Hello!

I just wanted to send a huge thank-you to each and every one of you who has pledged to support my book. I still can't quite believe that my book is going to be published. I finished writing the manuscript last year and I'm currently waiting for notes from the developmental editor to give it a 'spit and polish'.

 

One of the things that shocked me when I was looking for surgical quotes to use in the book was that 99% of them were about men. We natually assume that a surgeon must be a man. I've done it myself - and that's me speaking as a surgeon. Here's an example - 

 

A successful surgeon should be a man who, when asked to name the three best surgeons in the world, would have difficulty deciding on the other two.  Denton Cooley

 

Isn't is awful? That's why I was so passionate to get my memoir out into the world and try to balance the narrative. 

 

I wanted to end this first update by giving you a teeny peak inside one of the chapters (more will be coming later). To set the scene, before I married Mr O'Riordan, he was my boss. He is a consultant surgeon who operates on gallbladders, stomachs and hernias. 

 

Part of the job involved learning how to do gastroscopies. I watched Mr O’Riordan do a couple and then it was my turn. He looked at me and said, ‘Open your mouth’ before spraying local anaesthetic down the back of my throat. It was disgusting. It tasted of bananas, which I hate. He was grinning. ‘You need to know what it tastes like so you can tell the patients what to expect.’

 

And thank you again for believing in me,

 

With love,

 

Liz