If you think the book sounds interesting but are not sure if it will be too much, I encourage you to read it.

Published by Canongate, 2026.

If you’re from a wealthy country with a good healthcare system, you might assume that TB isn’t a problem any more. Tragically this is not the case. In 2024, as explained in this WHO factsheet, 1.23 million people died of TB , it was the leading cause of death for people with HIV, and that about 2 in 5 people with multi-drug resistant TB accessed treatment. [Factsheet dated 13th November].

In this book, John Green describes the history, causes, symptoms and diagnosis of TB, the development of treatment, plus social attitudes towards sufferers and how the legacies of racism and colonialism allow this deadly – but curable – disease to thrive. When you consider these topics, TB really is everything, as the title suggests. It has shaped our history in a major way. In between these chapters, we follow the story of Henry as he becomes sicker and faces further barriers to his recovery. I couldn’t wait to get to these sections as I wanted to find out what happened. It was a very informative read and I hope it has helped to raise a lot of awareness.

Published in 2025.

The author does an excellent job of bringing together heartbreaking personal stories, interviews with politicians and her own insights. Had the infections been accidental, this would have been terrible enough. However, there is evidence that trusted experts were experimenting on patients, that saving money was considered more important than saving lives, that there was a massive cover-up. The more you read of this book, the more depressing it gets, but at least the story, as complete as it can be, has now been told.

Talking = weight loss?: “Don’t talk so much [if you want to gain weight]. See if you can’t leave out two-thirds of the totally unimportant, uninteresting details. A tremendous amount of energy is used in talking. This habit I would not say was confined to you, by any means; it is another one of those pretty nearly universal errors.” – Diet and Health; With Key to the Calories by Lulu Hunt Peters (1918) (image above taken from this book)

Packing for a picnic: “Things not to be forgotten at a Picnic. A stick of horseradish, a bottle of mint-sauce well corked, a bottle of salad dressing, a bottle of vinegar, made mustard, pepper, salt, good oil, and pounded sugar. If it can be managed, take a little ice.” – Mrs Beeton’s Book of Household Management (1861)

Bake, not boil: “Never eat boiled vegetables. No one ever hears of a flesh-eater boiling his staple article of diet and throwing away the liquor.” – The Healthy Life Cook Book by Florence Daniel (1915)

An apple tart a day: “Tak gode Applys and gode Spycis and Figys and reysons and Perys and wan they are wel ybrayed colourd wyth Safroun wel and do yt in a cofyn and do yt forth to bake wel.” – The Forme of Cury: A Roll of Ancient English Cookery compiled by Samuel Pegge (1390)

Time for a cuppa?: “In general, however, none but persons possessing great mobility of the nervous system, or enfeebled or effeminate constitutions, are injuriously affected by the moderate use of tea and coffee in connection with food.” – The White House Cook Book by F L Gillette and Hugo Ziemann (1887)

A back-friendly breakfast: “An excellent Restorative for a weak back. Take clary, dates, the pith of an oxe, and chop them together, put some cream to them, eggs, grated bread, and a little white saunders, temper them all well together fry them, and eat it in the morning fasting.” – The Accomplisht Cook by Robert May (1685)

Mmm, toast water: “Put the bread into a mug, and just cover it with boiling water; let it stand till cold, then fill it up with cold spring-water, and pour it through a fine sieve. The above is a pleasant and excellent beverage, grateful to the stomach, and deserves a constant place by the bed-side.” – The Cook’s Oracle; and Housekeeper’s Manual by William Kitchiner (1830)

A brutally honest memoir, Head Heart and Hipbones is an account of how the author battled against anorexia nervosa. It mainly takes place twenty years ago, when she was diagnosed with the disorder and ended up being admitted to hospital. However, at the end, she tells us that she is still fighting it. The outlet of writing has really helped her understand herself and her condition. Her book is an achievement to be proud of because the psychological aspects in particular are carefully considered.

Gillian was from a loving family and at the age of seventeen was looking forward to studying at college, but her need to control her diet was taking over everything until it was clear she needed help, as her life was in danger. The book follows the ups and downs of her journey, including long-term stays in hospital, where she formed bonds with the other women on the ward which helped her get through her time there. It’s such a well-written and clear-eyed account that I’ll always remember reading it and won’t hesitate to recommend it to readers who want an understanding of what it’s like to suffer from and be treated for anorexia. As there are many details about her thought processes at the time, wanting to be very thin and how she hid or restricted her food (for example), the book will not be suitable for absolutely everyone.

In summary, a courageous memoir that will have you rooting for Gillian.

Independently published in 2021.

The main part of the book is a generally chronological narrative from the first warnings of a mysterious illness which was said to only affect gay men and which no one knew anything about, right up to the latest medical research and social attitudes in 1994. In some respects it’s out of date and you wouldn’t read it for current information. As a political history and as a resource for what things were like back then, it’s extremely impressive. Although there are some personal stories which are very moving, the focus is on the wider picture. Politicians, scientists, high-profile media personalities, religious leaders, advertising executives and heads of charities are interviewed. No subject is left uncovered where HIV and AIDS in Britain is concerned. The contaminated blood scandal, the concept of needle exchanges, the problem in prisons, the difficulty of communicating the message of safer sex to various groups, the attitude of the church, the media’s role in promoting homophobia, Princess Diana’s passion for meeting and helping people with AIDS, the use and misuse of the red ribbon symbol… there is a huge amount packed into this book.

The second part of the book is the ‘journal of a plague year’, in which the author records the events relating to HIV and AIDS which he attends from 1993-4. This includes meeting (and then attending the funeral of) Derek Jarman, talking to Tom Hanks (who had recently starred in Philadelphia), attending a conference on condom standards and following the trial of a man who knowingly infected women with HIV. There is an extensive afterword to the book from 2021, in which Simon Garfield gives some background to the book’s existence and tells us about the advancements in both medical treatment and social policy which mean that in Britain at least, people who are HIV positive can expect to have long lives which are free from discrimination. Inevitably some mention of the Covid pandemic had to be made and I have to admit that I found some disturbing parallels between the two, which are beyond the scope of a book review. There are copious notes for every chapter, an index and a small number of images.

The only aspect of the book which made it less accessible for me were the statistics-heavy sections and many tables, which would be useful for researchers but don’t contribute to a readable narrative.

In summary, this is one of the most impressive non-fiction books I’ve read. It’s not easy going or packed full of personal stories but I’d recommend it if you want detailed information on the background to It’s A Sin.

First published in 1994 by Faber and Faber, re-issued on 1st December 2021 (World AIDS Day).

It’s not a diet book, nor is it scolding us for our food choices. The angle is clearly-explained neuroscience, evolutionary biology and genetics. To some extent, we can’t help our liking of processed food as a species and many people are unable to moderate their consumption of it, for a variety of reasons. Some people are also more disposed to store their extra calories than others, a trait which would have been desirable in the hunter-gatherer era. Evolution hasn’t caught up with changing lifestyles.

The book isn’t excusing an unhealthy diet or telling us we shouldn’t eat processed food at all. Instead, the blame is on the powerful companies, who make their products so enticing, cheap and available. Their refusal to admit that their products can harm people has a parallel in the tobacco companies refusing to admit that smoking is addictive. The definitions of addiction are explored in this book and it is concluded that yes, processed food high in sugar, salt and fat has addictive qualities. This book has an American focus (for example, in the law and in the names of snack brands) but the content applies to anywhere struggling with obesity rates and swamped with processed convenience food.

Hooked is certainly food for thought. It’s not likely to change the way you eat – particularly with its explanation of why diets don’t work for most people – but it expands your knowledge. I finished reading it while snacking on tortilla chips.

Published in 2021.

This book made me grateful to be living in a time (and location) in which I’m protected against several infectious diseases that would, not so long ago, have been feared because they killed so many children. Thanks to the men and women who were determined to prevent the devastation caused by viruses such as polio, measles, tuberculosis, diphtheria, hepatitis and pertussis (whooping cough), plus governments and health organisations who funded and promoted the immunisation programmes, I’m able to take this protection for granted, as I suspect many other people do who live in industrialised countries today.

The style of writing is easy to read, as the author assumes you have the average person’s knowledge of medicine. The content is straightforward and considered, illustrated by literary quotes, personal anecdote and emotional appeal, in addition to the clear explanations and statistics. Examples are international in scope but with a particular focus on Australia (where this book was originally published this year), as that’s where Professor Isaacs works. I found the first few chapters to be the most interesting, because each one focused on a specific disease. Some of the later chapters repeated the information, as part of themed discussions on vaccines. I would say that the book covers everything you might want to know about vaccination: how it works, the risks, the disasters, the myths, how the substances are made and supplied, etc.

Ethics is a strong point in the book. The author discusses how parents’ rights not to have their children immunised are clashing with children’s rights (compromising the ‘herd immunity’ which protects the most vulnerable when a certain proportion of people have been vaccinated). He also looks at ‘tainted’ research and whether it is ethical to benefit from vaccines developed which historically had roots in harming people or not had consent from the participants. This is a really fascinating topic and should be on the TBR of anyone with an interest in medicine.

A blend of memoir, history of medicine and clearly-explained human biology, Critical is a compelling read. It’s beautifully structured: the chapters focus on organs (lungs, heart, brain, bowels), with the exception of the last chapter – the Soul. Within each chapter is at least one example of a patient he has known, an explanation of their history and illness, any ethical dilemmas involved in their treatment, relevance to all of us as human beings, and finally the the patient’s outcome. This was a guaranteed formula to make me read to the end of the chapter, as I wanted desperately to know whether the patients survived and thrived. And, if they didn’t recover, then why this was so. Sadly, many admissions to Intensive Care Units do not pull through, even though the staff have done everything possible. Sometimes, it’s in the patient’s best interests for treatment to be withdrawn. Dr Morgan discusses death in a matter-of-fact but sensitive way. How can we establish if someone is actually dead? How to break the news to families? How can we know what the deceased would have wanted?

The book also contains strong warnings against smoking and excessive alcohol consumption. Dr Morgan doesn’t just tell us how bad these substances are, he illustrates this with descriptions of his patients’ illnesses, explaining exactly what the tobacco and booze do to our organs. Sleep is another factor in our health; reading about how lack of sleep affects the body, I was determined to try and get more hours of it. In common with other recent ‘medical memoirs’, this book also highlights the stress, emotional strain and exhaustion of working in a busy NHS department.

In summary, an unforgettable, compassionate and informative read.

Thank you to Simon & Schuster UK for the advance proof via NetGalley. This book will be published on May 30th.

I’d read Bryony’s previous two books. The first, The Wrong Knickers, is a portrait of her wild twenties, a time of drugs, booze, one night stands, terrible relationships and eating disorders. The second, Mad Girl, is both a confession and a self-help guide, as she talks about her depression and anxiety. Her writing style is humorous and exuberant, so I knew what to expect for Eat, Drink, Run.

I applaud the positive messages which this book reinforces. Basically, Bryony is saying that you can do anything if you put your mind to it and if there are kind people around to support you.

This was an easy read, with some similar material to Mad Girl. There are some humorous incidents and serious, soul-searching moments. I did feel that the content was repetitive at times but the book (and of course the marathon) are excellent achievements. It seemed less interesting towards the end. I think that was because of Prince Harry.

Let me explain. As a mental health campaigner and journalist, Bryony was invited to meet the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, and Prince Harry, the patrons of an umbrella organisation which comprised several mental health charities. That’s when she somewhat casually agreed to run the marathon, to raise funds. She then meets the royals a few more times, culminating in an interview with Harry in which he opens up about his mental health. This is all great and important, but there is too much about it in the book. The transcript of the interview was not needed. I’m not a fan of the royals and would’ve preferred more details of the actual marathon (which occupies just one chapter, at the end).

In summary, I liked this book and found it inspiring. However, I wouldn’t read it a second time.

First published in 2018 by Headline.