Virago to publish psychiatrist's addiction non-fiction

Dr Henrietta Bowden-Jones, founder of the National Problem Gambling Clinic and responsible for the imminent launch of the first NHS Centre for Internet Disorders, is writing a book about addictions for Virago.

In The Addicted Mind: A Doctor’s Life Treating Excess, Bowden-Jones will use case studies, her own research and experience as a psychiatrist to try and explain compulsive behaviours. She also uses her life story - from her bohemian Italian upbringing in the 1960s to the present day as a London-based psychiatrist - to give "a searing exploration of the psychological distress caused by addiction".

According to Virago, despite encountering her patients' suffering on a daily basis, her outlook is optimistic, driven by her belief in "the amazing ability of the human mind to be healed". Lennie Goodings, Virago chair, bought world rights from Jonathan Conway to publish in autumn 2019.