Life Lessons from Ruby Wax, Conway Hall

Following her sold-out events in 2013 and 2017, comedian Ruby Wax returns to The School of Life for a light-hearted and consoling look at the quirks and compulsions that make us entirely, forgivably human.

Ever since her soul-baring 2010 stage show Losing It, Ruby Wax has been one of the most prominent campaigning voices in the UK when it comes to dispelling taboos around mental health earning, herself an OBE for services to mental health in 2015.

A lifelong sufferer of depression, she has been as candid as possible about her experiences of living with the illness. Her previous books on the subject – Sane New World and A Mindfulness Guide for the Frazzled – both proved to be number-one, bestselling books.

Having already explored ways to help us feel more calm and more content, she has now focused her attention on an even bigger question which surrounds our lives: in a world that is increasingly online and beholden to technology, what is it that makes us truly human?

In her new book, How to be Human: The Manual, written with the help of a monk and a neuroscientist she has set about tackling some of the thorniest questions which confront us in increasingly complex, distracting and disquieting times.

In this talk in Conway Hall in London, Ruby will be joined on stage by Professor Tanya Byron – a clinical psychologist who specialises in working with children and adolescents – and together they will discuss How to be Human and everything from evolution to addictions, negative thought patterns, relationship troubles, sex, children, and the future of our species.

Sharing hilarious anecdotes from her own life, alongside insight derived from her two expert advisers, we hold out hope that this will be an exceptional evening of enquiry, pathos and deeply-felt laughter.

Written in partnership with the School of Life