Recovery: The Lost Art of Convalescence

Review Wise and thoughtful ... this book is a practical guide to recovery from illness as well as a meditation on the practice of medicine ... I cannot think of anybody - patient or doctor - who will not be helped by reading this short and profound book -- Henry Marsh ― New StatesmanA lovely little book -- Michael Rosen ― Front RowWonderful -- Anil Seth, author ― Being YouSuch a wise, gentle, quietly hopeful book. Exactly what I needed -- Rachel Clarke, author of Breathtaking and Your Life In My HandsFrancis offers hope and a rare and precious quiet form of consolation -- Emily Mayhew ― ObserverHeartfelt and persuasively argued ... Filled with compassion and warmth, the book provides both insight and succour -- Ian Critchley ― Sunday TimesExcellent ... could not be more timely ... even if you are not at present ill, it is worth reading this book because the gentle guidance it gives is actually applicable to being healthy. There are things we can do that make life, even a life without pain or fatigue or anxiety, richer -- Stuart Kelly ― ScotsmanHumane and thoughtful. Combining personal reminiscence, hard science and history, it explores the architecture of convalescence, rest, treatments and placebos, the healing power of nature and the transformative impact a sick note can have -- Emma Beddington ― ObserverSparkling ... uplifting ― IndependentA concise and deeply felt treatise on how, faced with inevitable illness and finitude, we might better live and how medicine might help others better life ― The LancetThe book really shines ... it is worth reading this book because the gentle guidance it gives is actually applicable to being healthy ― Yorkshire PostShort but sagacious ... never has the publication of a book been more timely and welcome ― On-Magazine Product Description THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER: an uplifting account of hope and healing by GP Gavin Francis'I cannot think of anybody - patient or doctor - who will not be helped by reading this short and profound book' - Henry Marsh'Such a wise, gentle, quietly hopeful book. Exactly what I needed' - Rachel Clarke'A lovely little book' - Michael RosenWhen it comes to illness, sometimes the end is just the beginning. Recovery and convalescence are words that exist at the periphery of our lives - until we are forced to contend with what they really mean. Here, GP and writer Gavin Francis explores how - and why - we get better, revealing the many shapes recovery takes, its shifting history and the frequent failure of our modern lives to make adequate space for it. Characterised by Francis's beautiful prose and his view of medicine as 'the alliance of science and kindness', Recovery is a book about a journey that most of us never intend to make. Along the way, he unfolds a story of hope, transformation, and the everyday miracle of healing. Book Description A short, uplifting account of hope and healing by the author of Adventures in Human Being About the Author Gavin Francis has worked across four continents as a surgeon, emergency physician, medical officer with the British Antarctic Survey and latterly as a GP. He's the author of the Sunday Times bestseller Adventures in Human Being, which was a BMA Book of the Year, and Shapeshifters. His books have won the SMIT Scottish Book of the Year Award, the Saltire Award for Non-Fiction and been shortlisted for the Ondaatje and Costa Prizes. He also writes for the Guardian, The Times, the London Review of Books and Granta. He lives in Edinburgh with his wife and children.