Peter J Griffiths
He goes to work. He makes people laugh. He says he is fine. But what is happening beneath the surface?In The Men Who Say They Are Fine, Peter Griffiths explores men’s mental health and suicide with honesty and compassion. Drawing on lived experience and research, he examines shame, trauma, grief, loneliness, alcohol and the pressure to keep functioning when life feels overwhelming.Shaped by Griffiths’ experiences of mental illness and the loss of his wife, Mandy, the book brings a deeply personal perspective to questions of love, connection and survival. It acknowledges the difficulty of accepting support while grieving both a person and the future you expected to share with them.This expanded edition looks more closely at vulnerability, identity and dedicated self-care. It asks not only why men may struggle to seek help, but what happens when they do: the complexity of treatment, the barriers to support and the need for care that continues beyond a crisis.It also challenges the idea that a man’s worth depends on what he earns, provides or endures. Through discussions of relationships, emotional awareness and the fear of becoming a burden, Griffiths asks what meaningful support looks like when reassurance alone is not enough, and when recovery remains complicated, uncertain and unfinished.Written for men who struggle to express what they are feeling, and for the partners, families, friends and colleagues who care about them, the book combines personal reflection with practical conversations about recognising distress and finding appropriate support.Rather than offering easy answers or demanding that men simply open up, Griffiths invites readers to listen differently, challenge harmful expectations and make room for honest conversations.Because a man can appear to be coping and still need someone to ask how he really is.
