This is a text about getting unwell. About losing direction and hope. About imagining that we have let ourselves and everyone down. But it is also a book about getting better. About regaining the thread, rediscovering meaning and finding a way back to connection and joy. Here, Alain de Botton follows the arc of a mental health journey, from crisis to recuperation; the moments we realize we cannot cope; the acts of selfcare or therapy in which we find respite; and the days we finally reclaim a sense of stability. Written with understanding and kindness, it is both a source of companionship in our loneliest moments – whether it’s a relationship breakdown, a career setback or anxiety around the everyday – and a practical guide that will help us find reasons for hope.