Man Down

Why Men Are Unhappy and What We Can Do About It

By: Matt Rudd

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Paperback | 22 September 2020 | Edition Number 1

At a Glance

Paperback
224 Pages

Dimensions(cm)
2.2 x 15.4 x 23.4

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On paper, middle-aged men appear privileged and successful, but are they happy? No.

On the surface, men today don't have much to complain about. At work, they still get paid more than women for doing the same jobs. At home, they still shirk most of the unpaid labour. Putting the bins out does not count.

Beneath the surface, it's a different story. An alarming number of men end up anxious, exhausted, depressed - and very reluctant to admit they are. Even if they do everything that's expected of them in work, life and fatherhood, genuine happiness is still elusive. By midlife, their levels of stress are higher and their levels of wellbeing are lower - and work-life balance turns out to be just a cruel illusion.

The evidence is clear and ironic: the system set up by men for men doesn't work for men either. It is making none of us happy.

In Man Down , Matt Rudd takes the long view on this perplexing paradox. Drawing on stories from his own life, and the varied lives of the other men he has interviewed, he goes back to the beginning to consider what makes the modern man - how the seeds of midlife misery are sown in the school playground and cultivated through adolescence and into adulthood. By turns compassionate and provocative, Man Down asks the important question: is midlife unhappiness inevitable? Spoiler alert: it isn't.

About the Author

Matt Rudd is senior writer at The Sunday Times which he joined in 2002. Matt's column, Man Trouble, for which he was awarded columnist of the year at the 2019 BSME awards, appears in The Sunday Times Magazine. His debut novel, William Walker's First Year of Marriage: A Horror Story , was published in 2009, followed a year later by William's Progress . His first non-fiction book, The English: A Field Guide, was published in 2014.

Industry Reviews

This is the most honest, most revealing - and funniest - exploration of male mental health I have ever read - Adam Kay, bestselling author of This Is Going to Hurt

Matt Rudd may have written the the most important book in a generation. It could also be the saving grace of millions of young men in their 20s and 30s, getting to them in time before they reach middle age, exhausted, confused and angry, literally saving lives - Idle Society

There are few people who understand men, or, indeed, unhappy men, more than Matt Rudd. I read everything he writes and this book is essential - Sathnam Sanghera

The brave, funny and searing tale of a man who has it all and is figuring out what went wrong. I loved it - Christine Armstrong, author of The Mother of All Jobs

I love everything Matt Rudd has ever written - Chris Evans

Engaging, sensible and worth reading - Jake Kerridge, Sunday Express

Touchingly honest, and extremely funny . . . this is a whole-hearted and important attempt to analyse what has gone wrong for so many men and to make some tentative suggestions for what may help - The Times

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