Stories

Our words and pictures explore the connections between science, medicine, life and art. Dive into a story no matter where in the world you are. (Want to write for us? Here's how.)

Black and white etching showing a large pile of bodies being dragged into a pit. People who appear from their robes to be monks perform rites or anxiously grasp bibles.
  • In pictures

Pepys and the plague

Through its long history, London has survived some enormous epidemics. During the 1665 Great Plague of London, the city burned, shops closed, the streets emptied and bodies piled up. Read Samuel Pepys’s account of how the city pulled through.

Part of Inside Our Collections

Isolation comic by Rob Bidder (detail)
  • Comic

Isolation

Quarantine translation: terror with undertones of boredom and low level anxiety.

Part of Body Squabbles

Photographic triptych showing the head and shoulders of three women.
  • Photo story

Voices of the NHS

In the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, when millions of us are especially grateful for our NHS, hear the voices of nine exceptional health workers explaining their passion for medicine and for taking care of others.

Photographic panorama showing a street scene with part of a road, a pavement, the handrail of a bridge and in the distance industrial brick buildings. The panorama is mirrored down its vertical centre line except that a small human figure in a red coat standing on the pavement looking away from the camera appears in the left half, but not in the right half.
  • Article

Living in limbo when a loved one is missing

When someone goes missing, loved ones are thrown into a state akin to constant grieving; waiting for news, living in hope. Novelist Bev Thomas describes how they try to cope and carry on.

Photograph showing a performer on a stage in a small theatre. The performer is dressed in a shiny gold suit. Their right hand is holding a microphone to their mouth. In their left hand they are holding a white cane. Their mouth and eye brows are covered in blue glitter make-up
  • Article

The politics and power of audio-description

Traditional theatre audio-description often lets down artists and audiences. But, done well, it has the potential to be a force for creativity as well as accessibility.

Part of Art, activism and access

Epilepsy and me

An intimate account of learning to live with epilepsy.

Books

Get stuck into one of our books, and explore the complexities of the human condition.

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Illustration in black, purple and red tones, showing a person sitting in an armchair in a room. At their feet is a ruckled rug with things hidden under it. To the left is a small bookcase and house plant.
  • Article

Stigma, schizophrenia and being transgender

When he was diagnosed with schizophrenia, Ashley McFord-Allister discovered that the medical world will not continue gender confirmation treatment while treating a mental health condition. Here he exposes the prejudice behind this attitude.

Part of Broken hearts not broken brains

Illustration in black, purple and red tones, showing a person lying on the floor with their arms clasped around their head. Surrounding them are letters, envelopes, text messages and leaflets.
  • Article

Happy Joy Smile

Drawn from real-life experiences, this short story depicts a character negotiating the UK’s current mental health system. Discover what happens as they encounter waiting lists, sketchy healthcare and punitive government bureaucracy.

Part of Broken hearts not broken brains

Black and white photograph showing a man standing in the middle of a living room holding a cigarette to his mouth. The room is lit by a single ceiling light, the curtains are drawn across the window. On the wall behind the man sheets of paper are stuck to the wall.
  • Photo story

The man who remembers everything

Tilney1 can remember his life in minute detail, but can’t control the incessant intrusion of thoughts and images from the past. As cuts to mental health services isolate him more and more, a crisis approaches.

Part of Broken hearts not broken brains

Illustration in black, purple and red tones, showing a woman standing to the right of frame look off into the distance. Behind her a group of 4 people are in close conversation. It looks like she is excluded.
  • Article

Building resilience in a racist world

With the resurgence of racism in today’s UK, Louisa Adjoa Parker reflects on the trauma of growing up in a racist society and explores how victims could begin to heal.

Part of Broken hearts not broken brains

Illustration in black, purple and red tones, showing a cross section of an ear revealing all the internal elements. Inside the skull end of the cross section is a grainy image of faces in a crowd. Outside the ear is a drawing of a figure.
  • Article

Cracks that let the light in

Rai Waddingham lives with voices other people cannot hear. Here she describes how she has come to accept, understand and calm her voices, and to acknowledge her strength.

Part of Broken hearts not broken brains

Embarrassment comic by Rob Bidder (detail)
  • Comic

Embarrassment

Dealing with embarrassment can be hard. Turning it on yourself is harder.

Part of Body Squabbles