Bedside Reading

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I think that there is sometimes a bit of snobbery around genres of books. The self-help market is huge. It's there for a reason but I think sometimes those of us who really enjoy self-help feel that perhaps we should be going to some kind of self-help books anonymous club where we can talk about our love of the genre unimpeded by the judgment of others!

Last year, Anna Baverstock reminded me that actually self-help books are "leadership and development" books, and that helped me to see them in a different light and be slightly less embarrassed about how much I enjoy them.

The Let Them Theory by Mel Robbins is, I think, one of the best self-help or leadership and development books that I have ever read. I can really, truly put my hand on my heart and say that it has changed me and very definitely for the better. So it's been a real joy to discover that my guest today, Dr Emma Cunliffe, feels similarly changed by Mel.

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I'm not entirely sure whether Anita and I have really even scratched the surface of a discussion about Dream Count by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. We've both acknowledged that Chimamanda is one of our absolutely favourite novelists and her new novel, Dream Count, does not disappoint on any front. There are themes galore in this book. There are stories of four rather different women whose lives coincide.

There are lots of reflections on very common, almost mundane life and health themed issues like constipation and premenstrual dysphoric disorder.  We have elements around class and status. We have lots of thoughts around culture clash. Fundamentally, this is a novel about friendship and about how the world changed during the pandemic. Did we become closer because of video calls, or are we more distanced because of them?

It is such a wonderful novel. i have utterly loved talking to Anita today, and I really think if you haven't read this already, it should be on your to-be-read pile.

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Poor by Katrina O'Sullivan is a book which has really, really stayed with me. I listened to it as an audiobook and I could not stop listening.  I think it helps that Katrina has a fabulous voice, but actually the voice, both physically and in what she is talking about, is so powerful and so compelling.

It was a real joy to talk to Lydia Fairhurst about this brilliant book, which I think has taught me much more about child safeguarding than any safeguarding training I've ever been on. It's taught me much more about trauma-informed care than any course I've ever been on. And most importantly, it has really made me think about the voices of people who we often choose not to listen to, because every voice matters. Every child's voice matters. Every adult's voice matters. Sometimes people will say things which we disagree with. I feel strongly that is the point at which we have to challenge ourselves to think about why we are disagreeing with them whether our thoughts are based in prejudice and in privilege and I am forever grateful for having discovered Katrina O'Sullivan via her book and more recently from following her on Instagram because almost weekly she challenges my thinking and I hope is making me a much better doctor.

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I love it when a guest approaches me and says, "please, can I talk about this book?" especially when it's a book that I've never, ever come across before. And today is one of those days. We are talking about The Birds by Tarjei Vesaas, which is an absolutely beautiful, very short Norwegian novel published in the 1950s, which I had never come across before.

My life is so much better for having come across it. And I think my care of patients and families has been dramatically improved by having read it. So a huge thank you to Ruth Maxey for both suggesting the novel and joining me today to talk about it.

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I'm really pleased today to welcome Dr Richard Duggins to Bedside Reading to talk about his book, Burnout Free Working.

We know that burnout is incredibly common in all professionals, particularly in health professionals. We also know that it is not always something we are talking enough about. Frustratingly, it is both preventable and incredibly, incredibly treatable. If only we know what's happening, if only we talk about it more, and if only we are supported to work in a healthier and better way.

I have really enjoyed reading this incredibly accessible book and I've absolutely loved talking to Richard today about some of the themes in it and I hope you will enjoy the conversation and if you haven't already discovered the book, we'll go out and get yourself a copy.