'I'm so sick of hearing about family. Of feeling guilty for not enjoying family. Or being pressured into joining a standing ovation for a show I didn't particularly care for in the first place.' Two estranged sisters meet after twenty years. In a remote cottage over a single night they bury the hatchet. As their dying father lies in the room next door they're forced to confront who they were and who they've become. When the only person they have left in common disappears, is their relationship worth saving? Written by Max Dickins (The Man on the Moor and The Trunk), this darkly comic tale examines how a sibling can be both your best friend and your worst enemy. And asks the question: how can you forgive the past when you can't even agree what it looks like?

A Financial Times Top Business Book 2020 Improv performers look like creative geniuses, coming up with brilliant comedy on the spur of the moment. But they rely on some simple rules and techniques - ones which anyone can learn, and which can help us offstage to think creatively, collaborate with others and communicate with impact. Improvise! will show you how to handle whatever comes your way at work - from giving confident presentations and handling difficult conversations to coming up with great ideas and persuading others to make them happen. Comedian and improvisation for business coach Max Dickins combines examples from the world of work with exercises from the stage to teach you how to achieve extraordinary results with what you've already got.

'Where have all my friends gone?' When Max Dickins decided to propose to his girlfriend, he realised there was no one he could call on to be his best man. He quickly learned that he wasn't the only man struggling with friendships. For decades, countless studies from across the world have confirmed that men have fewer close friends than women - and the problem gets worse the older men get. But what goes wrong? And what can men do about it? Dickins is going to find out. His funny and charmingly candid search takes him to the doors of world-leading experts. It forces him to examine the friendships he's had over the years, and where they have foundered. And, briefly, it sends him to the website 'Rent A Friend', where he pays someone to hang out with him. But let's not dwell on that. Join Max as he takes a defibrillator to his social life. As he ultimately discovers that if he wants a Best Man, then he needs to be a better man.

Improv performers look like creative geniuses, coming up with brilliant comedy on the spur of the moment. But they rely on some simple rules and techniques – ones which anyone can learn, and which can help us offstage to think creatively, collaborate with others and communicate with impact.

Improvise! will show you how to handle whatever comes your way at work – from giving confident presentations and handling difficult conversations to coming up with great ideas and persuading others to make them happen.

Comedian and improvisation for business coach Max Dickins combines examples from the world of work with exercises from the stage to teach you how to achieve extraordinary results with what you’ve already got.