Mad Woman - An Evening with Bryony Gordon

Ten years on from first writing about her own experiences of mental illness, Bryony Gordon still receives messages about the effect it has on people. Now perimenopausal and well into the next stage of her life, parenting an almost-adolescent, just what has that help - and that connection with other unwell people - taught Bryony about herself, and the society we live in? What has she learned, and why have her views on mental health changed so radically? After coming out the other side of the biggest trauma of our living memory - a global pandemic - existing in a state of perma-crisis has now become our new normal.

From burnout and binge eating, to living with fluctuating hormones and the endless battle to stay sober, Bryony begins to question whether she got mental illness wrong in the first place. Is it simply a chemical imbalance, or rather a normal response from your brain telling you that something isn't right? Mad Woman explores the most difficult of all the lesson she's learned over the last decade - that our notion of what makes a happy life is the very thing that's making us so sad.

Bryony Gordon is unafraid to write with her trademark blend of compassion, honesty and humour about her personal challenges and demons, which means her books and journalism have had profound impact on readers. She founded the mental health charity, Mental Health Mates, which has become a vast online community.

In the twenty years that she has worked for the Telegraph, Bryony Gordon has become one of the paper's best-loved writers. She is the author of the bestselling The Wrong Knickers plus The Sunday Times Number One bestsellers You Got This and Mad Girl which were both nominated for British Book Awards. She is the presenter of the Mad World podcast and in 2016 she founded Mental Health Mates, now a global peer support network which encourages people with mental health issues to connect and get out of the house. In 2017 she won the MIND Making A Difference Award for her work in changing the perception of mental health in the media. She lives in South London with her husband and daughter, and their two guinea pigs.

Bryony will be in conversation with broadcaster and journalist Hannah MacInnes.

Hannah MacInnes is a Broadcaster and Journalist. She presents frequently on Times Radio and currently hosts the How To Academy’s live programme and podcast. With a passion for tackling global issues facing society today, she has written articles and conducted interview pieces for Radio Times, the Evening Standard and the TLS.

Her brilliantly engaged voice on issues ranging from climate change to literary heroines is underpinned by a doggedly diligent work ethic in her research, facilitating an always curious, fresh, exciting and above all relatable approach to topics on air, on the page and on screen. Eight years as a Planning Editor at BBC Newsnight, where she was also a Producer and Filmmaker, have given her an extensive knowledge and fantastic perspective on the best way to engage an audience of any demographic on any topic.

These skills have taken her across the country to host at major literary events, conferences and debates on pressing world issues such as the environment & farming, Brexit, the economy, gender equality, comedy, literature & culture. Engaging in enthralling ‘fireside chat style’ interviews, Hannah has had in-depth conversations with the likes of Bill Clinton, Melinda Gates, Madeleine Albright, Jeremy Hunt, Ed Miliband, Rory Stewart, Dame Jane Goodhall, Louis Theroux, Russel Brand, Philip Pullman, Elizabeth Gilbert, Sean Penn, David Mitchell, Robert Webb, Nadiya Hussein, Dolly Alderton and Mike Leigh.

Hannah is also the host of The Klosters Forum Podcast which focuses on environmental issues. The podcast’s three series have covered plastic pollution, the impact of food systems on Biodiversity and the built environment.

This event is in-person only and will not be streamed or recorded. Doors will open at 6.45pm Copies of Mad Woman: Older. Wiser. Madder? will be available to purchase on the evening.