Description
By (author) Suzanne O’Sullivan Short description/annotation:An ambitious book about modern diagnosis from the neurologist and prize-winning author of It”s All In Your Head.Description:
***THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER***A RADIO 4 BOOK OF THE WEEK A BEST BOOK OF 2025 IN THE TIMES, FINANCIAL TIMES, GUARDIAN, LONDON STANDARD, NEW STATESMAN AND IRISH TIMES ”Covers so many topics that have been troubling me but I hadn”t been able to resolve myself – as a parent and a clinician. An absolutely absorbing read” – CHRIS VAN TULLEKEN”A brilliant study of the dangers of overdiagnosis” – GUARDIAN”Compassionate and bracingly independent thinking” – THE TIMES
From autism to allergies, ADHD to long Covid, more people are being labelled with medical conditions than ever before. But can a diagnosis do us more harm than good?The boundaries between sickness and health are being redrawn. Mental health categories are shifting and expanding all the time, radically altering what we consider to be ”normal”. Genetic tests can now detect pathologies decades before people experience symptoms, and sometimes before they”re even born. And increased health screening draws more and more people into believing they are unwell.An accurate diagnosis can bring greater understanding and of course improved treatment. But many diagnoses aren”t as definitive as we think. And in some cases they risk turning healthy people into patients.Drawing on the stories of real people, as well as decades of clinical practice and the latest medical research, Dr Suzanne O”Sullivan overturns long held assumptions and reframes how we think about illness and health.*As heard on Good Morning Britain, Sky News, Radio 4 Today and more.*Review quote:”Exceptional… Chapter by brilliant chapter, [The Age of Diagnosis] raises fundamental questions we should all be asking when thinking about illness, be it cancer or genetic disorders, never shying away from difficult truths.”Review quote:These are incredibly difficult areas to explore…O”Sullivan is brave to take this subject on, and she hits the target… O”Sullivan is an excellent, fluid writer, and an eloquent speaker… In a world where medical misinformation and disinformation flourish, and people die as a result, it takes courage to counter them without pandering to stereotypes. But that is what The Age of Diagnosis does so well… Its overall message is clear: diagnosis is a tool to be wielded with the utmost caution, and tolerance for difference and for imperfection can go a long way in keeping us healthy.Review quote:”The neurologist takes eloquent aim at a medical culture that, although well intentioned, is too quick to assign clinical labels to aspects of the human condition. The rise in diagnoses of ADHD and autism, she points out, have not produced healthier, happier children; increasingly sensitive cancer screening does not always seem to benefit patients. A brave and compassionate book.”Review quote:The Age of Diagnosis covers so many topics that have been troubling me but which I hadn”t been able to resolve myself. It slices through the confusion and the contradictions that have tied me in knots – both as a parent and as a clinician – with grace, elegance and compassion. It is scholarly and human, but an absolutely absorbing read from start to finish. There are very few people who could write this so straightforwardly and yet with endless compassion. I really cannot say good enough things about it.Review quote:How does she carr
