More than Writers

 Now and then I stumble on a gem of a book.  Recently it was Bernard Basset’s ‘We Neurotics’, first published in 1962 and recommended to me in the 70s by a psychiatrist friend as an all time classic.  Out of print, there are still second hand copies available for those wishing to track it down. Long forgotten on my bookshelves, it pinged back into memory as I travelled alongside a close family member off work with stress.  With our greater understanding of the human mind half a century on, I expected it to be hopelessly out of date. But as I turned those fragile old pages, I became lost in the wisdom and humour.  Written by a catholic priest of some considerable pastoral experience, it had emerged from a deep and humble relationship with God and a love for the  people he met each day. What surprised me most was that it was pure entertainment.  Not frivolous or consciously trying to amuse.  Rather, nuggets of ancient truth shining ra...