**THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER**

A humane, hilarious and heart-breaking window into the world of psychiatry from 'the Adam Kay of mental healthcare' (THE TIMES)

'Very funny and deeply sympathetic. Really excellent' HENRY MARSH

'This is honestly my dream book. Both fascinating and bleakly funny' FERN BRADY

'Honest, funny, saddening and uplifting all rolled into one' JO BRAND

A woman in a wedding dress arrives at the hospital looking for Harry Styles.

A lorry driver with schizophrenia believes he's got a cure for coronavirus.

A depressed man hides his profession from his GP due to stigma.

Most of the psychiatric cases in this book are his patients. Some of them are family. One of them is him.

Unlocking the doors to the psych ward, NHS psychiatrist Dr Benji Waterhouse provides a fly-on-the-padded-wall account of medicine's most mysterious and controversial speciality.

Why would anyone in their right mind choose to be a psychiatrist? Are the solutions to people's messy lives really within medical school textbooks? And how can vulnerable patients receive the care they need when psychiatry lacks staff, hospital beds and any actual cures?

You Don't Have to Be Mad to Work Here explores these complicated questions from both sides of the doctor's desk.

This is the perfect read for fans of This Is Going to Hurt, Unnatural Causes and The Prison Doctor.


Instant Sunday Times bestseller, May 2024

About the Author
Dr Benji Waterhouse is a front-line NHS doctor specialising in psychiatry. He is also an award-winning stand-up comedian who performs sell-out shows at the Edinburgh Festival. He has written for the Guardian and Independent, and was included in a list of 'Inspiring Psychiatrists' by the Royal College of Psychiatrists. You Don't Have to Be Mad to Work Here is his first book. www.linktr.ee/dr_benji www.instagram.com/doctor_benjis www.twitter.com/doctor_benji

Reviews
Hilarious, shocking and urgent... a deeply compassionate book, which paints a picture of professional dedication in the face of almost unbelievable dysfunction * The Times, *Book of the Week* *
It has a freshness and verve that sets it apart... What is unwavering and beautifully described is the inspiration Waterhouse continues to find in his patients. He has that essential trait of all good doctors: a sincere and lasting tenderness for his flawed and frail, crude and complicated, broken and brilliant fellow human beings... Ultimately, this is a campaigning work, both brilliantly funny and deadly serious.... His book is humane, hilarious, eye-opening - and deserves to be widely read. -- Rachel Clarke * Guardian *
Humorous and humane ... [Waterhouse] finds the funny without turning patients into punchlines... It's a warm-hearted reminder that the [NHS] system is still staffed by many people doing their darnedest to connect with and care for people * Sunday Telegraph *
Funny, humane and insightful * i news *
A darkly comic personal trawl through the world of psychiatry and the idiosyncratic characters struggling on both sides of the divide. Honest, funny, saddening and uplifting all rolled into one -- Jo Brand, comedian and former psychiatric nurse
Very funny and deeply sympathetic. Really excellent -- Henry Marsh, author of Do No Harm
A heartbreaking and also funny look at psychiatry. I loved this engrossing book which taught me lots of new things and broadened my mind -- Cathy Rentzenbrink
Laugh-out-loud funny and deeply moving in equal measure, his compassion for his patients shines through. Wonderfully written. I loved this book -- Max Pemberton, author of Trust Me I'm a (Junior) Doctor
An absolute beauty... Wise, warm, witty and an excellent insight -- Dr Phil Hammond, author of Staying Alive
This is honestly my dream book. Both fascinating and bleakly funny in the way only an embattled NHS psychiatrist's book could be -- Fern Brady, author of Strong Female Character
I loved it. Witty, poignant, thoughtful, and moving. It's made me want to start psychiatry all over again -- Professor Sir Simon Wessely, former President of The Royal College of Psychiatrists
Funny, clear-eyed and unexpectedly moving -- Sebastian Faulks, author of Birdsong
Fascinating, heartbreaking and hilarious -- Michael Odell * The Times *
Funny but also touching and, at times, incredibly sad. A love letter to both psychiatry and the patients we care for, the author's humanity and devotion shine through. -- Max Pemberton * Daily Mail *
[A] superb memoir... a book that should really prompt a public inquiry but is also, somehow, hilarious... If this book does not serve as a wake-up call that serious change is needed, I don't know what will * Evening Standard *
Furious and very funny... If you want to read something that matters, try this * Sunday Times, *Summer Reads of 2024* *
[A] compassionate, insightful and thought-provoking memoir * Daily Express *
A topical read that sheds light and humour on a dark crisis * Mail on Sunday, *Summer Reads of 2024* *
Waterhouse...manages to tread that delicate line of being both humane and hilarious * iNews, *Summer Reads of 2024* *
A darkly comic personal trawl through the world of psychiatry and the idiosyncratic characters struggling on both sides of the divide. Honest, funny, saddening and uplifting all rolled into one. -- Jo Brand



Book Information
ISBN 9781787333178
Author Benji Waterhouse
Format Hardback
Page Count 336
Imprint Jonathan Cape Ltd
Publisher Vintage Publishing
Weight(grams) 442g
Dimensions(mm) 224mm * 145mm * 30mm