After graduating from Leicester Medical School, I worked as a hospital doctor before specialising in psychiatry. I wrote my debut novel in an NHS car park in my lunchbreak, just for fun (I thought my mum might read it)

My first two novels, The Trouble with Goats and Sheep and Three Things about Elsie, were both Sunday Times bestsellers and Richard and Judy picks. My first non-fiction book, Breaking and Mending, a memoir about my experience as a junior doctor, was published in 2019 to critical acclaim. I am a regular panellist on radio, TV and at literary festivals across the country, including Edinburgh, Cheltenham and Hay. My writing has appeared in a variety of publications, including The Times, The Daily Telegraph, The Mail on Sunday, The Independent, The Sunday Times, Good Housekeeping Magazine and The Observer. I’ve also been a guest on BBC Radio 2, BBC Breakfast, BBC Radio 4, BBC Radio London and Five Live, and I regularly review books for The Guardian. I co-wrote and presented the BBC Radio 4 programme Papageno and the Poetry of Disquiet, about the relationship between poetry and mental health. You can listen to it here.

Together, my books have sold almost a million copies and have been translated into 14 languages. My third novel, A Tidy Ending, was published in April 2022.

I left school at fifteen with one O-level and worked my way through many different jobs before returning to education in my thirties and qualifying as a doctor. My work as a psychiatrist and my interest in people on the fringes of society continue to inspire my writing.

I live in the Peak District with my dog Lewis. When I’m not writing, I enjoy walking the fields with Lewis, baking, watching football, buying unnecessary clothes and reading (of course).