Book Chosen by Tim Beames
Reference:
The Molecule of More: How a single chemical in your brain drives love, sex, and creativity – and will determine the fate of the human race
Daniel Z. Lieberman & Michael E. Long 2018
BenBella Books, Inc. Dallas
I’ve been thinking about which book I should choose for ages. I can’t remember when Laura approached me, but for some reason I feel as though I’ve been working towards this book club the whole of my professional life!
Choosing this book meant discarding many other potentially career (or life) altering books. I had a grand idea. A series of books building towards a unifying theory of life. After all, some would argue that knowing what it’s like to pain is knowing what it means to be alive.
The book that won my choice may appear a little reductionist but has one of the greatest titles ever. ‘The molecule of more: How a single chemical in your brain drives love, sex, and creativity – and will determine the fate of the human race’! Who said science books can’t be sexy?
It may come as a surprise then that I ordered this book in the mistaken belief that it was written by Daniel E. Lieberman, author of ‘Exercised’ – an excellent book exploring the impact of activity and inactivity in health. In fact, it is (co-authored) by Daniel Z. Lieberman, psychiatrist and author of papers including the rather sobering, ‘A technological approach to reaching a hidden population of problem drinkers’. However, sometimes the mistakes we make are our best learning opportunities.
What am I hoping from ‘The molecule of more’? I’d love to expand my thinking on dopamine, learn more about creativity and establish a broader understanding of health in the humanities and beyond. But more than that I’m excited to be going on a journey with others. I love reading and I can’t wait to share my love with others.
(For anyone interested in the grand unifying theory of life and pain, I was going to begin with Maturana and Varela’s ‘Tree of Knowledge’, end with Paul Nurse’s ‘What is Life?’, take a detour in the middle with Any Clark’s ‘Surfing Uncertainty’ and spending the summer digesting novels from the Phenomenologists, Sartre, De Beauvoir and Camus.)
About Tim
Tim is a pain specialist physiotherapist and pain educator living in Tunbridge Wells, UK. He’s been teaching with NOI since 2006 during which he has co-authored the Graded Motor Imagery Handbook, alongside David Butler and Lorimer Moseley.
He is the co-founder of Le Pub Scientifique, a unique learning platform connecting people interested in pain to the latest science and the world leading experts on pain. He is also co-founder of Pelvic Pain Matters, a group dedicated to improving the lives of men suffering pelvic pain.
Tim splits his time between his clinical role treating people experiencing persistent pain and helping to offer hope for recovery; teaching and mentoring healthcare professionals interested in growing as clinicians; and organising and running pain-related events.