Hello. This is Neil's inner critic, the voice in his brain that exists to remind him how useless he is.

I warned him that a ‘comedy’ book for the anxious would be a guaranteed disaster. Especially if it was an idiot like him writing it. But he ignored me, so this is my final bid to save poor readers like you from reading his nonsense.

It’s full of embarrassing stories I can’t allow you to hear.

Neil claims it’s “a warm, humorous and useful manual”, and that he wishes he could have read it when he was struggling with his own anxiety.

Then he babbles about happiness and the meaning of life. And something ridiculous about custard.

Please believe me. Ignore this book. Save your inner critic… while you still can.

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Occasional comedian and full-time worrier Neil Hughes isn’t the kind of person whom you would expect to write a helpful book. He’s an idiot. (At least, according to his Inner Critic.)

But, during his anxious bumbling through existence, he has somehow figured out how to live a rich, meaningful life, how to be happy(ish), and how to find freedom from unpleasant thoughts, feelings and panic.

In this humorous exploration of an anxious life, Neil mixes embarrassing real-life stories with inventive fantasy as he tells how he learned to understand and control his anxiety.

Despite the constant interruptions of his Inner Critic, he explores the workings of the brain, love, relationships, purpose, contentment… and even death and the Meaning of Life itself.

In between battling aliens in outer space, talking flowers, arguments with himself, and other flights of fancy, he warmly shares practical techniques to live less nervously and more happily.

And, somehow, it turns out everything can be explained using custard…