CLH Book Group 📚 Age of Diagnosis by Suzanne O'Sullivan

May's Book: The Age of Diagnosis :Are Medical Labels Doing Us More Harm Than Good? by Suzanne O'Sullivan.

A BEST BOOK OF 2025 IN THE TIMES, SUNDAY TIMES, FINANCIAL TIMES, GUARDIAN, ECONOMIST, OBSERVER, LONDON STANDARD, NEW STATESMAN AND IRISH TIMES

'Revelatory. Slices through the contradictions that had tied me in knots.' - CHRIS VAN TULLEKEN
'So well-written. Raising awareness of something that is critically important.' - RANGAN CHATTERJEE

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.

The meeting starts at 7:30. Shortly after 7.30, we will break up into small groups. Those familiar with the CLH Book Group meeting know how this works: in each group we take turns introducing ourselves and giving our 1 minute thoughts on the book. It's important not to go over a minute and not to interrupt other people's minute so that everyone gets a chance to participate. After this first round, each group discusses for another 20 minutes or so.

We then shuffle the groups so as to talk to as many different people as possible and in the new groups repeat our introductions and 1 minute thoughts. We'll do this a couple of times before coming all together at the end in one last big group.

While we are very social and welcoming, the book group's primary focus is on discussing books. Feel free to turn up if you haven't managed to finish this month's book but note that the group works best when we have all read at least half of the book and are prepared to share our opinions.

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£3 per person to attend. If it's your first time, come and try us out for free!
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