Liz O’Riordan is a consultant breast surgeon who was forced to retire from practice six years ago after her own breast cancer diagnosis. Like many, I knew her story, having followed her on social media since my own sister passed away from breast cancer. Online, she comes across as both candid and joyful, sharing adventures, advice and pictures of her bright handmade dresses.
I had assumed her memoir would be the straightforward tale of a doctor turned patient. However, the experiences of illness, both depression and cancer, actually come in the final act of this revealing and ultimately hopeful book. The first two acts comprise a frank account of her long apprenticeship in medicine and surgery. She sets out in meticulous detail the complexities and demands of this process, which involves a new rotation every four months, in a different specialty where you effectively begin from zero, sometimes in a different hospital or a different town.
