Dr Ruth Ainsley
pain physician
Thoughtful; treats the system, not the scan
Persistent
Surgery is offered, painkillers are failing and work is slipping away. Callum learns modern pain science and rebuilds his life around function rather than the hunt for a single cause.
Planned · not started yet
Health & medicine Living with uncertainty Second chances City life Hospital or clinic Tense Reflective
The premise
Surgery is offered, painkillers are failing and work is slipping away. Callum learns modern pain science and rebuilds his life around function rather than the hunt for a single cause.
The protagonist
Callum Brody — Courier with two years of back pain and scans that explain nothing
The council
Every council member is an original fictional character. None represents, quotes or is endorsed by a real person.
Tomasz Wilk
physiotherapist
Active; movement is medicine
Dr Priya Mehra
pain psychologist
Compassionate; fear shapes pain
How the story moves
From disability toward function over two years; a flare-up in Book 4 tests everything he has learned, and his return to work is partial but real.
What readers take away
- Acute versus chronic pain
- What imaging can and cannot show
- Pain neuroscience in plain language
- Graded activity and pacing
- Limits of medication
- Psychological therapies for pain
- Returning to work
- Managing flare-ups
- Use a pain diary
- Set functional goals
- Understand opioid risks and tapering
- Prepare for a pain-management programme
The books
- 1The scan Planned
- 2The clinic Planned
- 3Moving Planned
- 4Work Planned
- 5Living with it Planned
Book titles are working titles and may change before publication. No book is on sale until the complete series is finished, checked and released.