Description

‘A deep, personal, clever and witty book’ Michael Rosen | ‘Funny, moving, wise and then very funny again’ John O’Farrell | ‘clear-eyed, humane and engaging’ Observer | ‘inspiring’ Guardian

I feel like there’s a leopard in my house, locked in a room. I’ve contacted the leopard authorities and they assure me they are used to dealing with leopards like this, and they have a plan for removing the leopard. It will take a while, though, and once in a while I can hear it growl.

And that’s all very reassuring. Even so, several times a day I think to myself: “Hang on, there’s a leopard in my house.”

One morning, while shaving, the comedian Mark Steel noticed that one side of his neck seemed larger than the other. After a whistlestop tour of assorted medical professionals, a consultant delivered the ominous words that would define the next months of his life: ‘I’m afraid it’s not good news, Mr Steel’.

And so began a journey into the heart of the NHS, as he embarked on the long and uncertain road to cancer recovery via a range of mildly torturous and entirely miraculous treatments. What, if anything, might he learn about himself – and our capacity for coping with life when times get tough – as he becomes part of a club that one in two British people will ultimately join?

A frank and funny diary of one man’s rather trying year, this is an unforgettable and uplifting story of getting ill, getting on with it, and getting better.

Publisher Review

Just like you might bet he would, Mark Steel has given us a deep, personal, clever, witty, painful and hilarious book. His eye lingers on details of the past, present and a possible future, taking us all the way to an answer for ‘what’s the bloody point anyway?’ He shows (not tells) that the answer might be to live and feel life the way he does. Thanks Mark Steel. — Michael Rosen, author of ‘Getting Better’ Funny, moving, wise and then very funny again. It’s also a very spiritual and philosophical book for a foul-mouthed atheist from Swanley. Final score; Cancer: 1, Mark Steel: 5. — John O’Farrell, author of ‘Family Politics’ This memoir pulls no punches but manages to be both funny and wise. Laughter isn’t the best medicine, but this book would be a tonic for anyone undergoing cancer treatment. * Caroline Sanderson, The Bookseller, Books of the Month *