In Breakthrough: A Story of Hope, Resilience and Mental Health Recovery, Dr. Ahmed Hankir delivers a unique and powerful insight into mental health recovery by tracing his own personal journey from impoverished and shunned psychiatric patient to award-winning consultant psychiatrist.
With extraordinary candour, Ahmed reveals the obstacles that nearly shattered his dreams of being a doctor – from the financial pressures to the discrimination he faced at the hands of his peers and educators – and the bullying, racism, and harassment he experienced throughout medical school, post-graduate specialisation and whilst working in the NHS.
The book also recalls his journey to recover from episodes of severe psychological distress and suicidal thoughts whilst at university, and how these experiences have shaped his career focus in psychiatry and suicide prevention. From experiencing a breakdown/breakthrough at medical school to winning the World Health Organisation’s Director General Award for Global Health in honour of his work campaigning for mental health destigmatisation and humanization of persons living with a mental health condition, Dr Hankir’s story of recovery is an inspirational tale of resilience and hope amidst adversity and disadvantage.
Ahmed is a well-known mental health advocate who uses his lived experiences to educate, support and dignify others, with over 100k followers on both Twitter/X and Tik Tok. As a proud British Muslim, he is also an expert on challenging Islamophobia and mental health related stigma in the Muslim community.
Advanced praise for the book
"An honest, engaging and most of all, hopeful book." Adam Kay, BAFTA-winning, multi-million-bestselling author, TV writer and performer.
"Warm, funny and devastatingly honest. An incredibly insightful story full of hope and resilience." Dr Amir Khan, Sunday Times Bestselling Author and Resident Doctor for ITV's Lorraine and Good Morning Britain
"Breakthrough is a toolkit for turning hopelessness into success, sadness into deep joy and stigmatization into fuel for positively transforming others' lives. Please, please, please read this inspirational book - it will change your life." Professor Ged Byrne MBE, Consultant Surgeon and Director of Global Health, NHS England
Breakthrough: A Story of Hope, Resilience and Mental Health Recovery by Dr Ahmed Hankir is published on 18 April, priced at £14.99.
Read More...