Brighter Days

'Having known Patrick when he was a rising star of the charity world, it is sobering to now read how he felt during that time. I would never have guessed. It makes me wonder how many other people I know who appear to be on top of their game are really silently suffering in the same way. I hope this book will help others in the same situation step forward to ask for help in time and help those around them to find right way to help. It is honest, authentic and very practical.' -- Nick Jenkins, founder of Moonpig, former Dragons' Den 'dragon' and Chairman of Virtual Stock
'To keep mentally healthy is essential if we are to live life to the full. No book can provide all the answers, but it can provide us with a guide to keeping mentally well. This book may help you more than you realise.' -- Sir Terry Waite CBE
'Personal, practical and professional - this readable book demonstrates ways for us all to take positive actions to reach and sustain brighter days for our wellbeing and resilience.' -- Professor Helen Langton, Vice Chancellor of the University of Suffolk
'Brighter Days epitomises Patrick's ability to be both authentic and hopeful at the same time. We have been friends for years, and I have seen at first hand his compassion and his desire to help people to heal. This book welcomes you on a partnered journey to greater awareness and to lasting change.' -- Will van der Hart, priest, coach, communicator and Co-Director of The Mind and Soul Foundation
'Patrick's book is so accessible, moving and utterly relatable. It questions our understanding of key words and responses, like anger, anxiety, resilience, perfectionism and positive vibes, plus it offers practical advice and exercises to help guide us through our own experiences of the unpredictable state of our mental health. Brighter Days could become a Bible to navigate through all of the twenty-first century’s challenges.' -- Nina Hossain, newscaster, ITV News
'Post-Covid, at a time when so many of us are struggling to establish a "new normal", Brighter Days is a cordial for drooping spirits, and an honest, road-tested guide to more hopeful living.' -- Lord Richard Chartres
'Readable, practical, wise and kind. This is a book for our times.' -- John Sutherland, author and former Chief Superintendent of the Metropolitan Police
'Patrick's writing couldn't be more timely in a world where what things look like in a picture or a post determines who we are, and how we are feeling. Brighter Days stands up to that trend of curating an image, wearing a mask and doing everything you can to show that you're holding it together. It's personally helped me start to be more courageous - not like a soldier on a battlefield or a boxer in the ring, but, as Patrick explains, with the courageousness of a person who allows himself to be vulnerable. That message of vulnerability, honesty and self-acceptance is relevant to all of us, and this book will ultimately make you a more content, happier person. It shows us all that whatever our situation, brighter days are possible.' -- Sean Fletcher, journalist and BBC presenter
'Patrick reaches to the core of our humanity in a way that few others do. He is articulate, involved and persuasive on some of the key issues which we, as individuals, as professionals, and as a society, face today. Be prepared to be inspired to be better.' -- Gerald Walker, President and CEO, ING Americas
'Patrick has presented a range of mental health issues with sensitivity, deep personal experience and warm compassion, allowing the reader to feel seen and understood in our journey to brighter days. He arms us with realistic, practical and achievable strategies to facilitate the reconnection to self, community and faith. I will not hesitate in my recommendation of this book to clients.' -- Dr Donna de Lasa, HCPC-registered Clinical Psychologist and ISST-certified Schema Therapist
'Honest, vulnerable and practical. This is how we all need to be around mental health, and Patrick's book will help us to get there. It's brave and courageous.' -- Dr Charlie Howard, Consultant Clinical Psychologist
'As a therapist, I often wonder how many of my patients could have had a different journey if their early experiences of mental ill health had been met with support, compassion and understanding. While there are no quick fixes to the stigma and shame which surround mental illness, the Brighter Days book is a helpful, friendly and accessible step towards a world where emotional and mental health are understood and accepted.' -- Clarie Miles, High-Intensity Cognitive Behavioural Therapist, NHS Talking Therapies
'As a GP, I have repeatedly noted the value of helping my patients understand the nature of mental illness. Patrick's book is a masterclass on that. I often see mental health as an incredibly complex muddle of very different jigsaw pieces. As you read Patrick's book, you'll begin to see how the picture of clear emotional wellbeing can emerge, in his words: "beauty from brokenness", "vulnerability is not a weakness" and "floating with anxiety". Following my own mental health crisis in 2012, a friend visited and commented that he didn't know what to say, but simply offered to be there. What a gift that was; better than words. Patrick's book will help you to help others... I love it. Please give a copy to a friend.' -- Dr Tim Lyttle, GP and NHS leader, Shropshire