Polly Morland Book order

A moving, evocative account of a rural GP in a remote rural location.

Most of us would like to change something about ourselves, although all too often we feel that we can't. But change is not an event - it is a process at which we are more skilled than we realise, a metamorphosis that lies within our grasp.Why would a violinist become a policeman, or a monk fall in love? How does someone lose eighteen stone in as many months or a follower of radical Islam turn his back on holy war? When might taking a new name usher in a new life? And how does a family adapt to the brain injury that changes their son or brother beyond recognition? Using complex ideas from psychology, philosophy and neuroscience, Polly Morland illuminates real life experiences to explore how we might live better, happier lives.

Through a series of nine wonderfully rich portraits, Polly Morland takes us on a journey through the world of risk, looking not at the extremes or exceptions, but at the routine risks we accept and embrace as part of our everyday lives, often unconsciously. The stories in Risk Wise address fundamental questions about risk and our perceptions about risk-taking. It argues that being risk wise—the ability to understand and accept risk as a force for good—is an essential part of the human experience and a route to living a full and rewarding life.

This book is a modern investigation of an ancient virtue, inspired by a group for stage-frightened musicians in 1940s Manhattan. Coinciding with the terrifying height of World War Two, it was called The Society of Timid Souls. Seventy years later, as fear about everything from terrorism to economic meltdown has become part of our daily lives, Polly Morland reconvenes the society, setting out to discover what it means to be brave in an age of anxiety.Her journey - and this book - is full of amazing people and surprising ideas. It explores how and why people are brave, from battlefield to hospital ward, circus tightrope to suburban street, disaster zone to political protest. It throws light on some of the myths and lies that surround our favourite virtue. And most of all, it asks, can we learn to be brave?