What do you think?
Rate this book
Ruby Wax’s No Brainer
Making No-Brainer made Ruby Wax, in her own words, 'the happiest woman alive'. But then Ruby's take on happiness might be a little different from others. The same goes for her take on longevity, stress, death, compassion, attention, teenagers and the eternal nature vs. nurture debate. In her own inimitable style, she uncovers the cerebral forces driving each of these human phenomena by talking to experts in a wide range of fields, from neurologists to Buddhist monks.
Could we be happier? Calmer? Better human beings?
In this Audible Original, Ruby Wax hunts down her heroes - brain scientists - in the UK and across America, to learn more about what makes us tick: why we get stressed, how we feel pain, what makes us addicted - and has a lot of fun along the way.
She faces death with Past Mortems author Carla Valentine, explores how video games affect our attention with gamification expert Gabe Zichermann, and discovers the benefits of vaginal smearing with Professor Tim Spector. Natural Born Learners author Alex Beard reveals what teenagers really need to know for a good education and visitors to a New York soup kitchen help Ruby confront her fear of compassion.
In No-Brainer Ruby draws on memories of her own difficult childhood and long history of depression and makes you laugh out loud with her frank observations and anarchic questions. You’ll learn a lot about your brain, and hear a ton of advice on how to use it better.
©2018 Ruby Wax (P)2018 Audible, Ltd
Could we be happier? Calmer? Better human beings?
In this Audible Original, Ruby Wax hunts down her heroes - brain scientists - in the UK and across America, to learn more about what makes us tick: why we get stressed, how we feel pain, what makes us addicted - and has a lot of fun along the way.
She faces death with Past Mortems author Carla Valentine, explores how video games affect our attention with gamification expert Gabe Zichermann, and discovers the benefits of vaginal smearing with Professor Tim Spector. Natural Born Learners author Alex Beard reveals what teenagers really need to know for a good education and visitors to a New York soup kitchen help Ruby confront her fear of compassion.
In No-Brainer Ruby draws on memories of her own difficult childhood and long history of depression and makes you laugh out loud with her frank observations and anarchic questions. You’ll learn a lot about your brain, and hear a ton of advice on how to use it better.
©2018 Ruby Wax (P)2018 Audible, Ltd
Audible Audio
Published October 10, 2018
16 people are currently reading
152 people want to read
About the author
Ruby Wax
35 books310 followersRuby Wax arrived in Britain in 1977 to pursue an acting career. She says "I really could never find my niche. I was a terrible actress, I couldn't sing, I couldn't do characters, I couldn't do an English accent and I lived in England, so I was narrowing it down".
She met French and Saunders at a party and worked alongside them a number of times, on television in Happy Families, at charity events such as Hysteria and notably the sitcom Girls on Top. Ruby played Shelley Dupont, a stereotypically loud American dying for a career in show-business. Not a huge hit, Girls on Top nevertheless gave the trio the chance to find their feet in comedy.
Ruby eventually got a chat show after drunkenly interviewing Michael Grade (who was head of Channel 4 at the time) in a tent at the Edinburgh festival. She subsequently made a range of programmes, many revolving around her as an interviewer. Her popularity in terms of comedy came from her interviewing technique: she was always forthright, brash and loud, conforming to the British stereotype of an American. Her physical appearance matched this image, with red hair and blood-red lipstick.
In 2002 Ruby Wax wrote her memoir, How Do You Want Me?, which became a bestseller.
Her 2010 stand-up show Losing It deals with her experience of bipolar disorder. She founded Black Dog Tribe in 2011 in response to the audience reaction from her theatre show. In September 2013, she graduated from Kellogg College at Oxford University with a master's degree in mindfulness based cognitive therapy. She had previously earned a postgraduate certificate in psychotherapy and counselling from Regents College in London.
These days she promotes understanding of the brain and campaigns for greater mental health awareness and destigmatisation.
- summarised from Dawn French Online, Wikipedia and her website
She met French and Saunders at a party and worked alongside them a number of times, on television in Happy Families, at charity events such as Hysteria and notably the sitcom Girls on Top. Ruby played Shelley Dupont, a stereotypically loud American dying for a career in show-business. Not a huge hit, Girls on Top nevertheless gave the trio the chance to find their feet in comedy.
Ruby eventually got a chat show after drunkenly interviewing Michael Grade (who was head of Channel 4 at the time) in a tent at the Edinburgh festival. She subsequently made a range of programmes, many revolving around her as an interviewer. Her popularity in terms of comedy came from her interviewing technique: she was always forthright, brash and loud, conforming to the British stereotype of an American. Her physical appearance matched this image, with red hair and blood-red lipstick.
In 2002 Ruby Wax wrote her memoir, How Do You Want Me?, which became a bestseller.
Her 2010 stand-up show Losing It deals with her experience of bipolar disorder. She founded Black Dog Tribe in 2011 in response to the audience reaction from her theatre show. In September 2013, she graduated from Kellogg College at Oxford University with a master's degree in mindfulness based cognitive therapy. She had previously earned a postgraduate certificate in psychotherapy and counselling from Regents College in London.
These days she promotes understanding of the brain and campaigns for greater mental health awareness and destigmatisation.
- summarised from Dawn French Online, Wikipedia and her website
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews
November 19, 2019
A rather entertaining collection of podcasts (I didn’t know that before downloading this) but highly entertaining. The science is relatively superficial (has to be in this type of vehicle, being such a massive subject), but delivered in a manner to with Ruby Wax has become a giant. She refers to, and uses, much of her own experience to move from topic to topic and this personal element makes the collection special.
Warning, if you don’t like Ruby Wax, don’t get this. There’s a comment here which complains that she constantly interrupts her ‘guests’. That’s her manner, it’s always relevant and usually hilarious.
If you’re into the brain, this is a pleasant diversion from the heavy education which it can be.
Warning, if you don’t like Ruby Wax, don’t get this. There’s a comment here which complains that she constantly interrupts her ‘guests’. That’s her manner, it’s always relevant and usually hilarious.
If you’re into the brain, this is a pleasant diversion from the heavy education which it can be.
March 12, 2019
“You might even become a mermaid”
I loved listening to this audiobook, I was walking along laughing and smiling to myself. But aside from the natural humour that Ruby brings, it was also so informative and hopeful.
I loved finding out about parts of our brain and how we can train it. Clearly I need to take up mindfulness, I’ve tried meditation before but I could never get the habit to stick. Mindfulness is a way of meditating that can train your brain to stay in the moment and to step back from what’s going on around you rather than let the stress overwhelm you. It also gave me hope about if I become a parent in the future. If you are at peace with your life, you won’t unload all your stuff onto your child.
I literally had no bad points to say, I’m so glad I listened to this!
“Sadness stuck without context.”
I loved listening to this audiobook, I was walking along laughing and smiling to myself. But aside from the natural humour that Ruby brings, it was also so informative and hopeful.
I loved finding out about parts of our brain and how we can train it. Clearly I need to take up mindfulness, I’ve tried meditation before but I could never get the habit to stick. Mindfulness is a way of meditating that can train your brain to stay in the moment and to step back from what’s going on around you rather than let the stress overwhelm you. It also gave me hope about if I become a parent in the future. If you are at peace with your life, you won’t unload all your stuff onto your child.
I literally had no bad points to say, I’m so glad I listened to this!
“Sadness stuck without context.”
November 11, 2024
Collection of interviews done around the brain, interesting listen.
May 14, 2019
I find Ruby Wax to be super smart, intelligent, funny and well, truly real in her approach to life.
Wow has she brought us a completely interesting audiobook in No Brainer. I honestly had a few light bulb moments and I'll be trying hard to make a couple of changes based on it. Thanks Ruby!
Wow has she brought us a completely interesting audiobook in No Brainer. I honestly had a few light bulb moments and I'll be trying hard to make a couple of changes based on it. Thanks Ruby!
January 11, 2023
Usually like Ruby's stuff but didn't love the editing of this and it was perhaps too informal in presentation at times for me and a lot of the information I found myself wanting to go deeper with before moving on
February 6, 2024
The content itself was brilliant; it’s sparked a number of questions and I look forward to following up with some of experts Ruby connected with. It was difficult at times to digest what experts were saying when Ruby is busy interrupting them.
January 17, 2025
Most of the ideas in this book were not new to me. I had already learned them from other books, as I've been thinking about and exploring mindfulness for a while.
I've read Ruby Wax's Mindfulness Guide for a Frazzled Mind, Self-Compassion by Kristin Neff, Falling Awake, Four Thousand Weeks, and others. The impact this book had on me is a 1 out of 5.
It was funny and reinforced some mindfulness concepts, but it offered nothing new to me.
I'll share some things I remember from the book.
Babies can pick up any accent they hear until the age of 16 months.
It emphasized the importance of sitting on the floor and playing with your child. Playtime builds connection and is essential for their development.
Another topic was Pavlovian conditioning. For instance, if you smell a perfume while receiving a small, undetectable electric shock, you might become terrified of that smell the next time you encounter it.
The book also discussed how dominant monkeys have lower cortisol levels than subordinate ones, linking this to the importance of epigenetics. Epigenetics shows that your environment can change how your genes impact your life.
The book explained effect of stress on the body. In the short term, stress shuts down activities that aren't needed for immediate survival. Chronic stress, however, is harmful. It can make you irritable or exhausted because your body stops sending enough blood to your intestines (IBS) and doesn't repair damage to your organs effectively over time.
I've read Ruby Wax's Mindfulness Guide for a Frazzled Mind, Self-Compassion by Kristin Neff, Falling Awake, Four Thousand Weeks, and others. The impact this book had on me is a 1 out of 5.
It was funny and reinforced some mindfulness concepts, but it offered nothing new to me.
I'll share some things I remember from the book.
Babies can pick up any accent they hear until the age of 16 months.
It emphasized the importance of sitting on the floor and playing with your child. Playtime builds connection and is essential for their development.
Another topic was Pavlovian conditioning. For instance, if you smell a perfume while receiving a small, undetectable electric shock, you might become terrified of that smell the next time you encounter it.
The book also discussed how dominant monkeys have lower cortisol levels than subordinate ones, linking this to the importance of epigenetics. Epigenetics shows that your environment can change how your genes impact your life.
The book explained effect of stress on the body. In the short term, stress shuts down activities that aren't needed for immediate survival. Chronic stress, however, is harmful. It can make you irritable or exhausted because your body stops sending enough blood to your intestines (IBS) and doesn't repair damage to your organs effectively over time.
March 29, 2019
Superb overview of the most interesting subject in the world! Ruby Wax interviews some of the biggest heavyweight experts in the field about a range of subjects that include, ageing, epigenetics, evolution, addiction, adolescence, mindfulness, stress, and so on. As well as being a really engaging and informative listen, it occasionally ventures into laugh-out-loud funny as Ruby applies her own spin to the discussion. We also get a sense of how quickly human knowledge is changing in this field.
It's an intriguing mix of the serious, the profound and the hilarious. Also, Ruby's honest discussion of her own experiences of depression, and the occasional glimpses we get of her savage self-critical voice, adds depth and evokes compassion for her as a person.
One slight criticism of the book is that it goes for a comprehensive overview, and sometimes this leads the listener to want more depth in the discussion. But I would recommend that everyone gives this a listen - it is stuff we should all know.
It's an intriguing mix of the serious, the profound and the hilarious. Also, Ruby's honest discussion of her own experiences of depression, and the occasional glimpses we get of her savage self-critical voice, adds depth and evokes compassion for her as a person.
One slight criticism of the book is that it goes for a comprehensive overview, and sometimes this leads the listener to want more depth in the discussion. But I would recommend that everyone gives this a listen - it is stuff we should all know.
August 16, 2019
I absolutely loved this Audible exclusive. It gave a great high level overview of lots of different brain related topics. It left me thirsty to learn more and I'll definitely be buying Ruby's other books. I'd see this as an introduction to subjects such as mindfulness rather that an in depth analysis.
I particularly enjoyed the chapter on epigenetics. It was explained so well that even a lay man like me could get the gist.
Ruby herself was hilarious and poignant at the same time. She delved into her own life and wasn't afraid of putting it on display - psychological warts and all. She is very inspiring, and at the same time makes me laugh out loud. She invokes great compassion, even if she hates the word.
I particularly enjoyed the chapter on epigenetics. It was explained so well that even a lay man like me could get the gist.
Ruby herself was hilarious and poignant at the same time. She delved into her own life and wasn't afraid of putting it on display - psychological warts and all. She is very inspiring, and at the same time makes me laugh out loud. She invokes great compassion, even if she hates the word.
October 24, 2023
Loved it, as is typical for me and books by Ruby. Very very useful stuff in here and very interesting too, along with Ruby just being a delight as ever. She's funny, obviously, but also self-aware - and I absolutely adore her flustering professionals with her irreverent quips and questions.
Really nice to have other voices in this as well, particularly neuroscientist Ash and monk Thubten. I have the book written by the three of them, How To Be Human, but I'm going to get the audiobook version too because of how much I enjoyed hearing them talk in this book.
Really nice to have other voices in this as well, particularly neuroscientist Ash and monk Thubten. I have the book written by the three of them, How To Be Human, but I'm going to get the audiobook version too because of how much I enjoyed hearing them talk in this book.
June 3, 2019
The author was sometimes irritating to me, interrupting her interlocutors while they were expounding on some topic. However, I learned a couple of things about the human brain, as well as about the physical and psychological health.
June 30, 2020
Ruby Wax books are normally very good. Her enthusiasm and honesty really comes across. This title is no different. You have accept that she is so open to leaning she does speak over at times the people she is interviewing.
May 29, 2019
Really funny and informative- she's a gem. Enjoyed every second.....
June 13, 2019
Like this book very much funny and informative
August 14, 2019
Interesting and amusing. The only irritant is when Ruby talks over some of the experts. But that’s Ruby...
This isn’t the first, and certainly won’t be the last book by Ruby that I buy.
This isn’t the first, and certainly won’t be the last book by Ruby that I buy.
August 25, 2019
Trying too hard (but failing!) to explain the complex working of the brain in a humorous way in a meandering anecdotal manner.
October 23, 2019
Brilliant, it's a story, a journey, a podcast, a discovery. Big information in bite size pieces. Real, honest, funny.
February 6, 2020
Brilliant. Educational. Funny. Understandable. Relatable.
July 8, 2020
Entertaining and informative. Recommended.
November 30, 2020
Great idea. Enjoyable and insightful. Ruined somewhat by Wax constantly interrupting
December 16, 2020
Very informative snippet chapters to get your mind perchlorating.
January 3, 2021
Ive learnt some truly fascinating things from this book. I have always found the brain to be very interesting.
September 17, 2021
Interesting - want to read Ruby's book on the subject now
March 1, 2022
Audiobook
September 13, 2022
Really engaging and interesting audiobook. Strongly recommend backing it up with the How to be Human book, which just edges it
September 6, 2023
Brilliant deeply interested and insiteful lead me on to my own research on topics covered
May 22, 2024
A great listen on Audible and very educational, but presented in Ruby’s inimitable funny style. However she kept interrupting the experts she was interviewing which was rather frustrating!
August 10, 2025
Super fun with some interesting topics
November 6, 2025
This is a great journey through the mind via interviews with scientists and with Ruby's brilliant humour making it a delight too
January 17, 2026
Very interesting. I love Ruby's humour.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews