Growing into Medicine: The Life and Loves of a Psychosexual Doctor

Medicine in the twentieth century underwent many dramatic and exciting changes, as new drugs and treatments were discovered, new theories explored, and the role of women in society as well as in the workplace was transformed. Ruth Skrine’s life and working career mirror these revolutions, as she is persuaded by her fiery mother to train as a doctor, a career both Ruth’s parents had taken up with enthusiasm. After an early spell in general practice, Ruth finds her true metier in family planning and psychosexual medicine, becoming passionate about the need to understand the mind and body as one entity and for doctors to listen with their eyes and emotions as well as their ears.

In this profound and poetic memoir of a long and fulfilling working life, as well as a potentially turbulent marriage that became a true love affair, Ruth Skrine has reached deep into her own psyche and produced a flowing narrative full of insight and powerful imagination.