Born in 1950, Dr Larry Culliford trained in medicine at St Catharine’s College, Cambridge and Guy’s Hospital, London. He worked in hospital medicine and general practice in UK, New Zealand and Australia, and later qualified as a psychiatrist, working in the UK National Health Service until retirement in 2007.

He is the author of a long-running blog on Psychology Today, plus numerous books and articles on topics such as happiness, psychology, mental health, spirituality and wisdom. His titles under the pen-name 'Patrick Whiteside' include:

The Little Book of Happiness (Rider Books, 1998 pb, & 2018 hb)

The Little Book of Bliss (Rider Books, 2000)

Happiness - the 30 day guide (Rider Books, 2001)

Larry's titles under his own name include:

Love, Healing & Happiness (O Books, 2007)

The Psychology of Spirituality (Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 2011)

Much Ado about Something (SPCK, 2015)

Seeking Wisdom (University of Buckingham Press, 2017)

The Big Book of Wisdom (Hero Press, 2020)

The Little Book of Wisdom (Hero Press, due Aug 2021)

Raised from childhood in the Anglican Christian tradition, Larry's religious development involved first leaving and some years later returning to Christian worship and practice. An independent and original thinker, having taken a close personal interest in many world faith traditions, he sometimes refers to himself as a 'Wisdom-seeker', being thoughtfully open to the teachings and practices of many religions and spiritually-minded secularist ideas and ideologies.