You do not need to be a feminist, a psychiatrist, a woman or a patient to see and understand the issues presented by Dr Gask in her book. She describes the mental health suffering of women from angles much wider than those offered by the traditional diagnostic categories and extracts from her experience and that of others.

Dr Gask goes further than the feminist perspective, which she reminds us began as white and middle class, and marginalised those who did not fit, such as black, working class, transgender and severely mentally ill women. She criticises the traditional biopsychosocial model – in which the biological part dominates, with insufficient access to therapy and an excessive focus on risk – and adds another dimension to the discussion: the economic and political forces that affect women negatively.

Women lose jobs, income and career opportunities at the same time that responsibility and financial pressures increase through maternity. The potential for mental distress and unhappiness in such situations is massive. The reframing of the suffering into a diagnosis of depression, more often a diagnosis given to women than men, women in poverty and working class than middle class women, has helped medicalise these issues and legitimise the use of drugs to treat them, while access to other types of help and appropriate support is very limited.

This book is easy to read and very accessible, but it is by no means simple. It is not a feminist view for feminist women but a humanistic view for all. The criticism of the concept of feminism hits on the paradox that it has served to increase misogyny and the demeaning stereotypes that are currently being formed via social media, and regression in the appreciation of women.

So what is going wrong?

Well, plenty – from issues related to the female gender, growing up a girl, family life, maneuvering starvation, fertility, work, sex, male violence and the justice system to the mental health diagnoses and care of women.

However, it is not that these aspects are wrong. It is the lens through which appreciation of the female gender and all gender-related issues has been and is being viewed.

As we read through, the missing link in the stories is ‘listening’. Real, proactive, interested and effective listening. In the end, with her simple and repeated message, Dr Gask urges us to pay attention and act; not to ignore anymore.