Hands

‘Raw, intense and absorbing.’ Matt Haig

‘As tender and funny as it is painful.’ TLS

‘I didn’t give my hands much thought before they turned against me. … They have been chipping away at my life, slowly, slowly, in a way I could never have predicted.’

Lauren Brown is anxious. And when she feels worried, she picks at her skin. Secretly, quietly, but increasingly compulsively, her skin-picking begins to affect her day-to-day life until she realizes she must unravel the reasons behind it.

This sparkling memoir follows the thread of Lauren’s anxiety – tangled and frayed – back to its source. Written with rare wit and insight, it is an attempt to redirect the anxiety that’s pooled in her fingertips for as long as she can remember, released in odd bursts in caravan parks, on European holidays, at GP surgeries and on the wind-stung north-east coast. It is a moving and joyful exploration of obsession, forgiveness, stigma and healing, and a true love-song to the north.

Thoughtful, unsparing and at times darkly comic, Hands is the masterful debut of a luminous new talent.

Reviews

‘Lauren articulates her experience of mental health difficulties in raw, intense and absorbing style.’ Matt Haig

‘What a book Lauren Brown has written! A new voice is here. Hands is bright and vivid in the scenes it summons up, brave in its candour, moving in the story it tells, and very often very funny.’ Robert Macfarlane

‘There is a warmth and intimacy to Lauren Brown’s writing. …She explores with sensitivity a subject that some might find uncomfortable or embarrassing. … She writes about her compulsion with wit and humour, and the result is a book as tender and funny as it is painful.’ Times Literary Supplement

‘Light beautifully shed on a subject seldom talked about. This book is frank, raw and generous.’ Helen Mort, author of A Line Above the Sky: On Mountains and Motherhood

‘Accepting the existence of anxiety as something to live alongside, not hide from, Lauren Brown’s debut memoir is a moving and frank account of discovery and reflection. Written in humorous and conversational style, Hands marks Brown out as a startling new working-class writer’ Natasha Carthew, author and artistic director, Class Festival

‘Part detective story, part memoir, Hands is a voyage of discovery written with refreshing candour and clarity. Lauren took me with her every step of the way: I was left moved, enlightened and hopeful.’ Kathryn Mannix, author of Listen: How to Find the Words for Tender Conversations

‘A warm, humane memoir. Lauren Brown's debut is sympathetic, moving and hopeful.’ Kate Mascarenhas, author of The Psychology of Time Travel

‘ I absolutely loved Lauren’s voice … such intensity and bittersweet humour that I found myself laughing and crying within a matter of seconds.’ Maxine Chung, author of The Eighth Girl

About the author

Lauren Brown is a writer and journalist from Billingham, Teesside in north east England. She studied English at Cambridge and now lives in London with her partner. She’s written for publications including the Guardian, the Independent, Index on Censorship, Vice, and Women’s Health UK. She can be found on Twitter as @Laurenrbrown95