Dear Reader,

Checking into a mental clinic wasn't exactly on my radar in 2022. Writing about it wasn't either. But here we are.

I spent a lifetime trying to create a 'front' to give everyone the illusion that all is well. It wasn't, and it isn't. Now I look back and I think, 'what the f*ck was that all about?'

I began the book trying to find meaning by going on various, life-changing journeys, I ended up in a mental clinic; obviously things didn't work out the way I expected. This is the story of what happened after the mental car crash . . . From then on, the journey had to turn inward. It turns out I wasn't looking for meaning, I was looking for home.

I'm not a fiction writer. I can't fake it. I could say I rode into the sunset, but life isn't like that unless you're a cowboy. Truth is I'm not as well as I thought I was.

These days, trying to stay sane in a completely chaotic world makes life incredibly difficult. For those readers who are deep in the darkness of mental illness, I hope my book makes you feel less alone.

Take care, love,
Ruby x

An honest and refreshing new exploration of mental health from mindfulness expert Ruby Wax. Bestselling author and comedian, Ruby Wax, takes a candid, dark, and witty dive through her life and personal experiences with mental health, providing solace and advice for anyone out there who realises they aren't as well as they thought they were. Checking into a psychiatric institution wasn't exactly on Ruby Wax's agenda for 2022 - writing about it wasn't either, but here we are. These days, trying to stay sane in a completely chaotic world makes life incredibly difficult, especially if you're struggling with your mental health. While searching for inner peace and equanimity amidst global chaos, Ruby realises that, ultimately, the most challenging gauntlet we all must face is ourselves. I'm Not as Well as I Thought I Was is Ruby's most honest, rawest book to date - an insight into the depths of her psyche, and a stark exploration of what trauma can do to someone. Reflecting on years of personal and professional experience, she opens up to readers about her struggles with mental health and different treatments over the years, hoping to provide reassurance and guidance to anyone confronting their own anticipated, or unanticipated, struggles with mental health.

'A true tour de force. We're all a little messed up in our own ways, but we should all strive to be as fabulously fearless as Ruby' Fearne Cotton Dear Reader, Checking into a mental clinic wasn't exactly on my radar in 2022. Writing about it wasn't either. But here we are. I spent a lifetime trying to create a 'front' to give everyone the illusion that all is well. It wasn't, and it isn't. Now I look back and I think, 'what the f*ck was that all about?' I began the book trying to find meaning by going on various, life-changing journeys, I ended up in a mental clinic; obviously things didn't work out the way I expected. This is the story of what happened after the mental car crash . . . From then on, the journey had to turn inward. It turns out I wasn't looking for meaning, I was looking for home. I'm not a fiction writer. I can't fake it. I could say I rode into the sunset, but life isn't like that unless you're a cowboy. Truth is I'm not as well as I thought I was. These days, trying to stay sane in a completely chaotic world makes life incredibly difficult. For those readers who are deep in the darkness of mental illness, I hope my book makes you feel less alone. Take care, love, Ruby x --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 'Nobody can make the serious funny and the funny serious quite like Ruby.' - Alastair Campbell 'If you buy only one book this year, make it this one.' - Joanna Lumley

The mental health and mindfulness bestseller from A Mindfulness Guide for the Frazzled and How to be Human author Ruby Wax, who shows us why and how our minds can send us mad and how we can rewire our thinking to calm ourselves in a frenetic world. 'Finally - a map for the troubled human mind. And it's funny.' -Caitlin Moran Ruby Wax - comedian, writer and mental health campaigner - shows us how our minds can jeopardize our sanity. With her own periods of depression and now a Masters from Oxford in Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy to draw from, she explains how our busy, chattering, self-critical thoughts drive us to anxiety and stress. If we are to break the cycle, we need to understand how our brains work, rewire our thinking and find calm in a frenetic world. Helping you become the master, not the slave, of your mind, here is the manual to saner living.

**The number one bestseller, with over 150,000 copies sold, which kick-started a mindfulness revolution**

'Ruby Wax has written a guide to mindfulness that's as hilarious as it is useful' Arianna Huffington

'We are all frazzled, all of us...'

Five hundred years ago no one died of stress: we invented this concept and now we let it rule us.

In A Mindfulness Guide for the Frazzled, Ruby Wax shows us how to de-frazzle for good by making simple changes that give us time to breathe, reflect and live in the moment. It's an easy-to-understand introduction to mindfulness, weaved together with Ruby's trademark wit and humour.

Let Ruby be your guide to a healthier, happier you. You've nothing to lose but your stress...

'With this marvellous book, Ruby Wax has confirmed her position as one of the most readable, inspirational and engaging writers in the field of human mental health, happiness and fulfilment.' Stephen Fry "It took us 4 billion years to evolve to where we are now - completely brilliant and yet, some might say, emotionally dwarfed. The question is: can our more empathetic side catch up in time to save us and the world? I've got nothing against smarts, but it's smarts without emotional awareness that got us into this position of being able to nuke each other into oblivion and rape the earth for oil." With a little help from a monk (who tells us how our mind works) and a neuroscientist (who tells us how our brain works), Ruby Wax answers every question you've ever had about: evolution, thoughts, emotions, the body, addictions, relationships, sex, kids, the future and compassion. Filled with witty anecdotes from Ruby's own life, and backed up by smart science and practical mindfulness exercises, How to be Human is the only manual you need right now to help you upgrade your mind as much as you've upgraded your iphone. 'Ruby has beautifully fused neurology and spirituality and given us a means to cope with operating both a mind and a brain. If this mental upgrade works then all other books will become defunct as we repose in bliss.' Russell Brand 'How to Be Human is, without exaggeration, a lifeline; wise, practical and funny, it is a handbook for those in despair. It is actually for everyone alive, for the curious, or disillusioned or muddled or just plain happy.' Joanna Lumley

'This book couldn't be more needed right now!' Nigella Lawson 'Ruby has a uniquely vibrant and clever way of thinking' Elizabeth Day 'The antidote to all Covid angst' Kathy Lette ___________________________ Bestselling author and comedian, Ruby Wax, uses her iconic wit and expertise to equip readers with a positive roadmap for a kinder, brighter world and better mental health. As we begin to see the green shoots of a post-pandemic world, Ruby Wax's clever and witty And Now for the Good News is the blueprint we all need for achieving a kinder, more compassionate world. Brimming with practical learnings, Ruby gives readers the opportunity to create lasting positive change and provides us all with a much-needed tonic for better mental health and wellbeing. She has spent the last three years speaking to the people who are spearheading the latest innovation and influencing a brighter future for humanity. From the communities being designed to eradicate loneliness and the companies putting their employees' happiness first, to the impressive AI technology teaching children with learning difficulties and taking literacy levels higher than ever before. And Now for the Good News distils her inspiring findings into key practical takeaways for all. Ruby's here to provide us all with a positive roadmap for a brighter world and most importantly, for better mental wellbeing. ___________________________ 'A fantastic tonic for the universal malaise' Ian McKellen 'Ruby can always be guaranteed to lift your spirits!' Annie Lennox

Dear Reader, I have written this workbook for you to use as a guide on how to drop anchor when life, and the world around you, gets too daunting. It's filled with exercises and information for when you're suddenly forced to confront the hard truths or as I like to call them the BIG SIX realities - difficult emotions, uncertainty, loneliness, change, dissatisfaction and death. It isn't just about how to get through a pandemic... Or the post-pandemic fall-out. It is a WAKE UP call. One that will increase your awareness of every moment through mindfulness. So SCRIBBLE in it. DOODLE in it. Take it EVERYWHERE. No one is going to see what's inside but you. This is not just another self-help book. Think of it as an evolve-yourself book. I do hope it helps you hold the rudder straight, no matter how turbulent the waves, and that you come out the other end buoyant, with a new appreciation for the privilege of life. Love RUBY x

Sunday Times Bestseller With a brand new introduction for 2020. How Do You Want Me? is critically acclaimed as brutally honest, vivid and gripping. Ruby Wax's unflinching revelation of a childhood poisoned, and a youth spoiled, culminates in a moving account of her breakdown and recovery. But How Do You Want Me? is also funny, rude and irreverent. It's unusually honest about fame and celebrity and happy to burst ego-balloons and golden myths. A brilliantly fast, furious and surprising read from the inimitable Ruby Wax.