Fantastic. Sensitive topics handled expertly. Perfect blend of anecdote and facts. Takes you on a journey and weaves all topics together perfectly. Brilliant read

Fans of The Shock of the Fall will be fascinated to read this non-fiction exploration of schizophrenia, what it really is, and how often (and how badly) it is misunderstood. As a layperson, I found the chapters where he shared people’s real stories more engaging than the more academic analysis of each one, but it was very educational and thought provoking.

I was initially worried about reading this book and not understanding most of it as I don’t work in the medical profession. I was most definitely wrong. This is a must read for anyone who suffers with or has a family member/friend who suffers with any type of mental health difficulties. Incredibly informative but written in such a way that you cannot help but understand.

Nathan Filer’s debut novel The Shock of the Fall was hugely successful so inevitably there is a weight of expectation around The Heartland. This is a nonfiction exploration of schizophrenia, but the similarities are clear as Filer employs the same knowledge, sensitivity and engaging language that was present in his novel to open up a conversation about so-called-schizophrenia and tell the stories of some people whose lives have been impacted by it.

It’s a fascinating book: Filer is our reporter from the frontline of medical practice as he was previously a psychiatric nurse but he is also an eloquent and careful reporter of personal stories. He tells us about a soldier who thought his stay in a psychiatric ward was a secret mission, a journalist who thought she was a criminal and drank a mug of bleach to kill herself, a daughter whose mother went undiagnosed for years, and a mother who spoke about her son, which moved me to tears possibly because hers was the story which felt most relatable to me.

From the very beginning, it’s clear this is a subject with no concrete answers. Should people seeking help with mental health issues be called patients or service users? To call them patients suggests they have an illness, however, if you instead believe that the behaviours and feelings are not symptomatic of illness but are instead a natural response to trauma then it is problematic to be labelled as a patient. And if there is no consensus on this, what hope is there of reaching any definitive conclusions in mental health practices?

Mental health issues are spoken about far more widely these days and yet it seems to me that whilst the public are more tolerant, maybe even supportive, of someone who has anxiety or depression than used to be the case, there is a feeling that people with schizophrenia are scary and dangerously unpredictable. This book offers beautifully clear explanations such as “… it might be best understood as a kind of psychological adaptation, a coping strategy gone awry or a form of storytelling carried out within the mind as a response to unbearably painful life events.”

There’s a lot of food for thought. For instance, anosognosia means “…having as a symptom of a disorder the belief that you do not have the disorder.” I mean, crikey! Homosexuality was only removed from the official list of diagnosable mental disorders in 1974! There’s a lot of alarming information here. We like to think that people smarter than us with their knowledge beyond our understanding are capable of healing us. To learn that the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders is perhaps more woolly than we would want is not great.

I highlighted so many passages in this terrific book because it’s something I will refer back to. I think everyone should read it. Despite the subject matter, it’s not a heavy academic read, instead, it feels pretty essential and Filer’s great skill is giving information to us in an interesting and accessible way. My very favourite note is this:

“It’s not always possible to find the right words but we can still be part of the conversation. We can walk with people for a bit, sit with them, hear them.”

This was a wonderfully sensitive look into a fraught subject. I thought at first I was going to find Filer's compulsion to be fair and even handed (lots of use of so-called/ on one hand and on the other hand) was going to be off putting but his exploration of mental health issues, diagnoses, treatments and professionals was just compelling and eye opening. It was just personal enough in the telling that you felt guided but never that Filer was trying to make you believe one thing over another - just that he wanted you to be informed.

I absolutely loved the Shock of the Fall so I was really excited to see a new Nathan Filer - this is very, very different, but absolutely fascinating and has the same wonderful writing.

This was an absolutely fascinating read. Filer interviews various people who have either been diagnosed with schizophrenia or have lived with people who have been diagnosed. He takes each interview as a springboard to talk about the ways we experience, understand, diagnose and attempt to treat mental health issues. He looks at how this is very much a mutable experience and embedded in our experiences within the society and times in which we live. He writes with compassion and insight. Even though I finished this a few days ago, I am still thinking about some of the conclusions he draws and it has changed the way I understand not just schizophrenia but mental health in general.

After the tragicomic genius of Mr Filer's debut novel, The Shock of the Fall, about a young boys struggles with schizophrenia and possibly modelled around his own experiences, he now moves on to write a non-fiction work which actively debunks the myths and downright lies told about those who suffer from it. I have to start by saying that I have no first-hand experience of this mental illness myself, and I don't know anyone who has the condition, but I am endlessly intrigued by lots of topics and I do campaign for the stigma still associated with mental health to be banished. Sadly, that is not anywhere near a reality as of yet.

The Heartland is an essential, much-needed exploration of schizophrenia and represents it in an authentic, accessible and eminently readable style. It's a complex, nuanced topic, but it is explored in a very open and honest manner and one-hundred years of controversy and conflicts surrounding the serious health condition is discussed too. There are still people who question its existence. What was most fascinating, but not really a surprise to me, was the correlation between mental health conditions and poverty. He also discusses other interesting correlations.

I learned a lot from this informative work, and the way it was punctuated with anonymised cases illustrating the reality of schizophrenia was inspired. I found myself profoundly moved. This is a powerful and enlightening read which opened my eyes and taught me much about the condition. It's full of compassion and well-researched facts and statistics, and I truly hope it sets straight the record straight on the misinformation front. Simply superb. Many thanks to Faber & Faber for an ARC.

First of all, "The Shock of the Fall" made me cry - proper, ugly crying. It was such a powerful book. That meant I was really excited to read Nathan Filer's latest book. Secondly, I'm a Child Psychiatrist, so I know a bit about this stuff, so I was interesting to see how he approached the topic of schizophrenia.

I loved this book. Filer covers all the current controversies in the exploration of schizophrenia in an accurate and accessible way. It's extremely readable, and he has the ability to take complex subjects and explore them and unpick them. He really looks at the vicious cycle of poverty, trauma and mental health problems, and how they are interrelated. That aspect of it was great, and I hope lots of people read it.

For me, however, it was the way he used stories to humanise the debate that was the most powerful aspect of this book. I cried again, actually. That's OK - he's telling painful stories about painful things. As a professional in the field, I was given a space to reflect on the people that I work with, and the realities of their lives. I found that immensely moving.

I'm going to be recommending this book to a lot of friends and colleagues.

An in-depth insight into what it means to live with the mental health condition known as schizophrenia.