“One day in our early lives as women, everything changes. We start bleeding. It is the beginning of our menstrual cycle and it renders us different…”
‘Hormonal’ is a familiar label for any women exhibiting less than maximum self-control. In this book, Eleanor Morgan dismantles the taboos about women and their health – rejecting the idea that female bodies are mysterious, unknowable and, most importantly, in need of constant surveillance lest they go awry.
Morgan investigates the modern landscape of women and health, from contraception to PMS, anxiety and depression, examining our relationship with our bodies and what goes on inside them over the course of our reproductive lives. She also connects the historical stigma of the ‘hysterical’ woman to the edicts of the medical establishment and the #MeToo movement, detailing how women’s pain is still systematically dismissed and coded by men.
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"There is power in knowing ourselves better," writes Eleanor Morgan in her second book. Power through knowledge is precisely what she sets out to give the readers in this exploration into the myriad ways the body affects the mind. From a refresher course on the menstrual cycle to the societal and cultural ways in which women's bodies are controlled, Hormonal feels like an essential guide in helping us truly understand our cores” – Vogue
“Morgan peels away the mysteries of hormonal changes while stating clearly how long these discussions have been silenced. It's both fascinating and a huge relief to take this fresh look at our innermost selves in the company of a wise and kind voice” – Grazia
"The joy of Eleanor Morgan's guide is just how revealing and informative it is . . . she has created a go-to manual that also acts as an understanding of our minds as well as our bodies - how hormones can affect your self-belief, anxiety levels, confidence and beyond. An essential read for all adults, it should also be made part of the core curriculum up and down the land” – Stylist
“Hormonal is properly fascinating. This issue is huge and affects everything in our lives” –Sali Hughes, Guardian Weekend columnist, author of Pretty Honest: The Straight-Talking Beauty Companion and Our Rainbow Queen
“Hormonal had me raging. It is brilliant on the fundamentally ignored reality of the female body, how women’s pain was/is not gauged kindly nor accurately, and the consequences of this for all of us. informative, funny, moving and wise. A must read. Should be on the bloody curriculum” – Jessie Burton, Author of The Miniaturist, The Muse and The Restless Girls
“An urgent page-turner connecting the thread between the author's own reproductive history and the cultural, political, and social factors that convince women their bodies are up for grabs, Morgan makes a convincing case for calling out the patriarchal systems that substitute the word 'crazy' for real care. Reading Hormonal should be a rite of passage for every woman who wants to relearn her body and reclaim her self” – Sheila Hamilton, Emmy Award-winning journalist, author of All the Things We Never knew: Chasing the Chaos of Mental Illness and host of the podcast Beyond Well
![A Foyles paperback of the year, Anxiety for Beginners offers a vivid insight into the often crippling impact of anxiety; a condition that is frequently invisible, shrouded in shame and misunderstood. It serves as a guide for those who live with anxiety and those who live with it by proxy.Combining her own experiences (rendered in emotive detail) with extensive research with experts (neuroscientists, psychiatrists, psychologists and fellow sufferers – including some familiar faces), Eleanor Morgan explores not just the roots of her own anxiety, but also investigates what might be contributing to so many of us suffering around the world.Anxiety for Beginners is, at its heart, a book about acceptance, as Morgan discovers the ways in which people can live a life that is not just manageable but enjoyable, learning to accept anxiety as part of who we are rather than spending a life fighting and being ashamed of it.Buy it.“… [A] powerful and beautifully written account of her experiences with anxiety and depression, and a rigorously researched examination of why they happen and how they can be managed… As well as speaking to fellow sufferers, Morgan consults psychiatrists, psychologists, OCD specialists, gastroenterologists and nutritionists, and bones up on Kierkegaard, Freud and Hippocrates (the latter was the first to describe a patient with social anxiety). It is with a mixture of humanity and clear-sightedness that she analyses genetic and environmental influences, trauma, hormones, fertility, parenthood, medication, social stigma and language, all the while linking back to her own stories and those of fellow sufferers. In assuming the dual role of memoirist and investigative journalist, Morgan gradually comes to terms with her own anxiety disorder. She offers no firm answers or miracle cures, and is careful to remind us that, when it comes to mental illness, no two cases are the same. Her willingness to share what so many others strive to keep hidden, to thoroughly demystify her condition, is courageous and compelling.” – The Guardian“Morgan writes with some flair – not just about her experience of anxiety, of feeling “locked in [her] own universe”, subject to catastrophic thinking that “works like a line of dominoes”, but also about the way that anxiety complicates sufferers’ “relationship with the passing of time; the elasticity of it, how it can snap and sting”, leading them to look back on their past as “soiled by anxiety – or half-real.” – The New Statesman“Interwoven with studies, reports, quotes from experts and statistics, there’s much humanity; Eleanor regales the reader with beautiful descriptions of the visceral, the sad, and the joyful. Even if you’re not dealing with mental health problems, her tone is welcoming and friendly.” – The Debrief“This fusion of memoir and scientific investigation is very accessible. It begins with a vivid description of a panic attack that Morgan suffered at 17 in the middle of biology class. “Within seconds I was convinced I was about to detonate there on my wooden stool” as the blackboard went blurry, her head started to prickle and her hands went numb. As well as speaking to fellow sufferers, Morgan consults psychiatrists, psychologists, OCD specialists and nutritionists. With a generous dollop of humanity Morgan analyses genetic and environmental influences on anxiety as well as hormones, fertility, trauma and medication, all the while interspersing science with her own stories and those of fellow sufferers.” – The Irish Times“Morgan has released one of the most concise, comprehensive and gratifyingly engaging books on mental illness in a very long time. While in school, the journalist had her first panic attack; one minute, she was learning biology, the next, she felt as though 'death became a certainty'. The moment left a grim legacy, and Morgan has spent the ensuing years managing her anxiety disorder and dealing with the occasional full-blown depressive episode. Morgan weaves personal experience with plenty of research, and the result is an authoritative, absorbing read. A cast of dozens – psychologists, OCD specialists, neurologists, nutritionists – helped Morgan to present a thorough and clear-eyed introduction to the condition that has baffled so many”. – The Irish Independent](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cd012b12abd98ffeab0629/1589209137468-7EKD81L658PE0GGQ90OO/AFB.jpg)
A Foyles paperback of the year, Anxiety for Beginners offers a vivid insight into the often crippling impact of anxiety; a frequently invisible condition, often shrouded in shame and misunderstood. It serves as a guide for those who live with anxiety and those who live with it by proxy.
Combining her own experiences (rendered in emotive detail) with extensive research with experts (neuroscientists, psychiatrists, psychologists and fellow sufferers – including some familiar faces), Eleanor Morgan explores not just the roots of her own anxiety, but also investigates what might be contributing to so many of us suffering around the world.
Anxiety for Beginners is, at its heart, a book about acceptance, as Morgan discovers the ways in which people can live a life that is not just manageable but enjoyable, learning to accept anxiety as part of who we are rather than spending a life fighting and being ashamed of it.
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“… [A] powerful and beautifully written account of her experiences with anxiety and depression, and a rigorously researched examination of why they happen and how they can be managed… As well as speaking to fellow sufferers, Morgan consults psychiatrists, psychologists, OCD specialists, gastroenterologists and nutritionists, and bones up on Kierkegaard, Freud and Hippocrates (the latter was the first to describe a patient with social anxiety). It is with a mixture of humanity and clear-sightedness that she analyses genetic and environmental influences, trauma, hormones, fertility, parenthood, medication, social stigma and language, all the while linking back to her own stories and those of fellow sufferers. In assuming the dual role of memoirist and investigative journalist, Morgan gradually comes to terms with her own anxiety disorder. She offers no firm answers or miracle cures, and is careful to remind us that, when it comes to mental illness, no two cases are the same. Her willingness to share what so many others strive to keep hidden, to thoroughly demystify her condition, is courageous and compelling.” – The Guardian
“Morgan writes with some flair – not just about her experience of anxiety, of feeling “locked in [her] own universe”, subject to catastrophic thinking that “works like a line of dominoes”, but also about the way that anxiety complicates sufferers’ “relationship with the passing of time; the elasticity of it, how it can snap and sting”, leading them to look back on their past as “soiled by anxiety – or half-real.” – The New Statesman
“Interwoven with studies, reports, quotes from experts and statistics, there’s much humanity; Eleanor regales the reader with beautiful descriptions of the visceral, the sad, and the joyful. Even if you’re not dealing with mental health problems, her tone is welcoming and friendly.” – The Debrief
“This fusion of memoir and scientific investigation is very accessible. It begins with a vivid description of a panic attack that Morgan suffered at 17 in the middle of biology class. “Within seconds I was convinced I was about to detonate there on my wooden stool” as the blackboard went blurry, her head started to prickle and her hands went numb. As well as speaking to fellow sufferers, Morgan consults psychiatrists, psychologists, OCD specialists and nutritionists. With a generous dollop of humanity Morgan analyses genetic and environmental influences on anxiety as well as hormones, fertility, trauma and medication, all the while interspersing science with her own stories and those of fellow sufferers.” – The Irish Times
“Morgan has released one of the most concise, comprehensive and gratifyingly engaging books on mental illness in a very long time. While in school, the journalist had her first panic attack; one minute, she was learning biology, the next, she felt as though 'death became a certainty'. The moment left a grim legacy, and Morgan has spent the ensuing years managing her anxiety disorder and dealing with the occasional full-blown depressive episode. Morgan weaves personal experience with plenty of research, and the result is an authoritative, absorbing read. A cast of dozens – psychologists, OCD specialists, neurologists, nutritionists – helped Morgan to present a thorough and clear-eyed introduction to the condition that has baffled so many”. – The Irish Independent