Recovery: The Lost Art of Convalescence – How to get better at getting better

Recovery: The Lost Art of Convalescence

Author: Gavin Francis

ISBN-13: 978-1800810488

Publisher: Wellcome Collection

Guideline Price: £4.99

Edinburgh GP and author Gavin Francis contends that while we have a literature of illness, we still lack a literature of recovery, and he feels strongly that we need one because once the crisis of an illness has passed, “guidance and encouragement through the process of recovery can be indispensable”.

His reflections on recovery and convalescence are based on his 30 years’ experience in medicine and while he accepts that every illness is unique and therefore recoveries must also be in some sense unique, nevertheless he’s found some principles and guidelines that have helped him and his patients over the years.

A safe place in which to recover is vital but in the rush to modern medicine, with its emphasis on treating the illness and getting patients out of hospital as quickly as possible, something important has been lost, he argues. Pace of recovery varies from patient to patient and doesn’t bear comparison but exercise has to be built up slowly after illness. State support is vital to give patients time to recover and, while great strides have occurred since 1945, “there is still a long way to go to provide a truly supportive welfare safety net”.

Modern life

Francis believes it’s vital to give oneself permission to recover. Self-compassion is a much under-rated virtue but “the rhythms of modern life are often antithetical to those of recovery”, he warns. A sense of harmony and tranquillity is key, and planned breaks, especially involving travel, are highly therapeutic. Journeys out of ourselves through reading can be equally therapeutic.

He laments the disappearance of the old convalescent hospitals, “with gardens, space, quiet and natural light”. They were common in his native Edinburgh in the 1950s and 1960s, and their absence shows “we no longer value that kind of convalescence”.

He strongly believes in the healing power of nature, for long a basic tenet of medicine but discarded in more recent times, and his discussion of “the ideal doctor” is fascinating. The crucial role of carers in patients’ recovery cannot be overestimated, he argues, and it’s equally vital to care for the carers.

Few escape illness and all want to recover and this thoughtful, compassionate and highly readable book will greatly help.