PMJ acquires book from TikTok psychologist Dr Julie Smith

Penguin Michael Joseph have acquired Why Has No One Told Me This Before?, the first book from TikToker and clinical psychologist Dr Julie Smith. 

Smith has over 10 years' experience as a clinical psychologist and started her TikTok channel with the mission of making top-quality mental health education accessible online. She now has 2.7 million followers on TikTok, as well as a combined 400,000 followers across Instagram and YouTube. 

In her first book, Smith will share tools readers need to deal with life's ups and downs and feel calm and resilient every day. From managing anxiety, dealing with criticism or battling low mood, to building self-confidence, finding motivation or learning to forgive yourself, this book aims to tackle the everyday issues and offer easy, practical solutions.  

Ione Walder, editorial director, acquired world English rights including audio from Abigail Bergstrom, head of publishing at Gleam Titles. Publication is slated for 6th January 2022. 

Walder commented: "Dr Julie has built an incredible online audience who look to her for relatable, reassuring, practical advice to help them cope with whatever life throws their way. I’m so pleased to be working with Julie to distil her knowledge, wisdom and techniques into an immensely helpful and positive resource that anyone can turn to for instantly better mental health. This will be a self-help book for all those people who never thought they’d read a self-help book – and for the rest too!"

Smith said: "In therapy you don't only talk. You also learn a lot about how your mind works and how to use that to your advantage. In this book I want to share those insights with the world so that everyone can make use of them in everyday life. A toolkit for staying resilient in hard times and optimising mental health every day."