the national debt, while regretting that it is neither up to date, nor has a class-based analysis
SYLVIA HIKINS is bowled over by a wonderful show that both entertains and educates
JOHN HAWKINS welcomes the straight-talking condemnation of genocide by a queer Jewish environmental journalist
TOMASZ PIERSCIONEK relishes a detailed history of the battles, manoeuvres and tactics that defeated fascism
MARIA DUARTE recommends an exposure of the state violence used against pro-Palestine protests in the US
CHRIS SEARLE urges you to hear the US saxophonist Joe McPhee on livestream tonight
THIS timely memoir by psychiatrist, author and mental-health campaigner Linda Gask draws on her own experiences as a patient and consultant psychiatrist, and serves to remind us of our inner reserves, how to strengthen them and find help in whatever form that may be.
Gask has recurrent clinical depression and, for her, the capitalist view of “recovery” bears no relation to her experiences, professionally or personally. Her own recovery has been a lifelong matter, complicated by early-life events. Mood can dominate her day, draining it of colour and vibrancy.
She thinks psychiatrists should be asking: “How do you get through the day?” as this gives a much clearer picture of the difficulties patients face.
When Gask was 18, she trekked alone to Orkney, and the stillness of the landscape stirred something in her, a feeling that remained throughout her life. Now retired, she has returned to Orkney 30 years after her first visit.
Gask knew that in order to help her recover, such an environment was crucial for her mood, to patch up her soul and live more healthily. As Maya Angelou declared: “The ache for home lives in all of us. The safe place where we can go as we are and not be questioned.”
The memoir also recounts the stories of some of her patients and, in doing so, Gask reminds us to find time to concentrate on our mental and physical health, and she sifts through the various options on offer — whether that be medication, mindfulness or learning to forgive ourselves and others and rediscovering what makes us passionate.
This book feels like a place of refuge in itself, and I highly recommend it.
Published by Sandstone Press, £8.99.
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