The Balanced Brain

Simply brilliant. This is science writing at its best. If you want to understand mental health - really understand it - read this book

Nichola Raihani, author of The Social Instinct

This excellent book is a breath of fresh air . . . anyone reading it will come away with a kinder, better understanding of themselves. A clear-thinking tour of the latest research from a leading mental health scientist and an accessible exploration of how our bodies and minds make us feel the way we do - for better or worse

Lucy Foulkes, author of What Mental Illness Really Is… (and what it isn’t)

Extremely relevant . . . a highly readable synthesis of the neuroscience underpinning mental health and its treatment

Simon Baron-Cohen

Fascinating . . . Camilla Nord, one of our most original thinkers, writes compellingly about the complexities of the brain and mental health. She presents new insights from neuroscience about how the brain generates our mental state, thoughts, moods and feelings, and what happens when things go wrong. This thought-provoking book is an essential resource

Sarah-Jayne Blakemore, author of INVENTING OURSELVES

Rigorous, engagingly personal . . . provides an exciting snapshot of what we know so far about this vital organ’s importance for maintaining our mental health

Peter Carty, iNews

Compelling…optimistic…her writing is masterfully nuanced in its treatment of depression, without sacrificing the clarity of her argument

David Robson, the Observer

A fascinating read, one that is able to make sense of unexpected connections . . . Nord makes a compelling case for rejecting any clear distinction between mental and physical illness

Sophie McBain, The Times

Compelling, revolutionary, compassionate . . . sharp-witted and intelligent . . . both down-to-earth and insightful . . . Nord provides an understanding of the brain which readers can leverage to conduct their own mental-health enhancing experiments

Niamh Jimenez, The Irish Times

Engaging, refreshingly open and fair-minded . . . Explains how our brains come to experience the world as they do, considering pain, pleasure, the mind-body connection and how events shape our outlook

Pippa Bailey, New Statesman

The Balanced Brain a fascinating tour of the latest research… and an examination of treatments… Nord’s careful argument is that mental health requires a kind of homeostatis in the brain that will be influenced by different factors for everyone. It is a refreshing counterblast to many popular ideas about wellbeing

Sarah Collins, Prospect

Nord… weaves stories from her personal and professional life skilfully into a scientific analysis of the huge range of treatments available

the Financial Times Best Books of 2023

This brilliant first book goes into greater detail on the mental health implications of the predictive mind, as well as on the often surprising connections between the corporeal and the emotional. You’ll never look at yourself the same way again

Prospect Book of the Year 2023

A clear-eyed look at the neuroscience of mental health… The Balanced Brain is an enlightening round-up of what scientists know about the workings of the brain, and how they know it

the Economist

A superb introduction . . . a self-help book of sorts but in a very different class . . .sympathetically addresses questions that are frequently asked, with honesty and clarity . . . you will find useful pointers to improving your wellbeing

Uta Frith, Booklaunch

An empowering and enlightening book that challenges traditional notions of mental health and offers a fresh perspective on achieving well-being

BJPsych Bulletin

Highly accessible and elegantly crafted . . . It wasn’t until reading Camilla Nord’s The Balanced Brain that I felt excited about the contributions that neuroscience is making to mental health . . . Nord masterfully distils what seems like a lifetime’s worth of research into a synthesis that is both readable and engaging . . . it has the potential to be the foundational popular text in the field

Toby Engelking, The Psychologist