Is Literature Healthy?

Emily Chester, British Society for Literature and Science A very thorough and convincing account contributes a highly original, succinct and probing analysis of how literature might be reconceptualised as an aid to turn to in times of human struggle and difficulty.

Christina Petrie, Times Literary Supplement A clear-eyed account of the use of literature and reading groups in therapeutic and clinical settings ... Yet her book stands out because it resists the funding-friendly notion that literature can be "prescribed" to make people feel better -- that it is just "cheerily uplifting". Instead, she argues that the "good moments" brought about by reading occur because there are no "set aims and outcomes".

Neil Vickers, BMJ blog we desperately need more books like Billington's that address us quietly and clearly, about something very basic. Literature and the literary have lost their cachet in our field. If you want to know why it should be restored, read this book. The case could not be better made.

Dr Neil Vickers, Medical Humanities The medical humanities have become more complex and more theoretically savvy over the years. But we desperately need more books like Billingtons that address us quietly and clearly, about something very basic. Literature and the literary have lost their cachet in our field. If you want to know why it should be restored, read this book. The case could not be better made.

Josie Billington is Deputy Director of the Centre for Research into Reading at the University of Liverpool.

Introduction: Medical Humanities, History and Development, Ancient to Present 1: Illness and Health 2: Narrative and Storytelling 3: Reading Groups, Private Reading, Personal Reading Conclusion: Futures