Description
Book SynopsisIn 2013,
Mick May was diagnosed with the fatal asbestos-linked cancer, mesothelioma, whose average medical life expectancy is 10 months.
Seven years later he is flourishing, full of
joie de vivre, with a long life-expectancy ahead of him. His case has made medical history and is giving new hope to a multitude of terminally ill cancer sufferers around the world.
Mick's medical journey makes for a fascinating read as it weaves from the pain of his many treatments to the pleasures of his frequent fishing trips to British and exotic International rivers. Threaded into this are snapshots of Mick's creation and leadership of a leading offender rehabilitation charity; his deepening religious faith; his successful legal action against the merchant bank whose offices exposed him to asbestos in the 1980s; his chairmanship of a school ravaged by the 2017 Grenfell Tower fire tragedy, and the happiness of his family life with his remarkable wife and six children.
Trade ReviewThis quirky, intriguing and inspirational memoir is the sort of book you could admire and enjoy even if you had not the slightest interest in fishing.
A tale of tails, fishy and fabulous, and in aid of an important cause, full of humour full of heart.
In his new book, each milestone, struggle and success is portrayed against a backdrop of fishing. May writes honestly and humorously of days by the river transporting him to "another world".
An inspiring book
Fishing is the balm to all troubles, frequently on the Mottisfont beat of his beloved River Test, but also as far afield as Patagonia and Russia. There cannot be many anglers for whom the diagnosis of a killer disease results in a dramatic increase in catches, but Mick May is one of them.
We highly recommend you read this inspiring book
The two stories – those of his love of fishing and that of his ordeal against cancer – are masterfully intervoven into a compelling story of joy, despair, and release.
Table of ContentsForeword My world changes: 20 May 2013 The beast and the beauty: late May and early June 2013 Why? My formative years: 1958–1986 Prayer My own personal Capuzzo: June–July 2013 The family arrives: 1987–2002 Reckoning ~ the start of a long process: September 2013 Oncology and Sanjay Popat Managing chemotherapy Making good on a promise: 26 May 2014 Approaching maturity: 2003–2012 A long-term future for Blue Sky Outshone and nearly defeated: 21 July 2014 The kindness of strangers: 25–27 August 2014 Trout: 2015 Tackle–tackle: July 2015 Reckoning ~ the end of a long process: April 2016 A better day than might have been: 20 June 2016 Expectations upturned: July 2016 Lille: January 2017 The meaning of loss: early June 2017 Respite of sorts: late June 2017 The seeds of the miraculous: October 2017 Going home: July 2018 At sea: August 2018 ‘Celebrate tonight, come on’: 29 September 2018 Hope springs eternal: 17 October 2018 Girl power Don’t cry for me: Argentina, 13–18 January 2019 Up the Varzuga: 11–17 May 2019 An advance in the treatment of difficult cancers: Professor Sanjay Popat A pause to the saga Acknowledgements CRUK Donation
