Happy as Larry: A Psychiatrist’s Quest for Mental Health and Wellbeing, by Larry Culliford, is a long and, in many ways, unexpected book. I thought it would be a tale of a life, focusing on the author’s years as a psychiatrist, and it is, but it is much more. Larry (I think he would be happy for me to call him this) takes the reader on a quest, both around the world and also for spiritual fulfilment.

Larry has a lot to say about many things, but one of the most striking was early in the book, when, as a teenager, he says to his separating parents, ‘Now I must look after myself’, acknowledging that he could not trust them. I think that realisation must inform much of what comes later in his life. He becomes a consultant psychiatrist, achieving a lot along the way, but despite his many friends and acquaintances there is, throughout, a feeling of solitude and also of movement. Larry may be a rolling stone, travelling widely, but he gathers plenty of moss, if moss can be love and ideas.

Overall, I did find the book rather scattered in places. For me, the concepts and explanations around meditation and spirituality, while important, at times got in the way of the narrative. It almost seemed as though two connecting books were overlapping and holding one another.

As a psychiatrist, I was naturally interested in Larry’s therapeutic approach. The book is sprinkled with anecdotes and conversations, where he shows that taking time to listen and understand people’s back stories reaps rewards. Later he also tells the terrifying tale of a young man whose severe illness leads him to attack and stalk Larry – the lack of real support from his workplace is disturbing. The changes in mental health services over the last few decades are depressing, especially for someone like Larry, whose experiences were very different as a young doctor in Australia. Perhaps this is why the spiritual side of life becomes more dominant in the book towards the end, growing in importance in his life and combining with his ongoing interest in psychiatry, even after retirement.

I am glad that Larry found happiness throughout life and that he continues to do so.