Where Does It Hurt?: A memoir of life with chronic pain

by Tim Atkinson

The true experts when it comes to understanding the problem of persistent pain, its impact and potential solutions, are those challenged by pain who take on a journey of discovery and manage an often remarkable recovery. Here is a book written by such an expert.
--Lorimer Moseley, PhD., professor of clinical neurosciences and chair in physiotherapy at the University of South Australia, Adelaide.

Part memoir, part medical investigation and part manifesto for non-medical cures, Tim Atkinson's candid and revealing memoir about his own, lived experience of pain will help start a conversation on this medical mystery. Why do some people continue to feel pain long after they've healed? How can people feel pain from limbs that have been amputated? And what makes people with horrific injuries sometimes insensitive to pain? The truth is that pain is far from straightforward, and most of what is now known about it has only recently been discovered. Part memoir, part medical investigation and part manifesto for non-medical cures, Tim Atkinson's candid and revealing memoir about his own, lived experience of pain will help start a conversation about this medical mystery.

But although “Where Does it Hurt?" is about life with chronic pain, it is anything but a misery memoir. After all, some people (22% of men and 12% of women according to Kinsey) actually enjoy it, and they're in the book as well. There have been huge strides in pain science in the last five years and the plethora of pain books testifies to an insatiable market. But there is a need for a book by someone with their own story to tell, an "expert" as the world's leading pain scientist Professor Lorimer Moseley says. And after twenty years suffering constant pain from chronic arthritis Tim Atkinson is certainly that.

Chronic pain has been called 'the silent epidemic' and affects more than two fifths of the UK population. It has been declared a disease in its own right by the World Health Organisation. Tim Atkinson's account of a life lived with chronic pain and his attempts to kick a dangerous opioid addiction is a moving story of a personal struggle shot through with the latest science. And with a happy ending!

"I absolutely loved this book! Tim opens up and shares with us some very personal reflections but does it so eloquently and with splashes of humour that I found myself not only relating to his accounts but laughing out loud, with him not at him! All in all, a thoroughly fabulous book written by an expert that I could not put down, and I would urge all Health Care Professional's working in the field of pain to read this book if only to see how it feels from the patient's perspective!"

Louise Trewern
Vice Chair of The Patient Voice Committee of The British Pain Society


"This is a very special book that occupies a category all of its own. It’s a chronic pain-thriller-page-turner, in which Tim gives an unflinchingly honest insight in to his on-going battle with pain. He is well informed and explains complex topics with great clarity and insight. It is a beautifully written with a liberal sprinkling of humour. Pain is a complex experience that needs to be dealt from many angles. Above all, it’s deeply personal. Tim reflects this beautifully and brings a welcome new perspective in this lovely book."

Phil Sizer
Author of Chronic Pain, the Drug Free Way.

222 pages, Paperback

Published September 9, 2021

About the author

Tim Atkinson is a teacher, author and award-winning blogger. He was born in Colchester, brought up in Yorkshire and now lives in Lincolnshire. Having studied philosophy at the University of Hull he worked variously as a filing clerk, lay-clerk, chain-man and school teacher. He taught philosophy at a boys' grammar school and psychology at a girls' high school and is now a full-time writer. Among his books are the novel ‘Writing Therapy’ (2008) and ‘The Iliad: A Study Guide’ (2017). He also edited the new writing anthology ‘Tiny Acorns’ (2010).