Living in picturesque coastal Sussex, Patricia Philipps enjoys her quiet life—walking the cliffs, shouting at poorly disciplined dog owners, telling tourists to keep their distance from the crumbling cliff edges, and cold-water swimming.

Then a body washes up near Beachy Head, upending her carefully curated life as she discovers the deceased is one of her clients—her “Three O’Clock,” in fact.

The police chalk it up to suicide, but Pat sees things differently. She reads people. She understands them—their lusts, their loves, their quirks, their ticks, their tells, their deepest desires. She looks, she listens, she watches. And she never jumps to conclusions. After all, she spends her days listening to secrets, resentments, fantasies, and motives. She’s certain someone wanted Henry Clayton dead.

With her chaotic best friend Pritchard (part-time poet, full-time meddler) in tow, Pat swaps the therapist’s couch for the crime scene. It’s time to unpick the lies, untangle the egos, and catch a killer hiding in plain sight.

There is no simple set of instructions that can guarantee sanity, but if you want to overcome emotional difficulties and become happier, psychotherapist Philippa Perry argues that there are four cornerstones to sanity you can influence to bring about change.

By developing your self-observation skills, examining how you relate to others, breaking out of your comfort zone and exploring new ways of defining yourself, Philippa demonstrates that it is possible to become a little less tortured and a little more fulfilled. How to Stay Sane is at once a brilliant explanation of our minds and a profoundly useful guide to facing up to the many challenges life throws our way.

Discover more inspirational guides from The School of Life series: How to Find Fulfilling Work by Roman Krznaric, How to Worry Less About Money by John Armstrong, How to Change the World by John-Paul Flintoff, How to Thrive in the Digital Age by Tom Chatfield and How to Think More About Sex by Alain de Botton.

How can we have better relationships?

In this instant Sunday Times bestseller, leading psychotherapist Philippa Perry reveals the vital do's and don'ts of relationships. This is a book for us all. Whether you are interested in understanding how your upbringing has shaped you, looking to handle your child's feelings or wishing to support your partner, you will find indispensable information and realistic tips in these pages.

Philippa Perry's sane, sage and judgement-free advice is an essential resource on how to have the best possible relationships with the people who matter to you most.

Her 3 o’clock just became a murder case...

When a body is found near Beachy Head, the police chalk it up to suicide — a tragic but not uncommon end in these parts. But local psychotherapist Patricia Phillips isn’t convinced. The victim? Her three o’clock patient, Henry Clayton.

The cause of death is supposedly self-inflicted. Yet Pat can’t shake the belief that someone wanted Henry Clayton dead. She spends her working life listening to histories and secrets, and she has a nose for when a story doesn’t quite ring true.

Drawn from the therapy room to the crime scene, Pat begins to notice what others appear to overlook.

At her side is her best friend Prichard — a home-brewer of fearsome, stomach-turning concoctions, an excellent cook, and a man who seems to get along with everyone. Which makes him useful for infiltrating village life. s Pat and Prichard look beneath the village’s thin veneer of normality — one that barely conceals its appetites — they discover a killer hiding in plain sight.

Shrink Solves Murder is a warm, witty, and perceptive crime caper.

How can we have better relationships?

In this instant Sunday Times bestseller, leading psychotherapist Philippa Perry reveals the vital do's and don'ts of relationships. This is a book for us all. Whether you are interested in understanding how your upbringing has shaped you, looking to handle your child's feelings or wishing to support your partner, you will find indispensable information and realistic tips in these pages.

Philippa Perry's sane, sage and judgement-free advice is an essential resource on how to have the best possible relationships with the people who matter to you most.

Foreword by Philippa Perry

‘Based on groundbreaking research that has the power to change the lives of countless children - and the adults who love them.’ – Susan Cain, New York Times bestselling author of Quiet'

A necessary and important book.' - Philippa Perry, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Book You Wish Your Parents Had Read

Are you a hardy and resilient dandelion, or are you a more sensitive and fragile orchid?

Building on the definitions of introvert, extrovert or highly sensitive, The Orchid and the Dandelion exposes – for the first time – how a combination of environmental and genetic factors contribute to what makes us who we are. This breakthrough research explains why some people struggle where others succeed, why happiness comes so easily to some while frustrations weigh more heavily on others.

In The Orchid and the Dandelion, Dr W. Thomas Boyce – one of the world’s foremost researchers in the field of pediatric health – presents findings that children have two very different responses to their environments. While some children are like dandelions and can thrive in almost any environment, there are others who, like orchids, are much more reactive and susceptible to their surroundings. Now we finally have a scientific framework to understand people and how to address their unique needs to help them find their fullest potential.

This groundbreaking book draws on extensive research into genetics and the exploding field of epigenetics, examples and real stories that will re-frame how we think about orchid and dandelion children – and the adults those children have become. By understanding which of us are, genetically and environmentally speaking, the orchids of this world, Dr Boyce explains how to care for and parent our children – the true orchids. He shows how we can help them thrive by sharing insights and lessons from his thirty years of research in the field.

'A gem' - The Evening Standard 'Pure book joy. Deep thinking made digestible & doled up with lashings of wit' Bernardine Evaristo on Twitter 'So smart and interesting!' Fearne Cotton on Instagram ____________________________________________________________________________ Ever wanted to know what really happens in a therapist's consultation room? Bestselling author Philippa Perry (The Book You Wish Your Parents Had Read) turns her keen insights to the power of therapy. This compelling study of psychotherapy in the form of a graphic novel vividly explores a year's therapy sessions as a search for understanding and truth. Beautifully illustrated by Flo Perry, author of How to Have Feminist Sex, and accompanied by succinct and illuminating footnotes, this book offers a witty and thought-provoking exploration of the therapeutic journey, considering a range of skills, insights and techniques along the way. ______________________________________________________________________________ 'I loved it. I smiled and laughed. And nodded. One to read' Susie Orbach, author of In Therapy '(Full of) wit and good sense (...) Philippa is a tonic' Rachel Cooke, Observer

From the internationally bestselling author of The Book You Wish Your Parents Had Read comes the next book of wisdom and advice for navigating all of your most important relationships. Life is all about relationships and the quality of those connections, whether that's with family, partners, friends, colleagues or most importantly yourself. If you can get those relationships on a functional and even keel, then the other tricky stuff that life throws your way becomes easier to manage. In this warm, practical and witty book, No.1 Sunday Times bestselling psychotherapist Philippa Perry shows you how to approach life's big problems. How do you find and keep love? What can you do to manage conflict better? How can you get unstuck and cope with change and loss? What does it mean to you to be content? Are other people just annoying or are you the problem? With a healthy dose of sanity, Philippa Perry's compassionate advice could help you become a happier, wiser person. Includes some material adapted from the Ask Philippa columns in Observer Magazine.

An" Economist" Best Book of the Year
Everyone accepts the importance of physical health; isn't it just as important to aim for the mental equivalent? Philippa Perry has come to the rescue with "How to Stay Sane" -- a maintenance manual for the mind.

Years of working as a psychotherapist showed Philippa Perry what approaches produced positive change in her clients and how best to maintain good mental health. In "How to Stay Sane," she has taken these principles and applied them to self-help. Using ideas from neuroscience and sound psychological theory, she shows us how to better understand ourselves. Her idea is that if we know how our minds form and develop, we are less at the mercy of unknown unconscious processes. In this way, we can learn to be the master of our feelings and not their slave.

This is a smart, pithy, readable book that everyone with even a passing interest in their psychological health will find useful.