Mary Gunn
Mary Gunn is a doctor, mother and wife who has lived with cancer for 20 years. She has worked in Paediatric Oncology (childhood cancer), as a hospital doctor in poverty-stricken Malawi and as a rural GP in Britain. At the age of 44, Mary was diagnosed with aggressive breast cancer and received full conventional treatment. After a remission of 13 years, she developed a major recurrence and opted for โgentleโ treatment only. Six years later, she is still living with cancer.ย
Her book, Well, is a doctor’s journey through fear to freedom.
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Present times are indeed uncertain for us all, as global warming accelerates, and the world slowly emerges from a Covid-19 pandemic. In such times it is natural to feel fear for ourselves, for our loved ones, for our planet. So, how do we learn to live freely and respond to such challenges?
When Dr Mary Gunn was diagnosed with cancer, her first reaction was fear, and to fight the disease aggressively for the sake of not only herself but her young children and husband. But when it came back โ and turned out to be incurable โ she knew that she couldnโt live the rest of her life in fear.ย After many dark nights of the soul when terror kept her awake,ย Maryย learned toย embraceย a new approach to life: to accept all the joy and sorrow, safety and danger, certainty and unpredictability… in essence, to live freely.
Dr Mary Gunnโs remarkable memoir offers mindfulness tools for resilience, and shows how we can all use acceptance, compassion and love to live courageously, magnificently. Backed up by many years of experience, her story will help you find personal stability within the surrounding instability and newly courageous ways of responding to evolving situations both personal and global.
REVIEWS OF Well (Revised edition)
โThis book is valuable for anyone from cancer patient to healthcare professional or someone looking to escape fear and find meaning in life.โ Rosie Morrison, Marie Curie hospice nurse
"Will give inspiration and encouragement to many.โ Lama Yeshe Rinpoche Abbot of Samye Ling Tibetan Buddhist monastery, Eskdalemuir
โA very personal story โฆ [Gunn] shares her transformation from fear to connection and joy and gives insight into how each of us can do so as well. Insightful and profound.โ James R. Doty, M.D., Professor of Neurosurgery, Director, Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education, Stanford University
โA poignant yet heart-warming account of a journey โ at times over very challenging terrain โ told with honesty, humour, and wisdom โฆ Profound, selfless, and uplifting, this book โฆ [is] not only a must-read for doctors and health care professionals, [but] for anyone who wants to live well.โ Stewart Mercer, Professor of Primary Care Research, University of Glasgow
โAn insightful, compassionate account of living WELL in the shadow of death; a book for everyone by an inspiring woman.โ Professor Liz Grant, Director of the Global Health Academy, University of Edinburgh
โ[Well] will surely be helpful to anybody with a serious illness or, indeed, anybody affected by chronic fear.โ Richard Smith, British Medical Journal
