The Painful Truth: The new science of why we hurt and how we can heal

A Royal Society Science Prize short-listed author

We know pain when we feel it. We fear it and try to avoid it. But do we know what it really is?

We're currently experiencing a Renaissance in pain science. In recent years our understanding of pain has altered so radically it's fair to say that everything we thought we knew about pain is wrong. As Dr Monty Lyman reveals, we misunderstand pain - with harmful consequences.

The Painful Truth explores cutting-edge research, encompassing phantom aches to persistent pain, and including interviews with survivors of torture as well as those who have never felt pain. It not only provides hope for reducing and managing pain, but takes us to a deeper understanding of what it means to be human.

This is the untold story of pain - our most elusive feeling.

'A compelling mix of science and anecdote.' - Nature

'Takes us into the world of pain and how it's been misunderstood for centuries' - Mail on Sunday