Madness is always present in our lives- in the chaos of our experience as babies, the rebellion of our adolescence, the irrational nature of our sexual appetites. And in a society governed by indulgence and excess, madness is that state of mind form which we get our bearings and which, while ultimately destructive, has genius, individuality and self-expression on its side. Sanity, on the other hand, confounds us - a minefield which few writers have dared cross and which has none of the allure of madness, its more glamorous relation. But is sanity in fact the promised land and the best-kept secret of the mental-health professionals. In Going Sane, Phillips strips our lives back to essentials, focusing on how we - as human beings, as parents, as lovers - can make space for a sane and well-balanced attitude to life...