Ruby Wax and Gelong Thubten chaired by Mick Brown

Bestselling author, comedian, actress and mental health campaigner Ruby Wax and Buddhist monk, meditation teacher and author Gelong Thubten discuss their recent books with the common theme of dealing with hard times.

Wax is a successful actress, comedian and presenter of shows on British television. She has a master’s degree in mindfulness-based cognitive therapy from Oxford University and is well known for her bestselling books and her campaigning on mental health, for which she was awarded an OBE. In her latest book, I’m Not as Well as I Thought I Was, she writes about how she had to check into a mental health clinic in 2022. She explains candidly what happened during and after her period of illness. As she says, ‘These days, trying to stay sane in a completely chaotic world makes life incredibly difficult. For those readers who are deep in the darkness of mental illness, I hope my book makes you feel less alone.’

Thubten and Wax previously collaborated on the book How to be Human and have continued to work together on several project over the years. Thubten is a Buddhist monk, meditation teacher and author. Educated at Oxford University, he became a monk 30 years ago and his training has included spending over six years in intensive meditation retreats, including one which lasted for four years. He is regarded as one of the UK’s most influential meditation teachers, working with corporations, schools, hospitals, prisons and many other organisations such as the United Nations. Thubten is the author of the Sunday Times bestseller A Monk’s Guide to Happiness. His latest book is Handbook for Hard Times: A Monk’s Guide to Fearless Living, in which he describes how happiness, kindness and resilience can be cultivated by reframing life’s difficulties as opportunities for transformation. He writes about how meditation and mindfulness can help us to access deep reserves of inner strength. Thubten also appears at 12pm the same day when he will lead a one-hour meditation workshop.

Discussions are chaired by broadcaster and journalist Mick Brown, author of The Nirvana Express: How the Search for Enlightenment Went West.