Gail Bell is the author of Quarterly Essay 18: The Worried Well – The Depression Epidemic and the Medicalisation of Our Sorrows. Her first book, The Poison Principle, won the NSW premier’s prize for non-fiction in 2002 and was published around the world. Her second book, SHOT: A Personal Response to Guns and Trauma, was released to critical acclaim in 2003 and shortlisted for the Nita B. Kibble award. A graduate of the University of Sydney, where she studied pharmaceutics and education, she has since written numerous short stories and journalistic articles about medicine and her travels.