Cecilia Riving is an author and historian specialising in the history of psychiatry, medicine and science.

Based at the University of Lund, her work often seeks to uncover the hidden individuals and buried voices in the history of psychiatry: the patients. Her writing on the subject not only gives life to these forgotten lives, but suggests subtle parallels in the way that mental illness has been treated and viewed in society historically and the way we view it today.

Cecilia is currently writing a book for a general readership on the life stories of psychiatric patients from 1880–1910, based on a research project she has led over the past few years. The stories reflect the life of the individuals, but also hold up a mirror to the society they lived in – a reality that is both very different and very similar to our own.

In addition to her academic research, Cecilia has also worked as a publishing house editor, culture editor and is a trained librarian. She published a monograph in 2023 with Makadam Förlag, and her writing has appeared in numerous academic journals and newspapers.