"I am 32 years old. Height: just under six foot. Weight: ten and a half stone. Waist size: 32 on a good day. I have never been seriously ill or had an operation that required a general anaesthetic, I'm not allergic to anything that I know of, apart from magical realist novels and films starring Kate Beckinsale. Increasingly though I worry. I worry about illness and death..." Do you worry that spots are cancerous? That headaches are caused by tapeworm larvae burrowing into your brain (cysticercosis, it's called)? That shoulder twinges are cardiovascular accidents waiting to happen? If so, you're almost certainly a hypochondriac, But don't worry about it, And don't whatever you do, let anyone make you feel guilty or ashamed. As this hilarious book shows, hypochondria is the only sane response to modern life - an illness in itself (hurrah!), and part of a noble tradition of neurosis stretching back thousands of years. From Darwin to Tolstoy, many of history's greatest writers and thinkers have been incorrigible hypochondriacs, They understood what too many of us have forgotten: that you can only get better by imagining the worst. So let's do it!
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This short, witty and beautifully observed book is going to have you laughing all the way to your likely early grave... --Daily Mail
Not only is O'Connell a marvellously sympathetic narrator, half-humorous and half-hysterical, he can actually make you anxious as you read. --Scotland on Sunday
A shamelessly endearing memoir of imagined illness --Zoe Williams
Not only is O'Connell a marvellously sympathetic narrator, half-humorous and half-hysterical, he can actually make you anxious as you read. --Scotland on Sunday
A shamelessly endearing memoir of imagined illness --Zoe Williams
About the Author
John O'Connell was born in 1972. His writing has appeared in Time Out, The Times, New Statesman and The Face. He lives in south London with his wife and daughter.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
By q hammer
Format:Hardcover
There is a stream of laugh-out-loud moments in this slim volume, which mixes humour and erudition to entertaining effect. Hard to put down if you're the sort of person who develops a headache and wonders if there could be a sinister cause. Wouldn't want to be John O'Connell's doctor though!
By Lulev
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Being a fully paid up member of the Hypocondriacs Anonymous, I loved this book !
Funny and interesting too !
Funny and interesting too !
By Louise
Format:Paperback
This book is ideal for anyone who has ever worried about their health but at the same time worried that others would think them mad if they ever mentioned their anxieties. O'Connell shows that many many normal people worry unjustly about their health and assume worst case scenario when faced with minor symptons. His honesty was refreshing and reassuring. I found it particularly helpful to know that someone else had experienced exactly the same irrational thoughts. He does all this whilst maintaining wit and humour and I laughed my way through most of this book.
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