Stephen Fry had this to say about a book by fellow British comedian and actor Ruby Wax:

“Very few will be able to read this wonderful contribution to the literature of mental health without recognizing some part of themselves and certainly someone they know. A ruby beyond price.”

In Sane New World: A User’s Guide to the Normal-Crazy Mind, Ruby Wax offers a practical, solution-based approach for understanding how the brain can send people into a tailspin of rumination and depression.

There are laugh-out-loud observations and testimonials that make this book light reading at times, but plainly serious at others. It is filled with aha moments that will lead readers to better understand themselves and others.

After decades in television and radio, Ruby Wax earned a master’s degree in cognitive therapy from Oxford University, which helped her better understand her lifelong battle with bipolar disorder and depression.

She points out that shame often comes with mental health disorders, but suggests finding at least one person, perhaps a fellow sufferer, who will not dismiss your struggles as self-indulgent. She asks, “Why can’t we have meeting places like in AA (Alcoholics Anonymous), where they all get together for their twelve-step thing and have cigarettes and cookies?”

As I read Sane New World, I felt like I was chatting with a caring friend. Part Three is the clearest explanation about the brain’s functions that I have ever read. The last two parts of the book present clear, practical mindfulness solutions intended to bring peace of mind.

In 2021, she published a followup workbook, A Mindfulness Guide for Survival. She also authored How to Be Human and A Mindfulness Guide for the Frazzled. Earlier in 2024, she released I’m Not as Well as I Thought I Was.