I’m the author of eleven books of non-fiction, and write about medicine, culture, and travel. I became a doctor in 1999, after first studying Neuroscience.

Some of my books explore aspects of medicine and culture.  My new book is due out on 12 February 2026 – called The Unfragile Mind, it explores the current landscape of mental health, arguing that the mind is dynamic and adaptive – better addressed not with rigid labels and protocols, but with curiosity, kindness, humility and hope. My first, Adventures in Human Being (2015), was a Sunday Times Bestseller and won Saltire Non-Fiction Book of the Year 2015, was the Observer’s Science Book of the Year, and was a winner in the BMA Book Awards.  Shapeshifters: On Medicine & Human Change (2018), was a book of the year in the Sunday Times and the Scotsman.  Intensive Care: a GP, a Community, & a Pandemic (2021) was a notable book of the year in The Herald, Scotsman, Financial Times, Observer, Irish Times, and New Statesman. Recovery: The Lost Art of Convalescence (2022) was a Sunday Times bestseller.  Free For All – Why the NHS is Worth Saving (2023) was a passionate defence of the founding principles of the NHS, and an exploration of how and why it should be supported. All six are published by Profile Books and the Wellcome Collection.

My travel books include True North: Travels in Arctic Europe (2008); Empire Antarctica: Ice, Silence & Emperor Penguins (2012) which was SMIT Scottish Book of the Year 2013 and shortlisted for the Costa, Ondaatje, Banff, & Saltire Prizes; Island Dreams: Mapping an Obsession (2020) was shortlisted for Waterstones Book of the Year. My most recent travel book is The Bridge Between Worlds – a Brief History of Connection (2024). All four are published by Canongate Books in new editions with introductions from Colin Thubron, Sara Wheeler, Cal Flyn, and Raja Shehadeh respectively.

I’m a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, and the Royal College of General Practitioners. My books have been translated into twenty languages.