Let Me Not Be Mad

Let Me Not Be Mad is an immersive, virtuosic and provocative investigation of madness, love and self-destruction that defies categorisation.

'Exhilarating ... dazzling ... a miraculous feat' Guardian

'I have rarely read a more haunting and enthralling account of a descent into madness' Stephen Fry

A consulting room with two people in it. One of them is talking, the other is listening. Both of them need help.

Throughout his life, A. K. Benjamin has found himself drawn to extreme behaviour: as a contemplative monk, an advocate for homeless addicts, a support-worker for gang members and for many years as a Clinical Neuropsychologist.

His book begins as a series of clinical encounters with anonymised patients. But with each encounter, it becomes increasingly and disturbingly apparent that what we are reading is not really about the patients – it is, instead, about the author's own fevered descent into mental illness as he confronts his traumatic past.

'Stunning: clever, troubling, restless, honest, dishonest' Olivia Laing

'Blackly comic, warmly compassionate, a unique take on the human mind' Stewart Lee