Recommended Reading
Patients very often want to read around the condition or their life stage in more detail. Here are a small selection of books and texts that patients may find useful. Dr Simpson welcomes book recommendations in return!
The Definitive Guide to the Perimenopause and Menopause - Dr. Louise Newson
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A fresh perspective on the early symptoms of the menopause that are often missed and can so easily be managed early and effectively. A must read for all women approaching the menopause.
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The Hero Of This Book - Elizabeth McCracken
A tribute to a woman's elderly mother, embracing and reflecting on all of her character traits - good and bad. How to celebrate the whole person.
Ikigai - The Japanese Secret to a Long & Happy Health by Hector Garcia & Francesc Miralles
A truly eye opening book, Ikigai is a Japanese concept that combines the words "iki" (life) and "gai" (reason) to mean "a reason to live". Ikigai is about finding balance between the spiritual and practical aspects of life, and it can help people feel more resilient and cope with difficult times
Hallucinations by Oliver Sacks
Written to remove the stigma attached to hallucinations, including those caused by migraines, this is a fascinating insight into the structures and functions of the brain.
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How Proust Can Change Your Life - Alain de Botton
How to use Proust's life and works to live a thankful and happy life - from how to recognise beauty in the banality of the everyday objects and events, the author shows how Proust can help us to cultivate friendships, to suffer successfully and how to recognise love. Not a novel, but a genuinely helpful self help book written by a wonderful, practical philosopher.
Younger, Fitter, Stronger - Matt Roberts
Taking readers through the underlying science, this book provides men with a 60 day diet and training programme that can achieve excellent results.
Raising Boys - Steve Biddulph
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Practical, honest advice for parents so they can recognise the different stages of boyhood and learn how to raise happy, confident and kind young men - what helps, and what harms.
Raising Girls - Steve Biddulph
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A guidebook and a call-to-arms for parents. The five key stages of girlhood are laid out so that you know exactly what matters at which age, and how to build strength and connectedness into your daughter from infancy onwards.
A Month in Siena - Hisham Matar
An encounter between the writer - mourning the loss of his father - and the city, especially the great paintings of the Sienese School which become a refuge and a way to think about the world outside the urgencies of the present.
A gift of a book: profound, moving and mindful.