The true story of the little-known mental-health pioneer who revolutionised how we see the defining problem of our era: anxiety.
Panic, depression, sorrow, guilt, disgrace, obsession, sleeplessness, low confidence, loneliness, agoraphobia … Dr Claire Weekes knew how to treat them, but was dismissed as underqualified and overly populist by the psychiatric establishment. In a radical move, she had gone directly to the people.
Her international bestseller Self-Help for Your Nerves has helped tens of millions of people, and continues to do so. Yet even as letters and phone calls from readers around the world flooded in, thanking her for helping to improve — and in some cases to save — their lives, Dr Claire Weekes was dismissed as underqualified and overly populist by the psychiatric establishment. Just who was this woman, and what was her very valuable advice?